Master's Degree Requirements

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View degree requirements »

Admission

Our master's in speech language pathology degree is a two year program, requiring a minimum of six (6) semesters of full-time study. Admission to the program is on a yearly basis and is highly competitive. Admissions decisions are made once a year during the spring semester and all students begin the program in early June. To be included in the admissions pool, your application including all of the following must be complete by February 15.

Applying to the Graduate School

Your admissions application and additional materials must first go through the Graduate School.

To apply, you'll need to submit:

• a completed application with the required fee to the Graduate School
• official copies of transcripts from all schools attended to the Graduate School showing an overall UG GPA of at least 2.75 or at least 3.00 for the last 60 semester hours
• official scores on the Graduate Records Examination for verbal, quantitative and analytical writing subsections
• 3 letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with your ability to do graduate work.  Letters of recommendation are waived for graduates of UL Lafayette Department of Communicative Disorders.
• a personal essay (optional for UL Lafayette students)

Additional Departmental Admission Requirements

If you are applying for admission into the master's program, you are expected to have writing and speaking abilities acceptable for purposes of employment as speech and language clinicians. If you do not possess these skills, you will be expected to pursue remedial work.

You are not required to have an undergraduate degree in communicative disorders but all students applying to the program should have completed the following courses at the undergraduate level. UL Lafayette courses that satisfy these criteria are noted in parentheses. These coures may be completed through any accredited program. Completion of these courses does not guarantee admission to the graduate program.  Enrollment in these courses will depend on availability in any given semester.  

1. Anatomy and physiology of the speech and hearing mechanism (CODI219)
2. Phonetics (CODI 220)
3. Communication science (CODI 221)
4. Normal speech and language development (CODI 275)
5. Articulation disorders (CODI 323)
6. Introduction to audiology (CODI 382)
7. Language disorders (CODI 384)
8. Aural rehabilitation (CODI 386)
9. Clinical methods/observation (CODI 302 or 400)

In addition, your undergraduate degree should have included the following non-discipline specific courses: at least one statistics, a biological science, at least one chemistry or physics, and at least one behavioral science (psychology, sociology, anthropology etc). If you lack  some of the listed non-discipine specific courses, you may be admitted but will be required to take the courses the first year of the graduate program.  These courses will not count towards the requirements for the graduate degree. If you lack several of the prerequisite courses, you  may require an additional semester to complete the graduate program. 

Students with a bachelor's degree in another area

If you have a degree in an area outside communicative sciences and disorders, there are several ways to complete the required prerequisite courses prior to applying for admission to the graduate program:

You may complete the courses at UL Lafayette as an undergraduate student. To do that, you may apply to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as a non-degree seeking student through University Connection or through regular undergraduate admissions as a second-degree student.

Completion of the required courses at UL Lafayette will take a minimum of 2 semesters as a full-time student. You may also complete the required courses at any accredited University through either traditional face-to-face classes or through online programs or a combination of the two. All of the courses do not have to be taken through the same University. 

For questions about prerequisite courses or registration at the University to take these courses please contact master's program coordinator Dr. Holly Damico at holly.damico@louisiana.edu.

Additional Pre-enrollment Requirements

Students considering applying to programs that lead to ASHA certification should review A Guide for Future Practitioners in Audiology and Speech Language Pathology in order to make an informed decision about application and enrollment.

Drug Testing: Students who are admitted to the master's program will need to submit a cleared 10-panel drug screen prior to enrollment in courses (due date to receive the cleared results for first summer enrollment is May 15).  Additional drug testing is conducted the following year prior to placement at off-campus faciitie).  Specific information regarding the policy and procedure for drug testing will be included in the student's initial acceptance letter from the department.  

Criminal Background Check:  Students who are admitted to the master's program will need to submit a cleared criminal background check prior to enrollment in the program.  Students and prospective students should be aware of the rules and regulations regarding criminal background and State licensure requirements in the State in which they wish to pursue eventual licensure.  Specific information regarding the policy and procedure for criminal background checks will be included in the student's initial acceptance letter from the department.  

 

Degree Requirements

Course Requirements

The student must complete 43 semester hours which include the following required courses, 4 elective courses and the Capstone Seminar.

• CODI 500 Graduate Research
• CODI 504  Voice Disorders
• CODI 502  Communication Neuroscience
• CODI 508  Aphasia
• CODI 522  Speech Sound Disorders
• CODI 526  Child Language Disorders
• CODI 528  Language and Literacy
• CODI 531  Medical Speech Pathology
• CODI 540  Fluency Disorders
• CODI 550  Advanced Clinical Research

Clinical Requirements

Masters students are required to register for clinical practicum every semester of study following the first summer session. Clinical courses are not applicable to the 43 hours required for the master’s degree. Students must complete a minimum of 325 clock hours of clinical practicum at the graduate level. The actual number of clock hours of practicum performed at the graduate level will be determined by the number of hours the student had at the undergraduate level and the number of hours needed to complete the practicum distribution required for certification.

Comprehensive Examination Requirement

All students must pass the Capstone Seminar (CODI 595) which is the Comprehensive Examination process for this Master’s degree program. This course is offered once a year in the spring semester. The Capstone is not a regular course but an examination process. The grade assigned there cannot be appealed.