Would you like to help a young boy reduce his stuttering? Make it possible for a grandmother to hear clearly for the first time in years? Develop new technology that helps people communicate? While many of us take speech and hearing for granted, there are millions of people struggling with communication disorders every day. If you’re looking for a science-based major that lets you work with people and have a direct impact on their lives, you’re in the right place.
As a speech and hearing science student, you’ll study the development and disorders of language, hearing and speech. You will learn how anatomy, biology, psychology and other factors affect how people speak, hear and understand throughout their lifespan, as infants, children, adults and seniors. As you take required classes in acoustics (sounds for hearing and speech perceptions), audiology (hearing), speech-language pathology (speaking), and technical skills such as statistics, you can also choose to explore related areas such as sociology and linguistics.
A highlight of the UB experience is the UB Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Clinic. Here, you will gain practical experience working with faculty members in diagnosing and treating speech, language and hearing disorders, as well as in providing other services to children and adults in the community.
What else can you do at UB?
This program puts you on track for some of the most highly ranked health care professions. Upon graduation, students typically go into one of three educational paths at the graduate level in preparation for a career as a(n):
While graduates work in all types of settings (including universities and private practices), you’ll typically work in a hospital, community clinic or school, especially if you’re an audiologist or speech-language pathologist.
Students can pursue a speech and hearing BA with English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) EdM (or MEd), or a speech and hearing BA with early childhood/childhood education EdM (or MEd). By adding education from the Department of Learning and Instruction, students will become eligible for New York State initial and professional teaching certification in their selected program area.
Be prepared to teach grades 5-12 by getting your bachelor's and master's in just five years through our UB Teach program.
Visit the department website (at the top of this page) for more details, or see the UB Teach website for a list of all available majors.
Whether you want to focus on child language development, hearing loss or voice disorders—or you’re not sure yet—UB is a place where you’ll find expert teachers, researchers, and mentors who can help guide you.
Our faculty possess expertise in all areas of speech, language, audiology and hearing sciences. In addition, our faculty members have been recognized and honored for their work with leading journals and professional organizations around the world.
As a speech and hearing science student, you’ll also have opportunities to learn from professors in related fields such as neuroscience.