Speech Language Pathology

Communication Sciences Disorders is both an academic department and a professional preparatory program with a dual focus on academic and clinical education. Graduates of CSD graduate level degree programs are qualified for professional positions in private and public clinical settings and in academic settings. The overall mission of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders is to provide a high-quality, student-focused education that prepares students to be ethical, engaged, compassionate, and accomplished professionals.

Our clinic mirrors our academic programs in terms of excellence and strength and is a vital and critical component of our programs; this is the training ground for our student clinicians. We offer a wide range of speech-language pathology and audiology services to clients of every age and provide our students with an excellent foundation of clinical knowledge and skills.

The Master’s Degree in Speech-language Pathology (MS in SLP) is a two-year degree program (six semesters with a summer start).  This degree consists 39 hours of academic credit hours, 18 clinical credit hours, and a complete of the following degree options:  comprehensive exams, Independent Study, or Master’s Thesis. 

In the SLP program, graduate student clinicians typically participate in four semesters of on-campus Clinic courses.  As students proceed through on-campus clinical education experiences and demonstrate proficiency in clinical competencies, they become eligible for part-time off-campus clinical experiences in conjunction with their last three semesters of on-campus practica. The culminating clinical experience for SLP graduate student clinicians is the completion of two, ten-week off-campus practica (one in an educational setting and one in a medical setting) in their final semester.  Upon graduation, students should demonstrate mastery of the clinical competencies necessary for practice as an independent beginning professional in the post-graduate Clinical Fellowship.