The M.S. degree program in Speech-Language Pathology provides a comprehensive clinical and academic education that prepares students to find a position of their choice. Our program graduates entry-level Speech-Language Pathologists are are highly prepared to enter medical, school, or any adult and pediatric setting.

Because the student-faculty ratio is deliberately kept at a low level, individualized learning opportunities can be 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
• Special study area for graduate students, including a bilingual track
• Independent study with a faculty member in a special interest area
• Opportunities for participating in research projects
• A wide range of professional contexts in which to gain clinical experience
• Unique clinical populations such as linguistically and clinically diverse children and adults, laryngectomized adults, and non-verbal individuals
• A chapter of the National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association
• Faculty who publish on a regular basis and who hold leadership positions in state and national professional associations
• The chance to not only attain national certification, but also develop a specialization area, if you so choose

Academics

Prerequisites: Bachelor's degree, including at least 24 hours in approved speech-language pathology courses. Students must select course distributions that will allow for the completion of academic and clinical requirements for the ASHA, CCC-SLP. While the student must enroll for clinical practicum each semester, no more than 6 semester hours credit may be used to satisfy degree requirements. A minimum of 375 clock hours of clinical practice, 325 hours of which must be on the graduate level, is required.

Plan I: 45 credit hours, which includes COSD 70323 and 6 hours of thesis. A final comprehensive examination based on the thesis is required.

Plan II: 45 credit hours, including COSD 70323. A final comprehensive examination consisting of both written and oral portions is required.

NOTE: Both Plan I and Plan II include an optional Emphasis in Bilingual Speech-Language Pathology. Prerequisite for this sequence is native or near-native proficiency in English and Spanish.

Classes at the graduate level focus on more complex disorders of communication. Many are a blend of information from related disciplines such as neurology, psychology, physical therapy, and dentistry. For a sample degree plan that lists required courses, click here (.pdf).

Study Abroad Opportunities: Incoming first year graduate students will have the opportunity to obtain graduate credits while studying abroad with other speech-language pathology majors during the summer.  The Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders holds study abroad courses in the United Kingdom (London & Edinburgh) and Australia, which rotate every other odd year (i.e., summer of 2013 - United Kingdom; summer of 2015 - Australia). Providing these opportunties allows us to meet the TCU mission of educating individuals to think and act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community.

TCU enjoys the reputation of having an extremely high success rate for graduates taking the national examination for certification. The pass rates on the PRAXIS is 100% for the last 3 years.

Clinical Practicum

Graduate students obtain clinical experiences both on and off campus.  Students are placed at the Miller Speech and Hearing Clinic for their first year.   Two externship experiences are required after the first year.  One externship is in a pediatric setting and the second experience is at a site with adults.

First Year

The first year of clinical practicum (COSD 60300) is done on campus at the Miller Speech and Hearing Clinic.  Graduate students are assigned clients in the clinic with a variety of speech and language disorders.  Different faculty members provide the supervision of the clients.  Clients may exhibit problems with articulation/phonology and delayed/disordered language. Foreign accent reduction may also be on the graduate clinician’s caseload.

Aural Rehabilitation Clinic:  First year graduate students who have completed an Aural Rehabilitation course are assigned to this clinic.  Services are provided to individuals who are hard of hearing or have a cochlear implant.

Second Year

After completing the first year of graduate studies, all students are placed at their first externship in the Fort Worth area. The student may request the site. Summer externships are done over a 12 week period.  Externship sites are for both pediatric and adult sites.

During the academic year, second year graduate students are at an externship for one semester and provide services at the Miller Speech and Hearing Clinic one semester. When the student is assigned to the Clinic, placement will be in the Voice Clinic, Adult Neurogenic Clinic and the Stuttering Clinic.

Externships are many and varied. Graduate student meet with the Clinic Coordinator during their first semester to discuss clinical interests and to select externships. TCU graduate students in Speech Pathology are placed in facilities throughout the Fort Worth area to obtain further clinical experiences. The students work under the supervision of licensed and certified speech-language pathologists at externship sites.  For a list of externship sites, click here (.pdf).