ADMISSION
REQUIREMENTS
Academic
Applicants for the graduate degree in speech-language pathology and
audiology must have completed an undergraduate major in communicative
disorders including course work in each of the following areas: anatomy and
physiology of the speech and hearing mechanism, human communication
development, phonetics, audiology, developmental articulation and
phonological disorders, language disorders, clinical procedures, aural
rehabilitation, and speech and hearing science.
Deficiencies in the above areas must be completed during the master’s
program. These courses will not be counted toward the graduate degree.
Potential applicants who do not have an undergraduate degree in
communicative disorders should consult with
the School’s Coordinator of Graduate Programs.
Practicum
The applicant should have completed a minimum of 25 guided clinical clock
hours of observation. If this requirement has not been met, the
applicant will be required to obtain the hours prior to enrollment in
graduate practicum or during the first semester of graduate practicum.
Grade
Point Average (GPA)
A minimum of 2.8 (A=4.0) cumulative undergraduate GPA and a minimum of 3.0
in the major are required for consideration of acceptance into the graduate
program. If accepted, a student with a cumulative undergraduate GPA of
2.80-2.99 will enter the program on probation for one academic semester.
During this probationary enrollment, the student must complete a minimum of
nine (9) academic credits with a grade of B or better in each
course taken. If students fail to meet this requirement, they will be
dismissed from the program.
Admission
Procedures
Application forms must be received by the Coordinator of Graduate Programs
by the deadline specified for fall semester enrollment. Current
transcripts, three (3) letters of recommendation (a minimum of two (2) must
come from individuals familiar with the applicant’s academic or clinical
performance), a letter of intent, and scores from the Graduate Record
Examination (GRE) must also be filed by the specified deadline.
Applicants will be evaluated for admission to the speech-language pathology
program by the faculty and staff of the School of Communicative Disorders
based on GPAs, letters of recommendation, letter of intent, and GRE scores.
Program
Requirements
Students will be required to meet ASHA minimum requirements for clinical
certification which are in effect at the time of graduation.
Academic
Credits
Speech-language pathology graduate students will be required to complete a
minimum of 42 graduate credit hours of academic course work. The
academic course work will be selected to meet the requirements for the
clinical and/or educational certification.
Clinical
Practicum/Externship Credits
Students who major in speech-language pathology will complete a total of 21
credit hours of supervised clinical practicum. Three semesters and one
summer session of graduate practicum and the clinical externship are
required.
The required clinical externship CD 795 (15 semester credits) is an extended
clinical assignment on a full-time basis outside the Center for
Communicative Disorders for Speech-Language Pathology students. The
assignment may be in a school, hospital, or clinical setting.
Clinical
Practicum Hours
Students receive a grade for each clinical assignment (i.e., on-campus
client(s), diagnostic team, off-campus practicum). Clinical clock
hours will be signed and applied toward the graduate degree and ASHA
certification requirements if the student earns a grade of B or better. A
non-passing grade of B- or below for any clinical assignment will likely
result in an extension of the student’s academic program.
Academic
and Clinical Practicum Improvement Plans
Students who are having difficulty with essential abilities and/or meeting
competencies in coursework and/or clinical assignments will receive a
written improvement plan (see example in Handbook). An improvement plan
specifies the ASHA standards and competencies that the student has not met,
as well as a statement explaining what the student must do to meet
competency level and a statement explaining what the faculty will do to
provide opportunities for improved performance. If a student has an
improvement plan, he/she must meet regularly with each academic instructor
and clinical supervisor to discuss the plan each semester the plan is in
place. The student must make satisfactory progress on each standard on the
improvement plan to be considered for off-campus clinical practicum
placements. Changes to practicum assignments and placements could extend the
length of the student’s program. All improvement plans must be completed
prior to externship placement, as per Handbook section entitled “Approval
for the Clinical Externship”. The SCD Faculty determines whether the student
has met the standards. If the student does not meet each standard on the
improvement plan after a full 15-week semester, he/she will be dismissed
from the program.
Comprehensive Exams
Students must receive passing grades on all comprehensive exam questions to
graduate.
Thesis
A thesis is optional. Speech-language pathology graduate students who
wish to obtain a doctorate degree in the future are encouraged to consider
completing a thesis. The student who wishes to consider doing a thesis
should discuss their ideas and research plan with a faculty member having
similar interests.
2010