The department of Hearing and Speech Sciences established in 1996, will offer a bachelor's degree in Audiology & Speech Language Pathology (SLP). Audiology is clinical health-care profession devoted to hearing. Its unique mission is diagnosis and rehabilitation. Specifically, audiologists play a crucial role in early identification of hearing impairment in infants, evaluating hearing ability in people of all ages and prevention, identification, assessment and amelioration of communication disorders that may result from hearing impairment. In addition, audiologists evaluate the need for hearing aid amplification and assess, fit and dispense hearing aids, cochlear implant program and other assistive listening devices such as FM system, loop system. Audiologists are also involved in the vestibular disorder diagnosis and rehabilitation, post-fitting rehabilitation and educational programming and facilitation. While Audiology refers to the study of hearing and balance and involves clinical aspects of identification, evaluation and prevention of auditory and related disorders, the speech Therapy profession works to assess, diagnose, treat and prevent clinical disorders in speech, language, communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing. A person's ability to hear & speak are closely connected and impairment of one will affect the other. Children with hearing difficulties. Therefore, ASTs must work closely together and have an understanding of both domains to develop effective communication in infants and young children with speech and/or hearing impairment. The Bachelor's degree in SLP will prepare professionals as generalists, with the development of knowledge, skills, and clinical competencies in a wide variety of areas. Opportunities are available for audiologists in both the public and private sectors, including educational settings, rehabilitation settings and in research activities to broaden clinical understanding and application of diagnostic and treatment procedures. Audiology has the following sub-specialties: Audiology Specialist, Medical Audiology, Educational Audiology, Pediatric Audiology, Dispensing/Rehabilitative Audiology, Cochlear Implant Programmers, Electrophysiology and Audiology, Vestibular Diagnosis and Rehabilitation, Industrial Audiology, and Research Audiologist.