Two dynamic programs in the School of Communication were ranked last month in the top five in their categories in “US News and World Report’s” latest evaluation of graduate learning. The Doctor of Audiology (AuD) program is now occupying the No. 4 slot on the list of top audiology programs, up from No. 7, and the MS in Speech, Language, and Learning program placed at No. 2, up from No. 5, among speech-language pathology programs. Both programs are housed in the Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. “It’s a validation of the work we’ve been doing over the last 10 years,” says Sumit Dhar, professor of audiology and the associate dean for research in the School of Communication. “Some peer programs are deeply embedded in medical centers, which is their strength, while some programs are standalone, and we are somewhere in between, and we cherish having feet in both boats—the basic science boat and the applied clinical science boat.” nu_audslp north...