Speech-Language Pathology, M.S.

 

Admissions Categories Admission Requirements CSD Department Policies and Procedures Degree Requirements for Graduate SLP Students Curriculum Outline

 

Admissions Categories

Applicants with a degree in CSD are considered traditional applicants. Please see the Admission Requirements section below. A limited number of applicants without undergraduate degrees in CSD will be considered for nontraditional admission. Applicants in this category hold undergraduate degrees in other disciplines and either (A) have some CSD coursework, or (B) have no CSD coursework.

A. Applicants with undergraduate degrees in other disciplines who have coursework in CSD may apply to the traditional 2-year M.S. Speech-Language Pathology program under the following conditions:

1. Applicants must apply and meet the same requirements as the CSD-background applicants.
2. Applicants must complete 25 hours of clinical observation prior to entry into the M.S. program at UM.
3. Applicants must provide evidence that they have successfully completed or are currently enrolled in the following coursework in CSD by the application deadline (January 20 of the application year)
   
   CSD 253 Phonetics
   CSD 291 Normal Language Development
   CSD 380 Anatomy & Physiology of Speech
   CSD 393 Language Disorders
   CSD 394 Articulation and Phonological Disorders (Speech Sound Disorders)
   CSD 411 Audiology
   CSD 471 Aural Rehabilitation
   CSD 473 Medical SLP or CSD 101 Intro. to Communication Disorders
   CSD 475 Speech Science
   CSD 495 Voice & Fluency Disorders

B. Applicants with degrees in other disciplines with no coursework in CSD may apply to the M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology program through the 3-year non-background program under the following conditions:

1. Applicants must apply and meet the same requirements as the CSD-background applicants.
2. If a non-background student is accepted and enrolls, the student is considered a graduate student and is thus subject to all rules and regulations of the graduate school while taking the 2 semesters of undergraduate pre-requisite courses.
3. The undergraduate pre-requisite coursework for non-background students is as follows:
   
   CSD 253 Phonetics
   CSD 291 Normal Language Development
   CSD 380 Anatomy & Physiology of Speech
   CSD 393 Language Disorders
   CSD 394 Articulation and Phonological Disorders (Speech Sound Disorders)
   CSD 411 Audiology
   CSD 471 Aural Rehabilitation
   CSD 473 Medical SLP
   CSD 475 Speech Science
   CSD 495 Voice & Fluency Disorders
   Psych 300 Descriptive Statistics

Applicants in both non-CSD categories may be asked to provide additional information to be considered for admission.

The CSD graduate program provides all academic and practicum requirements leading to the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and state licensure by the Alabama Board of Examiners in Speech Pathology and Audiology (ABESPA). Students who wish to apply for a Class A teacher certification to work in the public schools would seek certification through the public school system at the time of employment.

Admission Requirements

Applicants for admission to the CSD graduate program in SLP must meet all admission requirements described in the Admissions Policies and Procedures section of this Bulletin for general unconditional admission to graduate school. Over above these requirements, Applicants to the MS SLP program are required to have a minimum 3.0 GPA both overall and on the last 60 hours completed. Applicants who do not meet this standard will not be considered. The admission test required by the CSD Department is the Graduate Records Examination (GRE). Students must have a GRE score of at least 290 to be considered for entrance into the program. The CSD graduate program does not offer conditional admission to students. The CSD Department admits new full-time graduate students only in the Fall semester and limits enrollment to up to 25 new students each year. Applicants are reviewed according to several parameters that include GPA, GRE scores, letters of recommendation, and successful completion of a personal interview with members of the CSD faculty. Visit the UM Graduate Admissions and Records webpage for admission materials, including the application and the recommendation form. Applicants will be notified by the CSD Department after the January 20 application deadline regarding scheduling an interview if deemed warranted.

All application information, including official copies of transcripts for all undergraduate work attempted, should be sent to the Office of the Graduate Program Assistant for the College of Arts and Sciences (Station 6351 Hill House), where it will be processed and then forwarded to the CSD Department. Completed applications should be received by the Graduate Program Assistant by January 20 (or the following Monday by 5:00 p.m. if this date falls on a weekend) to meet the deadline for Fall-term admission consideration. Review of applicants will begin February 1 and will continue until the cohort is filled. Initial acceptance letters will be mailed by early April. Students who are approved will have approximately two weeks in which to notify the Department by letter of their acceptance of a position in the graduate program. If students fail to accept, those open positions will be offered to other applicants, moving down the ranking of admission scores.

English Proficiency for Non-Native Speakers

Prospective candidates to the Master’s program in Speech-Language Pathology must meet the graduate school requirement of a minimum score of 550 on the paper-based TOEFL or a score of at least 213 on the Internet-based TOEFL. Students must obtain a score of 27 or better on the iBT speaking subtest of the TOEFL, or a 50 or better on the Test of Spoken English. For more information on the TOEFL, visit www.toefl.org.

On the IELTS, the University requires a minimum overall score of 8.0, with a minimum score of 7.0 on any individual section on the academic module. Score reports should be sent to:

Graduate Admissions and Records
Station 6350
University of Montevallo
Montevallo, AL 35115, U.S.A.

To complete arrangements for the TOEFL, students should write to:

Educational Testing Service
P.O. Box 6155
Princeton, NJ 08540-6155, U.S.A.

 

CSD Department Policies and Procedures

1. All academic and practicum requirements of graduate students meet ASHA Certification standards. The SLP graduate program involves five semesters of full-time work, including a summer term that includes courses in both Summer I and Summer II. The typical graduation date would be May of the second year.

2. Each graduate student is assigned to a faculty academic adviser who will guide the student through his/her entire academic and clinical program. However, fulfillment of all requirements for the graduate degree, the ASHA CCC, the state license, and teacher certification is the responsibility of the student.

3. Graduate SLP students will complete a minimum of 400 clock hours of clinical practicum (375 in direct clinical contact; 25 in observation), of which a minimum of 325 clock hours will be at the graduate level. Students may bring clinical practicum hours from their undergraduate program if they were properly supervised and meet all other ASHA Certification standards. Students transferring more than 75 graduate clock hours from another CAA-accredited institution must complete at least 325 graduate clock hours at Montevallo.

4. The CSD Department has arrangements with a number of off-campus clinical facilities (e.g., hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, public schools, etc.) where students may obtain properly supervised clinical practicum hours. During the first Fall semester, SLP graduate students obtain practicum experience primarily within the Speech and Language Center, and will begin to obtain practicum experiences off campus as they are ready. During the fall term of the second year, graduate students are assigned part-time to approved off-campus sites. During the Spring term of the second year, graduate students are assigned to approved full-time off-campus externships. Students work in both a pediatric and an adult medical setting for their externships. Because there are no academic courses during the externship, students may arrange an externship outside the local area with approval of the clinic director. If going outside the local area to facilities with no previous contracts with the University, the signed contracts must be returned to the department by October 1 prior to the spring externship. Out-of-state placements will require State Authorization.

Degree Requirements for Graduate SLP Students

1. The Master of Science degree in SLP requires that the student satisfactorily complete an integrated program with a minimum of 75 semester hours (including combined undergraduate and graduate courses). The Master of Science (non-thesis) program includes 40 graduate hours of required coursework plus 17 hours of clinical practicum. (Specific coursework and practicum categories follow.) The Master of Science thesis program includes 40 graduate hours of required coursework, up to six thesis hours, and 17 hours of clinical practicum. Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA in the graduate program in order to remain in the program and complete the degree.
2. Following is a listing of academic coursework and clinical practicum requirements:

Academic Coursework: 75 semester credit hours (SCH)

A.Basic Science Coursework/Basic Sciences
Transcript credit for each of the following areas: biological sciences, chemistry or physics, social/behavioral sciences, and statistics

B. Basic Human Communication Processes
Must have knowledge of basic human communication and swallowing processes, including their biological, neurological, acoustic, psychological, developmental, and linguistic and cultural bases. Must have undergraduate speech and hearing transcript credit.

C. Professional Coursework
Must demonstrate knowledge of the nature of speech, language, hearing, and communication disorders and differences and swallowing disorders, including the etiologies, characteristics, anatomical/physiological, acoustic, psychological, developmental, and linguistic and cultural correlates. Specific knowledge must be demonstrated in the following areas:

• articulation
• fluency
• voice and resonance
• receptive and expressive language in speaking, listening, reading, writing, and manual modalities
• hearing and the impact on speech and language
• swallowing
• cognitive aspects of communication
• social aspects of communication
• communication modalities

Supervised Clinical Observation and Practicum: 400 clock hours (CH)

1. Clinical Observation (25 CH)
2. Clinical Practicum (375 total CH)
3. 325 CH at graduate level in SLP

3. Graduate SLP students must pass the departmental comprehensive examination for graduation with the M.S. degree. Students typically take this examination during the Fall semester of their second year of the program. Students in the thesis program submit an accepted thesis in lieu of taking a comprehensive exam. Meeting these requirements in a timely manner helps to ensure that students will meet the expected May graduation date.

Available Graduate Tracks

There are two tracks available for Speech-Language Pathology graduate students in the Department of Communication Science and Disorders.

Non-Thesis Track
Non-Thesis Track is available for students interested in pursuing a professional career in Speech-Language Pathology. Students in the Non-Thesis Track are required to complete a comprehensive examination that consists of a case-based and a multiple choice exam taken during the semester before the final externship.

Thesis Track
The Thesis Track is available for students who are primarily interested in research in communication disorders and/or interested in pursuing a doctorate in Speech-Language Pathology or a related field.