Graduation Options

Every student will be required to select one of the following three degree options. The selection of the graduation degree option must be done by September 1st of the second year in the AuD program.

More information about these three options can be found in the Department Manual.

Comprehensive Exam

Students who opt to take the comprehensive exam will do so during the last week of the spring semester in the third year. A minimum score of 70% is required to pass the exam. A student who fails the examination must wait until the next academic term before repeating the entire examination unless there are reasons that make an exception advisable. The second offering of these exams will be during the first week of the fall semester of the fourth year. Exceptions must be requested from the Graduate School in writing by the student. Students who have twice failed the examination are not to repeat the exam unless they have completed further study. After the first and second failure of examination, a student may petition the department to repeat the comprehensive examination. The third offering will be during the last week of the spring semester in the fourth year. Note: the second and third attempts are during the fourthyear clinical residency. The exam will not be administered more than three times to an individual student. Without authorization, absence from a scheduled examination counts as a failure or score of zero. At the point of the third failure of the comprehensive exam, the department will recommend to the Graduate School that the student be dismissed from the degree program.

Capstone Research Project (CRP)

There are three CRP options which students can pursue: Research Project, Literature Review, Clinical Service. CRP type and topic must be confirmed by the advisor prior to starting the project. Advisors will guide students though their program and resulting Capstone. All CRP options are designed to be completed within 24 months. Students are encouraged to conduct their own independent research; however, no human or patient research may be initiated without approval of the ISU Institutional Review Board and authorization of an Au.D./Ph.D. faculty member.

All CRPs should have a minimum length of 20 pages including title page, table of contents, and references. The body of the text should be approximately 15 pages, not including any figures or tables. The length of the final document may vary depending on the topic selected. Guidelines regarding the various Capstone types are listed below. Although every Capstone must include the elements listed, the final document format is determined by the advisor.

Clinical Case Series (CCS)

Students who elect to complete a CCS project will create a case series based on 2 cases of individuals they have seen clinically. These cases are not required to be related. All CCSs should have a minimum length of 15 pages. Advisors will guide students through the CCS Capstone and provide feedback on their document.