This past June, Holly Hosford-Dunn and I ran a series in Hearing Economics on the cost
of audiology education. A final verdict on our core question: “Is the AuD degree worth the investment?” awaits further discussion and more data as newly minted AuDs enter the marketplace in the next few years.
It’s a complex question that doesn’t have a simple answer.
Over the next few weeks we will be bringing you different perspectives, from academics, students and others.
But first, let’s recap:
Based upon our random sampling of AuD programs’ cost estimates, here’s what we’ve come up with so far:
Now, I have to admit, more than a few people who went through a Transitional program called me out on leaving Master’s degree tuition out of our cost estimates. Since the last Audiology Master’s degrees were conferred no later than 2007, using the present-day costs for an MA/MS degree would likely result in a significant overestimate of the total cost (considering the historical trend of tuition rates doubling about every ten years).
For the sake of comparison, however, we have included an estimate for a hypothetical Master’s degree by incorporating an average two years of present-day AuD tuition into our figures:
Even if we add the estimated Master’s degree tuition to our figures, Transitional AuD grads still got the better deal, or rather, the better return on investment. With total costs roughly 60% those of residential AuD students, without question the Transitional AuD grad fared better. But, to further illustrate this point, let’s also look at the typical cost of living for college students.
You can’t live on bread alone
Today, it’s estimated that Cost of Living (COL) for a single person in America is just shy of $13,000 per year, once you account for housing, transportation and food. If you’re able to maintain a pretty conservative college diet of ramen noodles and cheap beer, you may be able to cut this annual cost, but for our example we’ll stick with this number. [Note that we only included COL during the 2 years of full time Master’s program for Transitional estimates vs. 4 years for residential AuD{{1}}[[1]]Since there is still debate over 4th year externs being paid, our figures consider the 4th year externship as a full time student status and, therefore, subject to COL without the ability to earn a full time wage as compared with those earning Transitional AuDs post-Master’s[[1]]]
With COL added to our estimates, it’s fairly safe to assume that a 4-year residential program is going to set you back close to $100K, if not substantially more. However, let’s remember that our tuition estimates do not factor in scholarships or any other financial assistance, so really the ultimate figure a student will have to pay to complete an AuD program will vary substantially based upon those and other factors.
My advice to prospective AuD students: Do your homework!
Now that we can assume an AuD degree today will probably set you back at least $100K, is it really worth the investment in time and money?
We’ll give future guest contributors to Hearing Views a chance to answer that question.
Featured image: American Academy of Audiology Headquarters, Reston, Virginia
