To all our Friends, Colleagues, Students, and Alumni,
Welcome to the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CS&D) at the University of Wisconsin Madison! We are committed to advancing the mission of the university and are guided by the principle that our work should improve people’s lives beyond the boundaries of campus. As a department, we strive to support all people who have communication, speech, language, hearing, swallowing, and balance needs through global leadership in education, research, clinical care, and outreach. We live and breathe the Wisconsin Idea, bringing our expertise to local and statewide communities, and providing clear career pathways for students and trainees.
We have five outstanding educational programs. We teach hundreds of undergraduate students each semester, many who major in CS&D, and others who are interested in learning more about our field. Our student clinicians are trained to become Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists in our highly-ranked MS SLP and AuD programs. These students will fill drastic needs and shortages in schools, clinics, hospitals, and nursing care facilities, at a time when our profession is one of the most highly rated professions nation-wide. Our PhD students receive world-class research training, successfully compete for individual pre-doctoral grants, publish their research findings in peer-reviewed journals, and present at national and international conferences. We have a successful post-baccalaureate program for students with undergraduate degrees in areas other than our field, who want to apply to MS SLP and AuD programs.
Our department first opened its doors to students and clients more than 100 years ago. We have a long history of being at the frontier of scientific inquiry, educational innovation, and transformational clinical training in our field. Our community is vibrant, diverse, and committed to serving the public good. Our faculty conduct cutting-edge, federally funded research, train and mentor students, teach across the curriculum, and publish an impressive number of papers. Our teaching and clinical faculty continuously seek out ways to grow and expand their professional skills, to support students, and to provide inclusive and evidence-based education and care to all who take our courses and who seek services in our clinics.
We are proud and fortunate to have an extensive network of friends, colleagues, students, and alumni who are invested in the continuous excellence of our department. Over the years, our department has received generous donations from many individuals who have been part of our department, benefited from our services, or had a loved one study with us. Private sources of funding for academic departments have become increasingly important to our mission at UW-Madison. Therefore, we ask our friends and alumni to consider making a donation to the department. We use donations to help support students by providing needs-based and merit-based scholarships, fund continuing education and professional training for our faculty and staff, replace outdated equipment, and upgrade classroom technologies. Our department is thriving, and we want to ensure that we continue to be leaders in the field in the 21st century and beyond.
On Wisconsin!
Margarita Kaushanskaya, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders is committed to eliminating bias, discrimination, and systemic racism. We commit to this work in our department, on campus, and in our field to effect sustained change.
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Your contributions allow us to deliver high quality education, perform state-of-the-art research, provide compassionate clinical care, and serve the community.
