Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology (SLPM)

Academic Coordinator: Heidi Vogley
Room 4475, (SLHS), CHHS Bldg.

The Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology provides academic and practicum experiences central to the development of clinical competence in the evaluation and treatment of language, speech, and hearing disorders. Students completing the residential degree program are generally expected to meet the standards for certification of clinical competence by ASHA. Supervised clinical practice is required during every term of full-time registration and includes at least two assignments to off-campus practicum sites, in addition to evaluation and therapy responsibilities in the Charles Van Riper Language, Speech and Hearing Clinic.

Admission Requirements

Applicants are admitted once per year in the fall on an annual basis. Application requires submission through the Communication Sciences and Disorders Centralized Application Service (CSDCAS) at csdcas.liaisoncas.org/csdcas-students/, which will automatically integrate with the Western Michigan University’s Graduate College. The application deadline for the WMU application is January 15. Be advised that it can sometimes take CSDCAS up to two weeks to verify application materials; therefore, it is recommended that students submit materials at least two weeks before 15 January. Contact CSDCAS directly with any questions pertaining to their portal.

Admission requirements are outlined below:

1. Completion of an undergraduate major, or equivalent undergraduate course sequence, in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences. The student who has not completed these requirements as an undergraduate will need to do so before enrolling in departmental graduate courses.

2. Undergraduate preparation must include courses that provide information on basic human communication processes.

a. There should be at least one course in phonetics, one course in speech and language development, one course in anatomy of speech, language and hearing, and one course in the science of speech and hearing.

b. Undergraduate preparation must also include coursework that provides basic information on speech, language, and hearing disorders.

3. Students who have not completed undergraduate course work in each of the following areas will need to do so as a graduate student in order to meet ASHA standards for clinical certification:

(a) biological science, (b) statistics, (c) physical sciences (physics or chemistry); and (d) behavioral sciences.

4. Submission of scores on the TOEFL (if applicable).

5. Three letters of recommendation from individuals able to comment on the applicant’s academic achievements and potential for successful clinical work.

6. Specification of Relevant Experiences and Achievements and responses to two open-ended questions within CSDCAS.

Specific program requirements are as follows:

Completion of a minimum of 58 credit hours of required courses (or their equivalent) as specified by the department. The usual sequence of courses takes two academic years plus two summer sessions (six terms of enrollment).
ASHA certification requirements are normally a part of the master’s degree program. The student must complete at least 375 hours of supervised clinical practicum plus 25 hours of observation for a total of 400 hours. Under certain circumstances a student may have reason to seek the master’s degree without qualifying for ASHA clinical certification; students interested in such an arrangement must consult with their graduate advisors.
Students must demonstrate emotional and behavioral characteristics which, in the judgment of the departmental faculty, will support development of their professional competence. Behavior to the contrary may lead to dismissal from the program.
As an option, a Master’s thesis (six hours) or one or more independent research registrations may be applied toward degree requirements by students who demonstrate research aptitude and interest. Students anticipating study toward a doctoral degree are encouraged to show the ability to conduct a research project.