Graduate Programs

 

The Department of Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology offers two graduate programs:

• Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.)
• Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology (M.S.)

The Au.D. is a 4-year* program including 3 years of classes & clinical rotations + 1 year of full-time externship.

The SLP-MS is a 2-year* program including classes and clinical practicum each semester.

Our graduate programs focus on applying current research to daily clinical practice. Our strengths include:

1. Ninety percent of courses are taught by full-time faculty who are available during class and after.
2. Our suburban metropolitan location attracts a variety of patients for our new on-campus clinics: The Speech & Language Center and the Hearing & Balance Center at the Institute for Well-being (IWB). These centers offer a variety of interdisciplinary clinical programs.
3. The department offers state-of-the-art labs and clinical facilities in audiology and speech-language pathology.
4. Students are involved with faculty in applied clinical research in the areas of autism spectrum disorder, vestibular (balance) assessment, electrophysiology, pediatric stuttering, auditory processing disorder, international adoptions, neural plasticity, hearing aids, military audiology, early intervention and literacy.
5. Over the past two years, 100% of our students passed the Praxis Examination for certification, the vast majority on their first attempt.
6. A wide variety of clinical placements are available locally at area hospitals, schools, private practices, and rehabilitation facilities.

*The expected program of study is two years (five semesters) for the SLP MS program and four years (eleven semesters) for the AuD program (including summer semesters). All courses and clinical practicum will be provided to allow students to complete the program in this time-frame. However, individual students may request an extended program of study after the first semester of the program to accommodate personal circumstances (e.g., medical emergency, physical and mental well-being issues, military deployment, missionary work, academic difficulty, family crisis, financial difficulty, and so forth).  On an individual basis, the student and program director will work together to develop a modified program of study that may involve withdrawal for one or more semesters, part-time study, extended study, or other accommodations.  On-time graduation for students will follow the modified program of study and will be longer than the usual 5 (SLP MS) or 11 (AuD) semesters. Additional clinical courses may be required for students to maintain clinical skills during an extended program of study.