2003-2004 Undergraduate Catalog

Associate Professor Robert Rhodes, interim department head

Professors De Leon, Gallegos; Associate Professors Derer, S. Farmer, Kimbarow, ; Assistant Professors Calhoon, Chinn, J. Farmer, Lohman-Hawk, Lopez, Poel, Salas, Wood

(505) 646-2402

DEGREE: Bachelor of Science in Education
MAJOR: Special Education
MAJOR: Communication Disorders

The Department of Special Education/Communication Disorders offers two undergraduate programs that prepare professionals to work with exceptional populations in school, community, hospital, and residential settings. The Special Education program prepares students to provide appropriate educational services to individuals with disabilities. The Communication Disorders program provides training for students interested in speech-language pathology or audiology.

MAJOR: Special Education

The undergraduate program is designed to prepare students for licensure in special education. Students receive training in a broad based curriculum appropriate for teaching and other career options related to special education and developmental disabilities. In addition to special education course work, students complete an academic teaching field and may elect to pursue course work in a variety of focal areas including early childhood special education, developmental disabilities, or counseling and educational psychology. Dual licensure in special and regular education (elementary or secondary) may be obtained.

General Requirements

See "General Requirements" in the "College of Education" section. Students must be admitted to the Teacher Education Program as a condition for enrolling in courses that lead to licensure.

Program Requirements (minimum 132 credits; minimum 55 upper-division)

The curriculum is designed to enable students to develop competencies identified for licensure. See "DEGREE: Bachelor of Science in Education; MAJOR: Special Education" earlier in this chapter.

MAJOR: Communication Disorders

The Communication Disorders curriculum provides specialized preparation for students who plan to enter a graduate program to become speech-language pathologists or audiologists. Students supplement their academic study of normal communication, communication disorders, and clinical management with observation and supervised clinical experience in the department's Speech and Hearing Center. To begin the clinical practicum sequence (C D 321, C D 462, and C D 479) a student must have a minimum 3.0 GPA.

The undergraduate program provides approximately one-half of the academic requirements needed for certification by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and licensure by the New Mexico State Department of Education. Certification and licensure at state and national levels requires completion of the master's degree. Details regarding certification are available from the Department of Special Education/Communication Disorders. Professional employment opportunities for speech-language pathologists and audiologists are numerous in school systems, community clinics, medical centers, hospitals, private practice, residential programs, and schools for individuals with disabilities.

Program Requirements

Required course work (132 credits; minimum 55 upper-division credits):

General Requirements

See "General Requirements" in the "College of Education" section at the beginning of this chapter. A list of specific general education courses is available at the Education Advisement Center in O'Donnell Hall, Room 200.

Communication Disorders (66 credits)

C D 221, Introduction to Communication Disorders* 3

C D 321, Clinical Methods 3

C D 360, Language Acquisition* 3

C D 370, Anatomy and Physiology of the Speech Mechanism 3

C D 380, Introduction to Speech Science 3

C D 390, Phonetics 3

C D 393, Clinical Computer Applications 3

C D 452, Articulation and Phonology 3

C D 453, Language Disorders 3

C D 456, Audiology* 3

C D 462, Clinical Procedures 3

C D 464, Aural Rehabilitation* 3

C D 479, Clinical Practicum 6

C EP 110, Human Growth and Development 3

SPED 350, Exceptional Learners 3

Electives (selected from list of recommendations from C D program 12

*Courses recommended for students who plan to enter a graduate program in education of the deaf/hard of hearing.

Professional Education (24 credits)

C EP 110G, Human Growth and Behavior 3

C D 462, Clinical Processes 3

C D 479, Clinical Practice 9

C D 481, Professional Issues 3

C D 490, Training in Professional Teamwork 3

SPED 350, Survey of Programs for Exceptional Learners 3

Graduate Program (47 credits)

Students entering the graduate program with an undergraduate major in Communication Disorders can expect to complete the program in two years and be awarded a Masters of Arts in Education with emphasis in Communication Disorders and specialization in Speech-Language Pathology. Graduate programs for students without a communication disorders background are generally one year longer. Enrollment in graduate courses in Communication Disorders is limited to persons who have been accepted into the graduate program in communication disorders. To complete a course of study, each student is expected to meet the program's academic and clinical competency criteria as well as the recommendation of state and national certifying bodies for educational licensure and clinical certification.

The master's degree program in Speech-Language Pathology at New Mexico State University is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Admission requirements and procedures, which are available upon request, are listed in the Graduate Catalog.