Master of Science in Speech and Hearing Sciences
- Fall January 10
- Spokane: Yes
- No Minimum GRE (Combined) Minimum score
Degree Description:
The Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences’ master’s program in speech-language pathology is based at WSU Spokane. A bachelor’s degree in speech-language pathology is not mandatory; however, students entering the graduate program with undergraduate majors in related fields must complete a core of prerequisites including 32 hours of undergraduate courses. All students are required to complete a statistics course. This is considered a prerequisite, and not part of the graduate program, although the course may be taken at graduate level.
Academic coursework and clinical practicum offerings prepare students to become professional personnel capable of meeting the diagnostic and therapy needs of individuals of all ages evidencing a wide variety of speech, language, learning, and hearing problems. The program stresses the application of theory through work in the University’s clinics, as well as in clinical placements throughout the state. Thesis and a non-thesis options are available.
Students are prepared as speech-language pathologists to provide direct and consultative services in educational and medical settings. The course of study emphasizes physiological, behavioral, neurological, and psychological dimensions of normal development, fundamental communication processes, and disorders of communication.
By applying science and research to clinical practice, graduate students develop proficiency in reasoning and problem-solving relative to clinical principles and procedures in diagnosis and treatment. The academic teaching and learning philosophy is student-centered, research-based, and writing intensive.
Full-time students typically complete the program in approximately two years (including one summer), carrying on average 12-16 credit hours per semester.
The master’s (M.S.) education program in speech-language pathology at Washington State University is accredited nationally by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2200 Research Blvd. #310, Rockville, Maryland 20850, 800-498-2071. It also is recognized at the state level by the Washington State Board of Education. The program provides the basis for certification in speech-language pathology by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), the certificate of clinical competence or the CCC, and for state licensure.
The post-baccalaureate program, a specialized one-year course sequence, allows a student with a bachelor’s degree in another field to prepare for entry to the master’s degree program in Speech and Hearing Sciences.
Admission Requirements:
The WSU Graduate School’s priority application deadline for the online application is January 10 for the following summer or fall semester. The SHS department accepts supporting application materials through February 1. In addition to the application form, please submit GRE scores, a letter of intent, and three (3) letters of recommendation.
Student Learning Outcome:
All graduates will be able to:
- Program Completion Rate.
- Pass National Exam in Speech Language Pathology (ETS Praxis).
Faculty Members:
Algeo-Nicholas, Dana
Serves as: member only on graduate committee
Cleveland, Lesli, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Inglebret, Ella Ruth, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Research Interests
– Cultural factors impacting the learning and communication processes
– Speech-language diagnostic and intervention practices used with culturally and linguistically diverse populations
– Indicators of success for Native American students in higher education
Jackson, Roberta, M.S.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Lynch, Georgina, Ph.D.
Serves as: member only on graduate committee
Research Interests
Neuropathology of Autism Spectrum Disorder and related disorders
Biomarkers of ASD; diagnostic practices
Application of pupillometry and eye-tracking to social language interventions and AAC
Madison, Charles L, Ph.D.
Research Interests
– Assessment and test development
– Speech production, including voice, articulation, and phonology; professional issues
– Development of a Spanish version of the Kindergarten Language Screening Test
– Management concerns of cleft palate children
Meredith, Amy, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Research Interests
Dr. Amy Meredith’s primary clinical and research interest is in children with motor speech disorders. She has published and presented her research on childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) at national and international conferences.
Currently, she is investigating phonological awareness and early reading skills of children with CAS. She is also looking at the role of visual feedback using electropalatography and real-time spectrography in treatment of children with persistent speech sound disorders, including CAS.
Nicholas, Doreen Ann, M.S.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Research Interests
Also holds M.PHA
Pimentel, Jane T, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Simpson, Karen
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Swineford, Lauren
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Vandam, Mark, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Wilson-Fowler, Elizabeth, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member on graduate committee
Research Interests
Adjunct Faculty, Spokane campus