WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. | The first students to earn clinical doctoral audiology degrees from Purdue University graduated May 11.

The students are Le'Ann Scott of Gary, Jamie Worthington Beck of Auburn, Ind., Rebecca Benjamin of Whiting, Iowa, and Lauren Chael Hendrickson of Lebanon, Ind. The four are entering clinical practice.

The doctor of audiology is a clinical post-baccalaureate degree that prepares clinicians for audiology practice and clinical science, Robert Novak, interim head of the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, said in a written release. The profession of audiology has gone to the doctoral degree as the entry-level degree for practicing audiology, he said.

The degree is offered in partnership with the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine-Indianapolis.

Students are admitted to and receive the degree from Purdue, but a variety of courses are taught by IU School of Medicine faculty in Indianapolis, and all students can participate in clinical rotations through the audiology and otolaryngology clinics at the IU Medical Center, a member of Clarian Health Partners.

They receive clinical instruction from the large group of audiologists and otolaryngologists at this facility. There are 24 doctoral students in Purdue's program.

During the course, students obtain more than 1,800 hours of clinical practice prior to graduation, and they complete a clinical research project, which is presented at the annual Robert L. Ringel Student Research Symposium, according to the release.

The graduates have clinical preparation across all aspects of basic and clinical science required for audiology practice, including hearing aids and cochlear implants, vestibular and tinnitus assessment and rehabilitation, electrophysiological assessment, medical audiology, and intraoperative monitoring of auditory nerve function during neurosurgery. They are prepared to work in a wide variety of clinical settings with infants through older adults.

U.S. News and World Report most recently ranked the department's speech-language pathology/speech science area in the nation's top three and the hearing area in the top eight, according to the relase.

- THE TIMES