Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences
The undergraduate program in Communication Sciences prepares students for graduate-level work and related career opportunities in the fields of speech-language pathology and audiology by providing foundational knowledge in the areas of typical communication development, differences and disorders of communication for children and adults, and intervention strategies for helping children and adults become successful communicators.
Note: The program in Communication Sciences no longer offers an emphasis in deaf education. Students interested in pursuing teacher certification as an educator of the deaf and hard-of-hearing should pursue the Bachelor of Science in Education with an emphasis in education of the deaf.
Marketable Skills
Defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's 60x30 Strategic Plan as, "Those skills valued by employers that can be applied in a variety of work settings, including interpersonal, cognitive, and applied skills areas. These skills can be either primary or complementary to a major and are acquired by students through education, including curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities."
- Utilize effective strategies to increase literacy skills in children in the classroom.
- Demonstrate accurate use of portable audiometers to identify individuals with possible hearing loss.
- Provide appropriate therapy interventions to address speech and language deficits, under the direction of a licensed speech-language pathologist.
Admissions
All applicants must meet the general undergraduate admission requirements.
The program admits once a year and begins in the fall semester. Applications are only accepted between January 1 and April 1.
Requirements
Additional program requirements include:
- GPA of 3.25 or higher, either cumulative or over the last 30 semester credit hours of coursework.
- Completion of at least 40 semester credit hours of college coursework.
- Completion of the following courses with a grade of C or better (these courses may be in progress at the time of application but must be successfully completed before beginning the program).
- Biology
- Chemistry or Physics
- Statistics
How to Apply
- Apply to TWU (if not currently attending) before April 1 to meet the program application deadline.
- Submit all transcripts (except TWU transcripts) to Admissions Processing to be fully accepted into the university.
- Program applications will not be considered until copies of all transcripts have been received and reviewed by the Office of Admissions Processing, which may take several weeks.
- Acceptance to TWU does not guarantee admission to the communication sciences program.
- After acceptance to TWU, complete the online Communication Sciences Program Application that includes uploading a one-page letter of intent responding to a prompt.
- The program admits once a year and begins in the fall semester.
- Program applications are only accepted between Jan. 1 and July 1.
- Applicants enrolled in courses at a college other than TWU during the spring application semester must submit an official transcript that includes those spring grades to the Office of Admission Processing by June 15.
- To access the program application, students must be fully accepted to the university, have their Pioneer Portal account set up, and be logged in to their TWU Google Drive account. For technical questions, contact the TWU Service Desk.
- Applicants will be notified of acceptance status by email.
Degree Requirements
Total Semester Credit Hours (SCH): 120
Major: 49 SCH
Program Code: COMMSCI.BS CIP Code: 51.0201.00
Students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 once admitted to the program. No more than two grades of C will apply toward the major, nor will credit be awarded toward the major for a grade of D or F. COMS courses may be repeated one time to replace a grade.
Texas Core Curriculum
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| ENG 1013 | Composition I | 3 |
| ENG 1023 | Composition II | 3 |
| Mathematics | 3 | |
| Life & Physical Sciences | 6 | |
| Language, Philosophy, & Culture | 3 | |
| Creative Arts | 3 | |
| HIST 1013 | History of the United States, 1492-1865 | 3 |
| HIST 1023 | History of the United States, 1865 to the Present | 3 |
| POLS 2013 | U.S. National Government | 3 |
| POLS 2023 | Texas Government | 3 |
| Social & Behavioral Sciences | 3 | |
| CAO: Women's Studies | 3 | |
| CAO: First Year Seminar, Wellness or Mathematics | 3 | |
| Total SCHs | 42 | |
Courses Required for Major
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| COMS 2233 | Anatomy and Physiology for Speech and Language | 3 |
| COMS 3001 | Overview of Communication Disorders | 1 |
| COMS 3063 | Language Development | 3 |
| COMS 3333 | Phonetics | 3 |
| COMS 3523 | Audiology | 3 |
| COMS 3553 | School-Age Language | 3 |
| COMS 3563 | Language Disorders and Intervention | 3 |
| COMS 3633 | Aural Habilitation | 3 |
| COMS 4103 | Articulation and Phonological Disorders | 3 |
| COMS 4123 | Voice, Fluency, and Social Communication Disorders | 3 |
| COMS 4203 | Diagnostic Procedures | 3 |
| COMS 4303 | Introduction to Clinical Processes | 3 |
| or COMS 4133 | Clinical Methods for the Speech-Language Pathology Assistant | |
| COMS 4463 | Differentiating Communication for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students | 3 |
| COMS 4473 | Research Fundamentals in Communication Sciences | 3 |
| COMS 4623 | Neural Foundations of Communication | 3 |
| COMS 4633 | Speech and Hearing Science | 3 |
| COMS 4653 | Literacy for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing | 3 |
| Total SCHs | 49 | |
Departmental Requirements
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| MATH 1703 | Elementary Statistics I (may be applied from core) | 3 |
| BIOL (may be applied from core) | 3 | |
| PHYS or CHEM (may be applied from core) | 3 | |
| Electives | 31 | |
| MATH Elective | 3 | |
| Total SCHs | 43 | |
Recommended Plan of Study
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | TCCN | SCHs | |
| ENG 1013 | Composition I | ENGL 1301 | 3 |
| HIST 1013 | History of the United States, 1492-1865 | HIST 1301 | 3 |
| UNIV 1231 | Learning Frameworks: First-Year Seminar | EDUC 1100, EDUC 1200, EDUC 1300 | 1 |
| Elective | 3 | ||
| Social/Behavioral Science Core | |||
| MATH Elective | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 13 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| ENG 1023 | Composition II | ENGL 1302 | 3 |
| HIST 1023 | History of the United States, 1865 to the Present | HIST 1302 | 3 |
| MATH 1703 | Elementary Statistics I | MATH 1342 | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | ||
| Life/Physical Science Core - BIOL Course | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| POLS 2013 | U.S. National Government | GOVT 2305 | 3 |
| Life/Physical Science - CHEM or PHYS | 3 | ||
| CAO: Women's Studies | 3 | ||
| Elective | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 12 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| Language, Philosophy, and Culture Core | 3 | ||
| Creative Arts Core | 3 | ||
| POLS 2023 | Texas Government | GOVT 2306 | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | ||
| Elective | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| COMS 2233 | Anatomy and Physiology for Speech and Language | 3 | |
| COMS 3001 | Overview of Communication Disorders | 1 | |
| COMS 3063 | Language Development | 3 | |
| COMS 3333 | Phonetics | 3 | |
| COMS 3523 | Audiology | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 16 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| COMS 3553 | School-Age Language | 3 | |
| COMS 3633 | Aural Habilitation | 3 | |
| COMS 4103 | Articulation and Phonological Disorders | 3 | |
| COMS 4623 | Neural Foundations of Communication | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| COMS 3563 | Language Disorders and Intervention | 3 | |
| COMS 4203 | Diagnostic Procedures | 3 | |
| COMS 4473 | Research Fundamentals in Communication Sciences | 3 | |
| COMS 4653 | Literacy for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | ||
| Elective | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 18 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| COMS 4123 | Voice, Fluency, and Social Communication Disorders | 3 | |
| COMS 4303 or 4133 | Introduction to Clinical Processes or Clinical Methods for the Speech-Language Pathology Assistant | 3 | |
| COMS 4463 | Differentiating Communication for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students | 3 | |
| COMS 4633 | Speech and Hearing Science | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | ||
| Elective | 1 | ||
| SCHs | 16 | ||
| Total SCHs: | 120 | ||
