Course of Study
Students should plan their entire program in consultation with a faculty advisor prior to their first semester.
To be accepted into the graduate program, one must have earned a bachelor's degree in the field of speech language pathology or communication disorders or have met the undergraduate prerequisites.
The Postbaccalaureate Program, a specialized one-year course sequence, allows a student with a bachelor's degree in another field to prepare for entry to the master's degree program in Speech and Hearing Sciences.
I. Required Courses
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II. ElectivesAny other course taught in the graduate program
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*See Section IV for details
#Not required for Thesis students
III. Other Relevant Coursework
- Approved by Advisory Committee
IV. Clinical Practicum Coursework
Minimum 250 clock hours at the graduate level; total 350+ clock hours. (Must apply for ASHA certification (CCC’s) before 12/31/05.)
- Off-Campus Clinical Practice (2–6): Follows on-campus clinic; required prior to internship. Confer with Leslie Power, off-campus practicum coordinator, prior to registration to verify required number of credits. Only 6 credits may be applied to program.
- Advanced Internship (non-graded) (9–18): Typically 11 credits required for fall block internship; 9 credits required for winter or spring block internship; 10 credits required for summer session internship. Successful completion of this course requires that all clinical clock hours needed for ASHA certification have been satisfied. Refer to course syllabus for additional requirements. Confer with Linda Vogel, internship coordinator, prior to registration to verify required number of credits.
- Advanced Clinical Practice (2–6): Students should enroll for 3 credits of 575 if assignment involves two clinical activities per week. Confer with the Clinic Supervisor prior to registering to verify required number of credits for various clinic work loads. Only 6 credits may be applied to program.
- Advanced Diagnostics (1): Diagnostic methods and procedures;
repeated for credit in three consecutive terms for a total of 3 credits.
V. Additional Information
- All coursework must be taken for graduate credit.
- All students must complete a thesis or (SHS 700) or research project (SHS 702).
- Non-thesis students complete a master’s research project, which may
involve group or single-subject designs, prospective or retrospective
research, survey research, or an intensive case examination (ICE). The ICE
is a retrospective examination of a clinical procedure/application with one
client. (See Thesis and Non-Thesis Guidelines).
All students must successfully complete an oral exam. Students will defend their thesis or research project in the presence of a committee of faculty members, consistent with the requirements of the respective Graduate School. Students are encouraged to complete the thesis (700) or research project (702), including completion of oral examination, prior to internship. Typically, theses and research projects require more than one block of concerted focus and effort to complete.
- All students are required to complete a statistics course. This is considered a prerequisite, and not part of the graduate program, although course may be taken at graduate level.
- Master's degree candidates are strongly urged to consider summer enrollment when planning graduate programs, as this helps move program toward completion. Campus clinic and off-campus clinical practicum and internships are available during summer session, as are selected core curriculum and enrichment classes. Out-of-state students should be aware that the resident/nonresident tuition differential is much smaller during summer session than during the academic year.
- The Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences abides by Graduate School policy requiring that thesis/non-thesis students enroll in SHS 700/702 in any semester university resources are used (viz., faculty, library, computing, equipment, office space) for research. As such, Speech and Hearing Sciences faculty do not ordinarily provide ongoing consultation to master's students not currently enrolled in 700/702. The master's degree program must include at least 4 hours of either 700(thesis) or 702(non-thesis). Students enrolling solely for the purpose of taking final examinations must register for a minimum of 2 hours of 700/702 during that semester or summer session
- National Examinations in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology (NESPA).
Career Options
"I just finished my first full year of a new career in human resources. . . .
I firmly believe that my training gave me skills that transfer to other
disciplines. I believe my training improved my verbal skills, written
communication skills, problem solving, organization and planning skills.
Thank you for being part of a great education. [This] alumnus has found his
training to be 'portable' to another career. Speech pathologists have skills
that are very marketable in corporate America."
Robert A. Weeks ('84 MA)
Human Resources Consultant-Partnership Education Coordinator, Kaiser-Permanente