Undergrad
Transfer Student FAQ
How do I transfer to USF and declare a major in Language, Speech, and Hearing Sciences (LSH)?
Provided that a student is admissible to USF, s/he will be able to declare an intended major in Language, Speech, and Hearing Sciences. We are not a limited access program, so a separate application to your major will not be required. Please note that students must complete the State Mandated Course Pre-requisites with a C- or better before being able to start the major cohort courses. If you are transferring without these prerequisites met, you will be taking these courses at USF.
What courses should I take at my home institution prior to transferring to USF to pursue Language, Speech, and Hearing Sciences?
For students transferring to USF with an AA degree from a public institution in Florida, your AA degree will automatically satisfy USF's general education requirements without the need for a course-by-course comparison.
For all students transferring and as part of the general AA degree, students should take the following State Mandated Pre-requisites which require a C- or higher to meet CSD requirements:
- Statistics
- Physics or Chemistry (Physics strongly encouraged)
- Anatomy & Physiology I (or a Human Biology course, though Anatomy & Physiology is strongly encouraged as additional anatomy is required in the LSH major)
- Psychology or Sociology
*** If you do not earn a C- or higher in the pre-requisites, you'll need to either repeat the courses, earn a C- or higher in one of the alternatives, or repeat them when you arrive at USF, prior to starting the major cohort.
Additionally, two semesters of a college-level foreign language will be required to earn the Bachelor of Arts in Language, Speech, and Hearing Sciences. If you have room to complete this prior to transferring, we would encourage you to do so. If not, you’ll take these courses at USF to satisfy degree requirements.
What if I'm transferring without my AA from a Florida public institution or I'm transferring
from out of state?
USF Admissions will first evaluate your transcripts to determine admissibility to the university. Upon admission, and prior to your attendance at Orientation, the college will review your courses to determine whether they meet USF general education requirements. Lastly, any major-specific coursework taken at another institution will require a full syllabus review by the LSH Undergraduate Program Director to determine if it can meet any USF major requirements.
What courses will I have to take to complete my LSH major?
Please see the following major-specific courses that students will take to earn the BA in Communication Sciences and Disorders-Language Speech and Hearing by clicking on the UG Catalog link found on our website: https://www.usf.edu/cbcs/csd/undergrad/lsh.aspx
Depending on the number of credits and courses completed as a part of the general AA or transfer credits, students may need to build in additional credits and/or two semesters of a foreign language at the college level to satisfy graduation requirements. Students must meet with their academic advisor each semester to ensure they are on track to graduation.
When can I register for my classes?
After admission to USF, transfer students will receive notification to sign up for USF’s mandatory orientation. Once admitted and registered for orientation, you will begin to receive outreach from your college with next steps, which include the completion of your College/Major Overview in Canvas. Upon completion of your College/Major Overview, students can then schedule a Transfer/Pre-Orientation advising appointment that will allow you to possibly register for classes prior to attending orientation. While students may be able to register before attending orientation if pre-advised, please be aware that if they do not attend orientation, they will be dropped from all registered courses. Also, if you applied and were admitted to a different major and would like to pursue LSH during your first semester at USF, please submit the major change here so that you are classified correctly from the beginning.
How long will my degree take to complete?
For students coming in with a Florida public AA and all major pre-requisites met, students should be able to complete the degree within two years. For other students, the time required to complete the degree will depend upon the course-by-course comparison noted above.
Are these courses available online?
LSH majors on the Tampa campus are required to take their courses on campus. Classes in the cohort generally require attendance four days per week during morning/afternoon hours. Please note, this is a full-time lockstep program. While you may have a couple of courses online, you will not be able to complete this degree online. Additionally, while you may see online courses offered in your major, most are only open to post-baccalaureate students and we are unable to allow undergraduate majors to take these sections.
What is the sequencing of the major coursework?
You can find additional information about the order in which courses are presented here.
The LSH major functions as a lockstep cohort program, which means that students will take courses in a very specific sequence. Upon the completion of pre-requisites, students can start the major cohort in either the fall or spring semester. Most courses within the LSH major have pre-requisites from previous semesters and some courses are only offered once per year. As a result of the sequencing and frequency of course offerings, students must take courses in the order they are listed to avoid a delay to graduation.
Who will be my academic advisor?
Email is the preferred method of contact, and you can reach advising via email at lshadvise@usf.edu.
To set an advising appointment:
Will the bachelor's degree in Language, Speech, and Hearing Sciences prepare me to get a job as a Speech-Language Pathologist or Audiologist upon graduation?
The BA in Language, Speech and Hearing Sciences is considered a pre-professional degree. The BA degree prepares students for graduate school. Speech-Language Pathology requires a master's degree and Audiology requires a Doctorate of Audiology (AuD). The undergraduate program in LSH will prepare students to apply to graduate programs in either Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology. Additionally, students who graduate with the BA in CSD-LSH are eligible to apply for Florida state licensure as an SLP-Assistant.