MS in Speech-Language Pathology

Admission

 

The MS in Speech-Language Pathology provides a comprehensive clinical and academic education that prepares individuals for careers as speech-language pathologists in various settings, such as hospitals, private practices, and schools.  Students who graduate from the MS in Speech-Language Pathology pass the national examination for certification (Praxis) at high rates.

The MS in Speech-Language Pathology prepares individuals to practice in a field or trade that may be considered professional practice in certain states. Licensure or certification may be required to practice in that field or trade. However, educational requirements for licensure or certification vary by state. For more information on how the MS in Speech-Language Pathology at TCU prepares you for licensure and certification, click on the following links:

Licensure Determination Table

Teaching Certification Determination Table

Because the student-faculty ratio is deliberately kept low, individualized learning opportunities are offered to our students. Some of the specialized features include:

• Modern teaching, clinical, and research facility
• Up-to-date clinical material for assessment and treatment
• Specialized learning opportunities from expert faculty who publish on a regular basis and hold leadership positions in state and national professional associations
• Opportunities to participate in research projects, including thesis opportunities
• A wide range of professional contexts to gain clinical experience
• Unique clinical populations such as linguistically- and clinically-diverse children and adults
• An on-campus chapter of the National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Academics

Prerequisites

To be considered for admission to our graduate speech-language pathology program, you must first obtain a bachelor’s degree, including at least 24 hours in approved speech-language pathology courses (see our Frequently Asked Questions for a list of the required prerequisite SLP courses). In addition to prerequisite coursework, students must obtain 25 hours of guided clinical observation prior to enrolling in the graduate program.

Curriculum

Our graduate program requires full-time enrollment and is a residential program (courses are not offered online – you must be in Fort Worth, Texas). Throughout the graduate program, students enroll in course distributions that will allow for the completion of academic and clinical requirements for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in SLP (CCC-SLP). Classes at the graduate level focus on more complex disorders of communication. Students begin academic coursework and clinical practicum in their first semester of the graduate program. A minimum of 375 clock hours of supervised clinical practice (325 hours of which must be on the graduate level) are required. You can find the graduate COSD curriculum SLP track here and graduate COSD curriculum EBSLP track here.

Clinical Practicum

Graduate students obtain clinical experiences both on- and off-campus. You’ll be placed at the Miller Speech & Hearing Clinic for your first year. Two externship experiences are required after the first year. One externship is in a pediatric setting and one externship is in an adult setting. You can find a description of externships here.

First Year

The first year of clinical practicum (COSD 60300) is completed on-campus at the Miller Speech & Hearing Clinic. You will be assigned clients with a variety of speech and language disorders. Different faculty members provide supervision of the clients who may exhibit problems with articulation/phonology, delayed language, or impaired language. A first year graduate student caseload also may include clients who are requesting foreign accent reduction and children who are hard of hearing or have a cochlear implant. Graduate students who work with children with hearing loss need to have taken an aural rehabilitation course.

Second Year

During the summer semester following the first year of graduate studies, you will be placed at your first externship. Externship opportunities are many and varied. You’ll meet with the clinic coordinator during your first semester to discuss clinical interests and to select externships. During your externship, you will work under the supervision of licensed and certified speech-language pathologists with at least three years of experience. Summer externships are completed over an eight- or nine-week period after completion of COSD 60390. Externship sites will include both pediatric and adult settings – students may complete an externship at an adult site in the summer and a pediatric site in their 2nd graduate year, or vice-versa.

During the academic year, second-year graduate students will be placed at a second externship for one semester (fall or spring) and placed in the Adult Neurological clinic and the Voice and Fluency specialty clinics at the Miller Speech and Hearing Clinic for one semester (fall or spring).

The master of science (M.S.) education program in speech-language pathology {residential} at Texas Christian University is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 220 Research Boulevard, #310, Rockville, MD, 20850, (800) 498-2071 or (301) 296-5700.