Welcome
Kathleen Kangas, Department Chair
"Take a look at our degree programs . We offer graduate and undergraduate programs leading to exciting and rewarding careers in the health related professions of Audiology, Speech-Language Pathology, Education of the Deaf, and Sign Language Studies and Educational Interpreting. We are the only university in Idaho offering these programs, and we are proud to be educating the professionals and leaders who serve the state in these disciplines. Our innovative clinics not only enrich the educational programs of our students, but they also provide valuable services to citizens in our communities. Consider our faculty. We currently have 9 academic faculty with Ph.D. or equivalent degrees, 15 clinical faculty with Masters or Clinical Doctorate degrees, and a supporting network of adjunct and affiliate faculty. Our faculty reach out to students. In our state, in addition to programs on our main campus in Pocatello, we have had programs in the Treasure Valley (Boise area) for nearly 20 years. Those programs are now in the new ISU Meridian Health Sciences Center. To increase our outreach to the Intermountain West and beyond, we offer innovative online programs with students around the world. Our faculty are actively engaged in research to further advance the knowledge in our professions, and students have opportunities to take part in faculty research or to develop their own Masters or Doctoral research projects.
Meet our students. We have more than 100 Graduate Students and more than 150 Undergraduates, spread across our two campus locations and our online programs. Student organizations in all of our professions provide opportunities for service learning and leadership experience. Our graduates are sought after by employers, and our alumni [link to alumni] continue the professional and service missions of our department. I am very proud to serve this active department as Chair, and I am grateful for the skilled and dedicated support staff who help to make it all possible. I hope you enjoy your visit to our website, and I invite you to visit with us. We are always available by phone or email, and we’d be happy to see you in person if you wish to visit the Pocatello Campus or the ISU Meridian Health Sciences Center.
About Our Professions
Three professions concerned with human communication and its disorders are speech-language pathology, audiology, and deaf education. Each of these professions seeks to help children, youth, and adults with communication disabilities that are either present at birth or acquired later in life. Through pre-professional and professional study in evaluation, treatment, and research in the human communication sciences and related disciplines, careers in these professions can result in employment in private clinics, governmental agencies, public schools, or research laboratories. The career path an individual takes will depend upon training and personal goals. Those who accept the challenge of these professions will find that the effort put forward to earn degrees will be rewarding.
Accreditation
The programs in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology (AuD) are accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (http://professional.asha.org/academic/)
The Program in Deaf Education has received accreditation through the National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
Our Mission
The missions of the Department (which encompasses programs in audiology, deaf education, sign interpretation and speech-language pathology) are:
1. To educate clinicians, teachers and interpreters to serve children and adults with communicative disorders. Individuals will be educated in an environment in which excellence is expected and provided by both faculty and students.
2. To contribute to the knowledge in our profession and to incorporate existing and new knowledge into the clinical and academic education of our students.
3. To provide quality services to our local, regional, national and international communities. The clinical education of our students includes a commitment to provide the best possible clinical services to our clients.
All activities of the Department, academic teaching, clinical teaching,
research and public service are provided in a manner consistent with the
highest principles of ethical standards.