Who We Are Now
The Master of Science (M.S.) education program (residential) in speech-language pathology at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2200 Research Boulevard, #310, Rockville, MD 20850, 800-498-2071 or 301-296-5700.
The program’s current accreditation cycle is from July 1, 2023 until June 30, 2031.
Links to other information and documents related to our accreditation can be found under Accreditation Information.
COMD-National Student Speech-Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA): National Gold Honors
2022 Chapter Honors Recipients
The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders student organization, UTRGV Chapter of the National Student Speech-Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA), has been awarded Gold Level Honors by National NSSLHA for the second time in the chapter’s history.
The NSSLHA chapter worked diligently on several projects, to attain this level. Some of these endeavors included our NSSLHA chapter president posting monthly chapter updates in the National NSSLHA Community blog throughout the academic year, a donation to the ASHA Foundation NSSLHA Scholarship Fund, engaging in two legislative advocacy activities on legislature that would impact the field of speech-language pathology and audiology, and having a minimum of 30% of the members be national NSSLHA members. The chapter exceeded this with having 58% of the NSSLHA membership (91 members) being National NSSLHA members in addition to being local chapter members.
The NSSLHA chapter was successful in raising monies for the Rio Grande Valley Down Syndrome Association and for the Capable Kids Foundation through participation in various events. The NSSLHA chapter’s philanthropic service also included donations to organizations such as Operation Smile for three children to receive cleft palate repairs, Easter Seals of the Rio Grande, the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association, TEAM Mario, and the Stuttering Foundation.
https://www.nsslha.org/Programs/Chapter-Honors-Recipients/
Telemundo came and did an interview with our very own Eric Cardenas about our Deaf Awareness Week celebration happening this week! Our very own ASLI Club President, Lily Hernandez stepped into to interpret!
Telemundo - Promueven la inclusión de personas con discapacidad auditiva mediante la lengua de señas
SEPTIEMBRE 20, 2021 - Un profesor de UTRGV nos cuenta cómo fue crecer siendo sordomudo, las discriminaciones que ha vivido en carne propia y cómo ahora quiere generar un cambio desde las aulas.
Translation:
Telemundo - Promote the inclusion of people with hearing impairments through sign language
SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 - A UTRGV teacher tells us what it was like to grow up being deaf-mute, the discriminations he has experienced in his own flesh and how he now wants to generate a change from the classroom.
UTRGV students learn, experience the world through Study Abroad courses
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS- June 26, 2019 – This summer, 170 UTRGV students are traveling the world to discover new experiences through the Study Abroad program. In May, students along with their faculty advisors traveled to China, Spain, London, and South Korea as part of UTRGV’s Minimester Study Abroad program.
Amanda Meda, who has a bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, was one of six graduate students who participated in a seminar in Multicultural Speech Langauge Pathology in Spain. The course was designed to expose students to diverse cultures and immerse them in a new environment. Meda said she enjoyed the food and the sights, and that the trip was “unlike any other educational experience” she had ever had. Read the full article here.
PLEASE NOTE: The Department of Communications Sciences & Disorders is currently updating its website. Please excuse any links that don't work or other issues until the website has been updated.
Introduction
Welcome to the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. We are located on the main floor of the Edinburg Health Affairs Building West (EHABW). Our main office is EHABW 1.264. Our department offers a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreting, and a minor in ASL Studies. You can learn more about the requirements for the master’s and bachelor’s degrees and the ASL Studies minor by simply clicking on the appropriate links above.
The department is in the process of developing a Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) program. It is anticipated that approval within the university will occur by the end of 2024, with hopeful approval through the University of Texas System and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board by summer of 2026. The goal will be to start accepting the first cohort of students by the fall 2027 semester.
Graduate Program
The graduate (i.e., master’s degree) program in Communication Sciences and Disorders requires six (6) consecutive academic terms to complete. Cohorts are always accepted to begin studies in the fall semester, then continue into the spring semester, summer I session, summer II session, fall semester and finally spring semester. For example, a student who enters the graduate program in the fall of 2026 will graduate in May of 2028 if they graduate on time. It should be noted that we accept students who have earned either a baccalaureate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders or Speech-language Pathology, or who have earned a baccalaureate degree in a different discipline and have successfully completed our leveling program. (Due to variability of courses offered and their content across institutions of higher education, we do not accept students who have taken leveling courses from other colleges or universities.) Prospective graduate students are urged to visit the Accreditation Information section of our web site.
Undergraduate Programs
For the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreting, students officially enter the program and begin their studies at the beginning of their junior year. The undergraduate programs are designed to be completed within two academic years (junior and senior year) while the minor in ASL Studies is designed to be completed within the first two academic years of study. Starting with the fall 2024 semester, the B.S. degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders will consist of two areas of concentration: audiology and speech-language pathology. Prospective students will indicate which area of concentration they would like to declare on the application for admission to our undergraduate program.
We hope you find the information contained within to be informative as well as motivational. If you’re the type of person who loves working with other people in a way that makes a positive impact on their lives, American Sign Language Interpreting or Communication Sciences and Disorders may be the career path for you.
What are Communication Disorders?
Two professions comprise the field of communication disorders: Audiology and Speech-language Pathology. Audiologists provide diagnostic hearing and balance evaluations and aural rehabilitation services. Speech-language Pathologists (also known as Speech Pathologists or Speech Therapists) work with people who have impairments of speech, language, and swallowing by diagnosing and remediating these disorders. Speech disorders may include problems with the proper pronunciation of certain speech sounds, voice and resonance disorders (such as vocal nodules or laryngectomy), and fluency disorders (such as stuttering). Language disorders can occur in children and adults. In children, language disorders may express themselves in the presence or absence of other disorders such as developmental disabilities or intellectual impairment. In adults, language and swallowing problems most likely result from a stroke or a progressive, degenerative neurological disorder such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease). Clients or patients represent the entire age range from birth to the elderly and come from a wide variety of racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The majority of employment positions are in the public schools and medical settings but opportunities also exist in community agencies, free standing clinics and private practice.
Please note: The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders currently does not offer a Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) program. Until the Au.D. program is established within our department, students desiring to become audiologists must either complete the audiology area of concentration for the baccalaureate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at UTRGV and then transfer to a university that offers an audiology program, or enroll from the outset at a university that has a professional doctoral program in audiology.