Our program is accredited by the Council of Academic Accreditation (CAA) in Speech-Language Pathology and provides professional preparation for certification by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association--the national certifying authority.

Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology (SPA) is a Division of the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, which is one of only a few schools in the country to have fully adopted problem-based learning. Students work in small groups with faculty mentors to critically evaluate cases and learn clinical skills from the outset. Our Division is part of the University of Hawaii System; however, we are located on the main campus in Manoa Valley which is near the heart of the island of Oahu.

Oahu, the site of the city of Honolulu, is the most populous of the Hawaiian islands. The home of Waikiki Beach and Pearl Harbor, Oahu also is Hawaii's cultural and social economic center and serves at the trade and commerce center for the vast Pacific Basin. There are six major ethnic groups in Hawaii and several different languages and dialects are spoken. Because of our geographic location the multilingual and multicultural influences on our program are great.

Our program offers two degree options: A Bachelor of Science degree in speech-language pathology and audiology and a Master of Science degree with a major in speech pathology. The Master of Science degree track in audiology is no longer accepting students and has closed effective December 31, 2006. Work is currently in progress to establish a doctorate program in audiology. The SPA program has an active role in activities with the local Hawaii Speech-Language Hearing Association.

A particular strength of our program is clinical training. The internship and externship facilities in Honolulu and elsewhere are extensive and varied due to our status as the health care center for the Pacific Basin. Therefore, we can offer our students a rich clinical and cultural experience. We have a modern clinic with a dozen clinical training rooms, complete with audio monitoring and closed-circuit television equipment. The clinic is designed as a free-standing service delivery training facility. The clinic also contains two sound suites plus a hearing aid suite, immittance test rooms, and a student preparation room which is stocked to supply the students with therapy materials. Adjacent to the clinic facility is a building which houses faculty offices, classrooms, a speech and hearing laboratory, a student library/lounge, and a student computer laboratory. We have several IBM-PC's which are fully available to the students. The relation between faculty and student enhances the students' experience and training as they prepare for their professional careers. University of Hawaii SPA graduates can be found globally, throughout the Pacific Basin and Asia, including Belau, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand; across the Continental U.S., through the Caribbean and Europe and India. SPA JABSOM is a quality partner in the drive to provide Hawaii's people with quality in education, clinical services, and research.