Apr 13, 2025  
2020-2021 Undergraduate and Graduate Academic Catalog 
    
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2020-2021 Undergraduate and Graduate Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Speech Pathology and Audiology, M.S.

The Master’s degree in speech pathology and audiology introduces students to advanced study and specialization in communicative disorders, instructs them in methods of independent investigation, enables them  to satisfy the academic requirements for the Certificate of Clinical Competence of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and to acquire the requisite skills to become responsible professionals in speech-language pathology.

Speech Language Pathologists must be licensed by the state in which they work. Most states also require certification from their State Department of Education to work in public education. Many employers require the Certificate of Clinical Competence awarded by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Students receiving their masters degrees from the UL Lafayette Department of Communicative Disorders are eligible for these credentials.

Prerequisites

  1. Must have an overall undergraduate grade point average of 2.75 or an overall grade point of 3.00 in the final 60 semester hours of undergraduate study.
  2. Must have obtained satisfactory scores on the Graduate Record Examination.
  3. Must submit three (3) letters of recommendation written by individuals who are familiar with the student’s ability to do graduate work. In most instances, these letters of recommendation should be from undergraduate faculty. (The letter of recommendation requirement might be waived if the student is a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette program in Communicative Disorders and meets the other criteria for non-conditional admission).

If an applicant fails to attain any one of the above criteria, the student may be admitted on a conditional basis. Students admitted on a conditional basis must meet the University of Louisiana at Lafayette criteria for shifting from conditional to regular admission. If a student fails to meet two of the three admissions criteria stated above, he/she will be denied admission. Failure to meet prerequisites listed in D below shall not be reason to be denied admission; however, a student may not be advanced to candidacy prior to eliminating deficiencies.

  1. In addition to meeting the above requirements, the student must also meet the following departmental prerequisites:
    1. A course in phonetics;
    2. A course in normal speech and language development;
    3. A course in the anatomy and physiology of the speech and hearing mechanism;
    4. A course in basic communication science;
    5. A course in articulation disorders;
    6. An introduction to audiology;
    7. A course in language disorders;
    8. A course in clinical methods/observation;
    9. A course in neuroanatomy and neurophysiology;
    10. A course in aural habilitation;
    11. An undergraduate course in applied statistics.

Course Requirements

The course requirements for the Master of Science Degree in speech pathology and audiology are 43 semester hours.

Students may elect to complete a thesis as part of their master’s degree. Students electing the thesis track may apply up to 6 hours of thesis credit toward the 43 hours required in their major area.

Required Courses

Students pursuing this degree will be required to take:

Clinical Requirements

Students will be required to register for a clinical course during each semester of study. 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 the certification being sought.

Comprehensive Requirements

All students must take the Capstone Seminar which is typically taken during the student’s final semester of study. Students who elect the thesis option must give an oral defense of their thesis in addition to taking a written examination.

Other Requirements

Students pursuing the master’s degree in speech pathology and audiology are expected to have writing and speaking abilities acceptable for purposes of employment as a speech and language clinician. Students who do not possess these skills will be expected to pursue remedial work.