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Major · Health Professions

Two clinical disciplines, one undergraduate foundation: the integrated path into audiology and speech-language pathology

Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology is an integrated major covering both fields — how hearing works, how communication develops, and how clinicians diagnose and treat disorders across both disciplines. Around 4,400 students complete it annually across 121 colleges, primarily at the bachelor's level. All three tracked career destinations require a master's or doctoral degree.

Schools offering
121
Annual completions
4,422
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$59k

About this major

Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology is a combined major designed to give undergraduates exposure to both clinical disciplines at once. The CIP definition frames it as an integrated program covering communication disorder studies, audiology, speech pathology, language acquisition, and the design of therapeutic and rehabilitative solutions — an intentionally broad scope compared to the individual discipline majors. In practice, coursework touches the anatomy of the ear and the speech mechanism, phonetics and language development, audiological assessment methods, and the clinical treatment of disorders ranging from aphasia and stuttering to sensorineural hearing loss.

The major is built for students who want to enter a clinical profession in either or both fields, with the understanding that graduate school is the actual entry point. Speech-language pathologists require a master's degree; audiologists now require a doctorate (Au.D.). The undergraduate curriculum provides the scientific and clinical foundation that makes a competitive graduate application possible, and students who use the program well also accumulate the observation hours and faculty relationships that ASHA-accredited graduate programs look for.

About 4,400 students complete this major annually across 121 colleges, predominantly at the bachelor's level — though an associate's track exists and five-year earnings for associate's completers average around $45,971 compared to $58,870 for bachelor's graduates. The tracked career destinations — speech-language pathologists at a $95,410 median wage and 15% projected growth, audiologists at $92,120 and 9.5% growth — signal a strong labor market, but both are reachable only after the graduate credentials this major prepares you to pursue.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Health specialties teachers, postsecondary $106k +17.3% Doctoral or professional degree
Speech-language pathologists $95k +15.0% Master's degree
Audiologists $92k +9.5% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$59k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$46k

Bachelor's

$59k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you're drawn to both the science of hearing and the science of speech and want the undergraduate years to expose you to both clinical tracks before you specialize in graduate school, if you find the intersection of neuroscience, linguistics, and clinical practice genuinely interesting rather than just instrumentally useful, and if a clear professional endpoint — licensed audiologist or speech-language pathologist — is part of why this field appeals to you in the first place. The data supports the long view: speech-language pathology projects 15% job growth and a $95,410 median wage; audiology adds a second strong destination at $92,120 with 9.5% growth. Neither is reachable without a master's or doctoral degree that comes after your undergraduate years.

Think twice if you're hoping the bachelor's functions as a standalone clinical credential, because it doesn't — the $58,870 five-year median tracks support roles and students still in graduate school, not practicing audiologists or SLPs. Think twice, too, if graduate school feels optional rather than inevitable, since this major is built around that next step and students who aren't seriously planning for it often find the undergraduate experience feels like an incomplete sentence. If you're drawn to the field but uncertain about the six-plus-year commitment, comparing the related Communication Sciences and Disorders major or the individual Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist programs in the data is worth doing before you commit.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
University of Central Florida Orlando, FL 0 227 227
University of South Florida Tampa, FL 0 136 136
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN 0 116 116
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center Memphis, TN 0 116 116
Brigham Young University Provo, UT 0 112 112
Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN 0 98 98
CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY 0 89 89
Illinois State University Normal, IL 0 86 86
Florida State University Tallahassee, FL 0 80 80
Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN 0 80 80
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Communication Sciences and Disorders, General

4,781 completions/yr

Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist

1,462 completions/yr

Audiology/Audiologist

172 completions/yr

Communication Disorders Sciences and Services, Other

95 completions/yr

Considering this direction?

We've taken a hard look at the debt, earnings trajectory, and degree-level tradeoffs for the Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist field. Read our verdict before you commit.

Is Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist worth it? Read verdict
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What makes this major different from Communication Sciences and Disorders?
CSD is the broader foundational science — it covers the theoretical and biological basis of communication disorders. The Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology combined major is explicitly designed to prepare students for both professions simultaneously, giving undergraduate exposure to audiology (hearing assessment, hearing aids, cochlear implants) alongside speech pathology (articulation, language delay, voice disorders, fluency). If you already know you want to practice clinically — in either or both areas — the integrated program frames the coursework with that dual professional target in mind. If you're still exploring whether the field is right for you, CSD may give you more time to orient before specializing.
Can I work directly in audiology or speech-language pathology with a bachelor's degree?
Not independently. Speech-language pathologists require a master's degree to practice in most states — the BLS median wage for that role is $95,410, and ASHA accreditation for graduate programs is the standard gate. Audiologists go further: the field moved to a doctoral degree (Au.D.) as the entry-level credential. The bachelor's in this integrated program is the pre-professional foundation that makes you competitive for those graduate programs, not the credential that gets you into a clinical role. The five-year median earnings tracked for bachelor's completers here — about $58,870 — largely reflect SLP assistants, audiology technicians, and students still in graduate school.
What do students in this major actually study day-to-day?
Coursework draws from anatomy, neuroscience, linguistics, and clinical science simultaneously. You'll cover the anatomy of the ear and the speech mechanism, phonetics, language development across the lifespan, audiological assessment methods, and the diagnosis and treatment of disorders including aphasia, stuttering, voice disorders, and sensorineural hearing loss. The dual scope means you're building literacy in two clinical disciplines — useful for graduate program applications but demanding in terms of breadth.
Which schools produce the most graduates in this program?
The University of Central Florida leads by a wide margin with 227 bachelor's completions, followed by the University of South Florida (136) and a tie between UT Knoxville and UT Health Science Center (116 each). Brigham Young, Purdue, and Illinois State round out the top ten. Florida and Tennessee are notably concentrated in the top completers — a different geographic pattern than the California and Utah dominance seen in the broader CSD field. Most are large public universities, which is consistent with where accredited clinical training infrastructure tends to be concentrated.
Is there an associate's degree option, and what does it lead to?
Yes — unlike most communication disorders programs, this one does have an associate's track, and the earnings split shows associate's completers at a five-year median of about $45,971 versus $58,870 for bachelor's completers. At the associate's level, the most realistic roles are speech-language pathology assistants or audiology technicians — positions that exist in school districts, clinics, and healthcare settings but carry restricted scope compared to the licensed professions. For students considering a community college entry point, the associate's can function as a transfer foundation toward a bachelor's program before the eventual graduate school application.
What's the job outlook for speech-language pathologists and audiologists?
The tracked careers show strong projected growth: speech-language pathologists at 15% job growth and a $95,410 median wage, audiologists at 9.5% growth and $92,120. Both exceed the roughly 4% average projected across all occupations. The growth is driven by an aging population, expanded school-based services, and increased awareness of hearing loss and communication disorders. The trade-off is the length of training — you're looking at six or more years of higher education before independent clinical practice.