Doctoral Program

UCF School of Communication Sciences and Disorders

Overview

The Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) at UCF prepares the next generation of researchers, innovators, and educators to advance healthcare and technology. Designed to address rapid changes in healthcare delivery and scientific discovery, the program combines advanced CSD training with emerging methods such as simulation, instrumentation, augmented and virtual reality, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), computational analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.

Students gain broad expertise across speech, language, and hearing sciences while benefiting from UCF’s state-of-the-art facilities, diverse clinical programs, and nationally recognized faculty. The curriculum emphasizes both research and practical application, with courses in advanced instrumentation and analysis, simulation and virtualization, project management and administration, and proposal design and development.

Graduates will be prepared to translate scientific discovery into practice across healthcare, academia, and industry — equipping them not only with deep disciplinary knowledge but also with the innovative skills to shape the future of the field and improve quality of life for people across the world.

The School of Communication Sciences and Disorders is one of the nation’s largest undergraduate programs, the largest master’s program in speech-language pathology, and the top supplier of speech-language pathologists in Florida.

Credits

The Ph.D. in CSD requires completion of 72 credit hours, including 36 credit hours of core and research courses, 21 credits of content area electives and 15 credits of dissertation.

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Faculty

Home to more than 40 faculty and research staff, including five ASHA Fellows, faculty in the School are highly published researchers, clinical leaders, and innovators making new discoveries in speech, language, and hearing sciences. They are active in a wide range of research areas including: AAC, voice, upper airway assessment, communication gestures, aphasia, apraxia of speech, literacy, early intervention, autism, language disorders, speech perception, hearing aid signal processing, auditory perception, auditory neuroscience, tinnitus, hyperacusis, sensory integration, health literacy, as well as aging and cognition as related to communication.

Facilities

The School contains several unique facilities for research, teaching, clinical service delivery and training, many of which are housed together in a single complex, including:

The Rehabilitation Innovation Center integrates the research, teaching and clinical service missions of the College of Health Professions and Sciences. The Center includes simulation technology, research labs, collaborative creative spaces, unique community programs and innovative learning environments.
The Communication Technologies Research Center has four focal areas: hearing technologies, auditory neuroscience, voice and respiratory science, and virtualization and simulation. The Center houses eight sound booths, one acoustically configurable, double-walled, sound attenuating “live lab” that supports multi-person communication and sensory experiments, multiple electroencephalography and functional near-infrared spectroscopy systems, a balance lab, a voice/respiration examination room, two intake rooms, a conference room, student work areas, and an anechoic chamber building with control-room, offices and machine shop.
The UCF Health Communication Disorders Clinic offers cutting-edge diagnostic and treatment services to hundreds of people of all ages in the community who have communication and hearing challenges. The clinic treats clients across the lifespan — from toddlers developing speech and language to adults who have lost speech, language or swallowing due to disease or trauma. The clinic offers speech therapy, audiology, assistive technology, and an intensive aphasia treatment program.
The AAC Research to Practice Lab Collaborative is a collection of research labs focused on translating research findings to practice and improving clinical outcomes for individuals with complex communication needs who require the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to meet some or all of their communication needs. Current members of the collaborative include the Augmentative and Alternative Communication Lab and the AAC Early Communication and Play Lab, as well as partnership with the Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology (FAAST).
The Early Language & Literacy Intervention & Education (ELLIE) Lab is dedicated to research focusing on strengthening the capacity of individuals working with young children who may experience language impairments and those considered at-risk. The ELLIE lab aims to conduct research to support young children’s language and emergent literacy skills through the use of evidence-based practices in naturalistic settings.
The Communication, Language, Emotion, and Aphasia Recovery (CLEAR) Lab focuses on understanding the relationship between emotion and language in aphasia, improving rehabilitation outcomes and psychosocial well-being in aphasia, and understanding the behavioral and neural correlates of post-stroke language recovery.
The Examining Patient-Provider Language and Interactions in Healthcare (EXPLAIN) Lab is dedicated to advancing health literacy and patient-provider communication through research, education, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Our mission is to improve healthcare accessibility, comprehension, and outcomes by studying and enhancing communication strategies for individuals with communication disorders (CSD) and those who experience challenges in accessing understanding and using health information.

Career Outcomes

Speech Scientist, Language Scientist, Hearing Scientist, Voice Scientist, Medical Scientist, Data Scientist, Medical and Health Services Manager, Healthcare Administrator, Research Project Manager, Clinical Project Manager, Faculty in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Audiologist, and Speech-Language Pathologist.

Funding Opportunities and Financial Support

Potential sources of funding include Graduate Assistantships, Fellowships, Scholarships, and Research Assistantships. Individuals who apply by the Fall admission deadline will automatically be considered for a graduate assistantship upon admission. Graduate assistantships include tuition support, health insurance and a biweekly stipend.