CSD Suggested Courses (2025)

Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) NSO Enrollment Guide

Advising

Center for Student Advising and Engagement
5 Henderson Building
University Park, PA

Find your adviser and schedule an appointment through Starfish: http://starfish.psu.edu Links to an external site.

Important Websites

Entrance to Major Requirements

  • 29.1 or more earned credits
  • 2.0 cumulative GPA (a 3.50 cumulative GPA is strongly encouraged to prepare for graduate school)

Course Recommendations

  • Summer: Choose 2 courses (6–7 credits overall) *
    • *LEAP Students: Be sure not to choose courses for the fall that you are taking this summer.
  • Fall: Choose 5–6 courses (15–17 credits overall)

Note: The CSD curriculum is extremely flexible! There are more choices listed on this guide than you can fit into one semester. Courses from any category on this guide are appropriate for your first semester.

Major (select 1–2)

All of these courses are required for the CSD major. Courses not selected for fall will be taken in a future semester. These courses can be taken in any order and are not prerequisites to each other.

  • CSD 146: Introduction to Communication Sciences and Disorders
  • CSD 230: Introduction to Audiology
  • CSD 269: Deaf Culture

First-Year Seminar

LEAP and Aurora enrollment are approved substitutions for First Year Seminar. Students enrolled in those programs do not have to schedule a First-Year Seminar and thematic course.

  • CSD 297: FYS in CSD (1 credit)* —AND— PSU 14: First-Year Seminar (1 credit)
    • *Students can take any of the thematic courses offered by the HHD departments including: BBH 123S (1), CSD 297 (1), HPA 123S (1), HM 100S (1), HDFS 101N (3), KINES 123S (1), NUTR 123S (1) or RPTM 120S (3).
  • BBH 102S (varsity athletes only, to be registered later, 3 credits, fulfills FYS requirement)

Writing/Speaking (GWS) (select 1–2)

  • ENGL 15, ENGL 15A, or ESL 15: Rhetoric and Composition
  • CAS 100A, B, or C: Public Speaking

Social/Behavioral Science (GS) (select 1)

All of these courses are required for the CSD major. Courses not selected for fall will be taken in a future semester. These courses can be taken in any order and are not prerequisites to each other.

  • PSYCH 100: Introductory Psychology
  • HDFS 129: Lifespan Development
  • HDFS 229: Child Development —OR— HDFS 249N: Adult Development

Integrative Studies (select any 1)

  • Any Interdomain
    • This is a chance to explore your interests outside of the CSD major. Any interdomain course that sounds interesting to you is an appropriate choice.

Humanities (GH) (select any 1 that does not have an N suffix)

  • Any Interdomain
    • This is a chance to explore your interests outside of the CSD major. Any interdomain course that sounds interesting to you is an appropriate choice.

Natural Science (GN) (select 1, CSD recommends the following)

If you are planning to attend graduate school for speech-language pathology or audiology, you are required to complete 3 credits of biological science and 3 credits of physical science as part of your graduate school prerequisites.

  • Biological Science: BISC 4: Human Body: Form and Function —OR— BISC 2: Genetics, Ecology & Evolution —OR— BIOL 133: Genetics
  • Physical Science: CHEM 1: Introductory Chemistry

Quantification (GQ) (select 1)

If you are planning to attend graduate school for speech-language pathology or audiology, you are required to complete a course in statistics as part of your graduate school prerequisites.

  • STAT 200: Elementary Statistics – with a qualifying ALEKS placement score, recommended for fall if you have previously taken a statistics course or are strong in math, otherwise it is ok to wait to take this in a future semester
  • MATH 21: College Algebra

Arts (GA) (select any 1 that does not have an N suffix)

  • Any GA-Arts
    • This is a chance to explore your interests outside of the CSD major. Any GA course that sounds interesting to you is an appropriate choice

Health and Wellness (GHW) (select any 1 that does not have an N suffix)

  • Any, except NUTR 251 (unless you feel strong in chemistry)

Electives

The CSD major requires 30 credits of electives, which are courses that do not fulfill a specific requirement for your major or General Education but do count toward graduation requirements.
If you cannot compile a full schedule with the above requirements, electives in the following areas are suggested:

If Penn State grants credit for it and it doesn’t count somewhere else, it will count as an elective!

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