Application Information
Application Materials:
When applying to the program, all application materials (essay, transcripts, recommendation letters, GRE/TOEFL scores etc.) are submitted through CSDCAS. Instructions are provided within the CSDCAS application portal.
Requirements:
• Bachelor’s Degree
• Complete transcripts from all colleges/universities attended
• 3 letters of recommendation
• Admissions essay (more information available when you start an application)
• GRE scores are optional (use code 0779)
• CASPer
• TOEFL scores if you are not a native speaker of English or have not completed a
Bachelor’s (or
higher) degree at an English-speaking institution.
Holistic Admissions
The MS-SLP program uses a holistic approach to admissions. Below are the characteristics our faculty think are essential for students and professionals in the field of speech-language pathology. Successful applicants will demonstrate these qualities through their application materials.
- Academic potential, reasoning, and critical thinking: Does the application demonstrate the necessary academic, reasoning, and critical thinking skills vital for excelling in coursework, the praxis exam, and during assessment and treatment of patients?
- Professionalism: Does the application evidence the applicant’s ability to complete assignments and tasks on time, be present, accountable, and respectful of self and others?
- Interpersonal Skills: Does the application demonstrate that the applicant is able to interact with supervisors, colleagues, peers, and patients appropriately and successfully? Is there evidence of good social problem solving, open-mindedness, and collaborative ability?
- Commitment to the field: Does the application demonstrate a strong commitment to, interest in, and curiosity for speech-language pathology?
Pre-requisites and Program Placement:
Strictly speaking, there are no specific pre-requisite courses required to be admitted
to the program.
Students without a background in Communication Disorders may enter the program as
first-year students who will first complete a “leveling year” that is composed of
the senior-level coursework completed by our undergraduate Communications Disorders
majors.
Students who have completed coursework in Communication Disorders from an accredited program, may enter as second-year students provided that they have completed at least 18 hours of coursework which must include the following 5 courses (or their equivalents):
• Anatomy and Physiology of Speech and Hearing
• Phonetics (Basic phonetics, including recognition and production of spoken English sounds with analysis of their formation, phonetic transcription of speech, phonetic aspects of dialect variation.)
• Acoustics (often called Speech Science; Introduction to psychoacoustics and speech
perception.
The course must include practice reading spectrograms)
• Hearing Science (Introduction to disorders of hearing. Fundamental aspects of auditory
anatomy
and physiology.)
• Speech and Language Development (Principles of speech and language development in
the
normal child.)
The following courses are also desirable, but can be made up with additional coursework:
• Speech-Sound Disorders
• Child Language Pathologies
• Aural Habilitation/Rehabilitation
• Diagnostics in Audiology and Speech Pathologies
Note that the Master’s degree program requires a total of 75 hours of academic coursework
in
Communications Sciences and Disorders. This is usually achieved by 30 hours of undergraduate
coursework plus 45 hours of graduate coursework. Students entering with fewer than
30 hours of
undergraduate coursework will be required to take additional hours in the graduate
program (usually by adding an extra course in one or more semesters).
Admissions Timeline
Completed applications must be submitted by January 1st.
• Students may update Fall transcripts during the academic update period (between Dec 15 and Feb 14).
• Review of completed applications will be undertaken in the second half of February.
• Due to the need to limit class sizes, applications are ranked and admission to the program is offered to groups of students at a time (i.e., we utilize waitlist). Many (sometimes all) students on the waitlist are eventually admitted to the program
How do I submit grades that get posted after I’ve submitted my application?
Do submit your application and ensure that it is marked completed within CSDCAS by
the admissions
deadline (January 1st). CSDCAS will allow you to edit your application to update your
Fall grades even
after you’ve submitted your application. This usually takes place between Dec 15 and
Feb 14.
Additional Questions?
Not all questions are alike! Certain questions are best directed to someone within our department, while some are best answered by others at UTHSC.
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For questions about program content or curriculum, please contact SLP Program Director, Dr. Devin Casenhiser.
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For questions related to financial aid, cost of attendance, student services, academic records, etc., please contact the UTHSC One Stop Shop at 901.448.7703