Department Mission & Plan
The University
Louisiana State University holds a prominent position in American Higher Education and is considered one of the world’s finest teaching and research institutions. In 1978, LSU was named a sea-grant college, one of only 25 universities in the country recognized as both a land-and-sea grant institution. In 1987, LSU was designated a Research university I, which puts it in the top 2 percent of the nation’s colleges and universities. Only 70 universities, 45 public and 25 private, have this designation. The University campus, located in the southern part of the city of Baton Rouge, is bordered on the west by the Mississippi River.
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, the capital city of Louisiana, is the nation’s fifth-largest port and a major petrochemical, financial, and industrial center with a metropolitan area population of more than 500,000. The city has a rich cultural legacy. Many large live-oak trees are found throughout the city, and the mild climate, recreational diversity, and natural beauty make Baton Rouge an attractive place to live. The area’s semitropical climate makes outdoor activities popular throughout the year. Baton Rouge is also approximately 80 miles from New Orleans, with its old-world ambiance, famous restaurants, and other varied attractions.
Mission
The mission of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders is for faculty and students to conduct innovative basic and applied research to enhance knowledge of all aspects of human communication and swallowing across the life span; to provide excellence in education to prepare the next generation of scholars, clinicians, and educators with foundational scientific knowledge and skills in communication sciences and disorders; and to prepare the next generation of scholars, clinicians and educators to possess the clinical competence to solve challenges encountered by persons with communication and swallowing disorders.
Vision
The vision of Communication Science and Disorder is to provide international leadership in research, excellence in education and clinical training, and service that advances the field by making effective communication, a human right, accessible and achievable for all.
Goals
- Discovery: Conduct research advancing knowledge of theory, assessment, and intervention of communication disorders.
- Learning: Increase undergraduate students’ critical thinking and research reading/writing skills in the areas of normal and disordered communication as they relate to a diverse set of career options in health and education. Prepare masters students to provide evidence-based assessment and treatment of communication disorders utilizing state-of-the-art methodology and technology in a variety of job settings through academic coursework and clinical experience. Develop Ph.D. students who collaborate in research, disseminate research findings through publication and presentations, and develop skills to meet the immediate and future needs of the profession.
- Diversity Strengthen the intellectual environment by broadening the cultural diversity of the LSU community.
- Engagement: Contribute to the solution of social challenges of people with communication disorders through the provision of state-of-the-art, research-based clinical services.
Department Overview
The Louisiana State University Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (LSU COMD) has over 300 undergraduate and 60 graduate student majors. The master's program is accredited to educate professional speech-language pathologists. Masters students, while completing rigorous academic coursework, apply their clinical skills in the areas of evaluation and treatment with persons of all ages who have or are at risk for communication disorders.
The undergraduate curriculum is designed to provide majors with a liberal arts education and to prepare them for entry into graduate programs in communication disorders. In the master’s program, students are provided with clinical experiences and academic coursework to ensure their eligibility for certification and licensure as speech-language pathologists. The doctoral program is geared toward the development of scholarship and research skills to prepare students for traditional academic positions, both in the basic sciences of speech, language, and hearing and in clinical aspects of communication disorders.
As part of its training program, which is accredited in speech/language pathology, the department maintains a clinic for the diagnosis and treatment of communication disorders.
Interested parties should send their comments regarding the departmental plan to Janet Norris, Chair at jnorris@lsu.edu.