FOREST GROVE, OR—For more than a decade, there has been no place in Oregon where a prospective audiologist could get training in the field of her (or his) choice. That will change in fall 2012 when Pacific University’s College of Health Professions will begin training future audiologists through a clinical doctorate degree program (AuD)
Ann Barr, vice-provost and executive dean of the College of Health Professions, said the program’s curriculum will feature electronic learning systems and simulations to maximize both conceptual learning and clinical practice.
Because of the growing senior population, the hearing-impaired population in the U.S. is expected to increase rapidly in the near future. As a result, the projected national demand for audiologists will reach 16,000 by 2018. Yet, since 2000, when an audiology program at Portland State University closed, there has been no audiology degree program in Oregon.
