Required courses
View suggested course planning for the Speech Pathology undergraduate degree in the Course Catalog.
Speech pathology and audiology
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are health care professionals who assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults. A master’s degree in speech-language pathology is required to work independently, and the master’s program includes both academic coursework and extensive clinical training.
Degree pathway and resources
- Meet with peer and staff Exploratory Advisors in the Exploratory Advising Center, PSAC 405 for your major requirements and academic course planning to become familiar with your program requirements. To schedule your appointment, please visit the Exploratory advising website.
- The ASHA website, Planning Your Education in Communication Sciences and Disorders, provides an overview of the degree and clinical preparation necessary for a career in speech-language pathology.
- EdFind is ASHA's online directory for undergraduate and graduate degree programs in communication sciences and disorders (CSD). Students can search for CAA-accredited master’s programs in speech-language pathology on the basis of general and special features, such as:
- Multicultural or bilingual emphasis
- Entire degree online
- Prerequisites not required for admission
- Students can also find information about prerequisite requirements based on the Council for Clinical Certification in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CFCC) standards.
- In general, prerequisites for master’s programs in speech-language pathology include coursework in statistics, the biological sciences, physical sciences (either physics or chemistry), and social/behavioral sciences.
- Use EdFind to identify online programs and identify additional coursework required before applying to a master’s program in speech-language pathology.
- Meet with staff Pre-Professional Advisors in the Pre-Professional Advising Center to assist you in your application preparation, review and submission of your materials.
FAQs – What are students asking?
Shadowing or observations are not required as part of the application for most programs. Admissions committees may like to see that a student has explored the profession, but shadowing is generally not a requirement for the application.
Students can use EdFind to check application requirements for programs, and it is recommended that they check each program’s website for any recent updates to the requirements.
- This varies by state. See ASHA’s State-by-State webpage for a summary of state education and training requirements for SLPAs.
- Read more about SLPAs on ASHA’s Practice Portal page on Speech-Language Pathology Assistants. To keep updated on the ASHA Assistants Certification Program, visit the CFCC webpage for SLPAs.