Doctoral Program

The mission of the doctoral program in communication sciences and disorders is to foster in students the scientific and cognitive skills needed to identify and independently study important questions concerning human communication. In pursuit of these goals, students actively engage in research and teaching, in a program that emphasizes an individualized, student-centered approach.

Doctoral Program

The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders in the College of Health and Human Services offers the Ph.D. degree with a concentration in Speech-Language Pathology. The doctoral program in Communication Disorders is designed to develop the scientific and cognitive skills needed to identify and independently study important questions concerning human communication. In pursuit of these goals, students engage actively in research and teaching. The doctoral program emphasizes a student-centered approach to doctoral education. Students participate in research throughout their program and are closely supervised in their research and teaching experiences. The curriculum is individually designed to meet students’ educational needs and professional goals.

 The program is designed to develop basic and analytical knowledge in:

(a) the sciences of normal speech and language

(b) disorders of speech and language

(c) related disciplines providing insight into human communication as well as to develop:

(d) research and technical skills in instrumentation and research methodologies

(e) dissemination of information via oral and written means

While PhD applications are taken throughout the year, and we have rolling admissions, to be considered for funding the complete application must be submitted before January 20^th. Funding, if available, will begin in the fall semester. 

Combined M.S.-Ph.D. Program

In addition to the typical doctoral program, the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders has a combined M.S.-Ph.D. Pathway. This pathway is tailor-made to the student and does not compromise the requirements for either the clinical master’s or the doctoral degree. The master’s portion of this program is with thesis.

• The typical interval to complete both the master’s and doctoral programs is five years, and it is funded for 5 years if the student continues to qualify.  If the student desires to become complete a Clinical Fellowship Year during this program, the duration of the program may be longer.
• The first year of studies is similar to the other master’s students’ courses.
• In the fall semester of the second year of the master’s program, the student is assigned a masters/doctoral TDP committee and begins to participate in doctoral courses and activities as well as continue with the master’s programming.
• This program is advantageous to the bachelor’s degree student aspiring to the doctoral degree.

Areas of study

The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at BGSU offers doctoral programs that are customized based on the interests of the student and the expertise of the faculty.  Please consult individual faculty pages and contact the graduate coordinator with any doctoral program inquiries.