Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education

COMDDE Mission Statement The Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education at Utah State University is committed to: 1. advancing knowledge of normal and disordered processes of communication; 2. teaching clinical and educational practices to meet the diverse needs of individuals with communication differences and disorders; and 3. providing access to educational opportunities that prepare learners for diverse careers in health and education. We fulfill this mission through the core themes of learning, discovery, and engagement: - Learning - Teaching knowledge and skills pertaining to typical and disordered hearing, balance, language, speech, cognition, literacy, and swallowing - Fostering professional competencies of problem solving and critical thinking; spoken, visual, written, and digital communication; interpersonal skills and teamwork; professional and ethical behavior - Offering student-centered opportunities for learners of diverse ages, cultures, backgrounds, and locations to further their own educational and professional goals - Offering graduate professional programs in audiology, deaf education, and speech-language pathology that train effective, dedicated teachers and clinicians - Discovery - Conducting research that advances knowledge pertaining to the nature and management of typical and disordered hearing, balance, language, speech, cognition, and swallowing - Conducting research that improves the training of teachers and clinicians, and the implementation of evidence-based practices in deaf education, audiology, and speech-language pathology - Providing research opportunities and mentoring that develop students into professionals who implement evidence-based decisions, and into scientists and scholars who continue to advance knowledge and improve the professions - Engagement - Offering person-centered clinical and educational services in campus and outreach settings that help maximize communication outcomes and achieve functional goals for individuals and their families in Utah and the inter-mountain west - Promoting leadership, service, and civic engagement of faculty and students in ways that benefit individuals with communication differences and disorders within local, state, national, and global communities Audiology Division Mission Statement The Audiology program prepares doctors of audiology students to evaluate and treat hearing and balance disorders through education, research and clinical experiences for individuals throughout the lifespan. The Ph.D. degrees prepare students for research, teaching, and scholarship in basic and applied aspects of hearing and balance. Deaf Education Division Mission Statement The mission of the Deaf Education program at Utah State University is to train future teachers to provide effective, evidence-based services to children who are deaf or hard of hearing, ensuring breadth of knowledge across Deaf Education and expertise in either Bilingual-Bicultural or Listening and Spoken Language specializations. Speech-Language Pathology Division Mission Statement The Speech-Language Pathology master’s program prepares students to evaluate and treat speech, language, cognition, literacy, and swallowing disorders for individuals across the lifespan through academic, research, and clinical experiences. The Ph.D. and non-clinical master’s degrees prepare students for research, teaching, and scholarship in basic and applied aspects of speech-language pathology.