Master of Science in Speech and Hearing Sciences

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 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.