Department of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences

Department chair:
Dr. Melanie Matthies
Phone: 617-353-1983

How did you first discover the field of speech, language and hearing sciences? Students are drawn to the programs at Boston University for a wide variety of reasons: an interest in psychology or linguistics, a desire to help others, or perhaps a personal life experience.

But even more diverse are the career directions they follow after graduating from our programs. Clinicians, educators and researchers. Speech-language pathologists and audiologists. Physicians and public health experts. Special education teachers and social workers. Lawyers, marketing consultants and communication specialists. This unusually broad range of careers from a single discipline is possible because the basic processes of communication are fundamental to every area of human endeavor.

Fundamentals are the focus of our teaching in the Speech, Language & Hearing Department at BU College of Health & Rehabilitation: Sargent College. In any of our degree programs, you’ll gain an understanding and appreciation of scientific inquiry combined with deep knowledge of the processes related to communication, cognition and swallowing.

Starting with an undergraduate degree in Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences, we offer programs for students at every level through a post-professional Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study. If your interest is in speech-language pathology, we offer master’s and doctoral degree programs as well as two accelerated combined degree programs.

Like all Sargent College graduate programs, our speech-language pathology programs rank in the top 8% in the nation. Small classes and outstanding faculty contribute to excellence. Our location in a renowned urban center of science and medicine provides rich opportunities for clinical training and research. Our graduate students stand out for their high rate of program completion (98 percent), employment (100 percent within six months of graduation) over the last three year period, and subsequent leadership in the field as practitioners, researchers and educators.

And our undergraduates? Besides assisting in the Sargent College clinic, they gain valuable experience and unforgettable experiences in dozens of volunteer programs on campus and in Boston. With a strong liberal arts foundation and solid professional education, most go on to be accepted into top graduate programs, both at BU and elsewhere.

We invite you to take a closer look. Choose any degree program at right to learn more about it. If you have questions, please e-mail or call us.