The Graduate School offers a Master of Science in Communicative Disorders for speech-language pathology majors.  The program is administered through the Division of Speech-Language Pathology, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine. 

The Speech-Language Pathology program offers a unique opportunity to pursue a Master of Science degree to students with and without an undergraduate degree in speech-language pathology.  The program includes two phases.  Applications from students without a background in speech-language pathology will be submitted automatically to the Preparatory phase of the program.  Applications from students who currently hold a Bachelors' degree in speech-language pathology will be submitted automatically to the core phase of the program.  The program leading to a Master of Science degree for Speech Pathology undergraduate degree majors is a full time five-semester sequence beginning each year in the fall semester.

The Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) accredits the Speech-Language Pathology Program.  Graduating students will be eligible to apply for the Certificate of Clinical Competence by ASHA if all requirements are fulfilled. Students may also be eligible for Kentucky State Teaching Certification in speech-language pathology. The Teacher Certification Program by which speech pathology students prepare for school therapy positions is certified by the National Council for Accreditation for Teacher Education. Additional coursework may be required to be eligible for ASHA or teaching certification.

The program operates its own teaching clinics, the University of Louisville Speech-Language Pathology Center and faculty practice locations.  In addition, the program has cooperative arrangements with more than thirty schools, agencies, hospitals, and practice groups in the Kentuckiana region.

Admission Procedures

Speech Pathology: Applicants should have a cumulative undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and combined Verbal and Quantitative scores on the Graduate Record Examination of at least 900. At least three letters of recommendation should accompany the application. A formal interview may be required. The applicant should read and meet the general requirements for admission to the Graduate School.

Degree Requirements

Candidates for the Master of Science degree in speech pathology must complete at least 54 credit hours at the graduate level, exclusive of credits related to the completion of a (optional) master's thesis, courses required to complete ASHA certification requirements, and/or course work related to Kentucky State Teacher Certification.

Please refer to the section on Academic Standing in this catalog entitled "academic probation" concerning dismissal/retention in the program.

Pass/Fail Option

In general, students in Speech Pathology may not choose the pass/fail option. Certain courses may be offered with this option at the discretion of the faculty.

Comprehensive Examinations

Students in Speech-Language Pathology will take an eight-hour written comprehensive examination followed by a forty-five minute oral comprehensive examination during their last semester of study. The completion of a master's thesis is encouraged, but is optional. Thesis students will take at least one statistics course above the introductory level. Thesis students will take a comprehensive oral examination that will focus primarily, but not exclusively, on the thesis work itself.

These examinations must be completed at least five weeks prior to the completion of the student's graduate program. The student is responsible for becoming familiar with the consequences of failure on the written or oral examinations. This information is available in the student academic policy manual.

Clinical Practicum

The American Speech Language Hearing Association requires a minimum of 400 clock hours of supervised clinical practicum in speech pathology to be eligible for certification. Twenty clock hours must be in the student's minor area and 325 of the 400 hours must be at the graduate level.  All students must have had 25 hours of observation.  If they were obtained at the undergraduate level, they are not repeated.  The student may spend the last 8 weeks of the program at a clinical site outside the Louisville area.

Certain prerequisites and standards apply to the clinical practicum component of the program, including minimum course work requirements, mandatory readings, observations, case report formats, and grading criteria. This information is available in the program office and it is the student's responsibility to become acquainted with these requirements prior to enrolling in clinical practicum.

Falling below a 3.0 average in practicum for two consecutive semesters will result in dismissal from the program. Practicum assignments are made at the faculty's discretion and with the service needs of the clinic in mind. All practicum work done outside of the main program must be given prior approval by the clinical director.

For more detailed information regarding the graduate program in Communicative Disorders, please write: Program Chair, Division of Speech-Language Pathology, Myers Hall, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky 40292 or telephone (502) 852-5274.

Preparatory Phase

Fall Semester

CMDS 545: Survey of Communication Disorders (3)
CMDS 564: Normal Speech and Language Development (3)
CMDS 565: Language Acquisition Laboratory (1)
CMDS 573: Anatomy & Physiology for Communicative Sciences (4) *
AUDI 604: Essential Techniques in Audiometry (3)

Spring Semester

CMDS 563: Clinical Phonetics (4)
AUDI 621: Audiologic Rehabilitation (3) (odd years), or,
AUDI 638: Communication Evaluation and Training in the Pediatric Population (3) (even years)
CMDS 570: Clinical Observation (1)
EDSP 540: Introduction to Exceptional Children (3) (teacher certification)
LING 522 : Structure of Modern American English (3)

Summer Semester (Optional)

ELFH 600: Introductions to Research Methods and Statistics (3) (graduate credit will be granted for an approved undergraduate course)
EDSP 637: Collaborative Transdisciplinary Collaboration for Inclusion (3) (teacher certification)

Core Phase

Fall I

CMDS 572: Anatomy & Physiology for Communicative Sciences (4)
CMDS 661: Assessment of Childhood Language Disorders (3)
CMDS 620: Neurological Disorders of Speech Production (3)
CMDS 602: Articulation and Phonology (3)
CMDS 570: Clinical Observation in Speech Pathology (1)
CMDS 611: Practicum: Speech Pathology (1)
CMDS 671: Clinical Methods in Speech Language Pathology (1)

Spring I

CMDS 667: Aphasia and Cognitive Disorders (4)
CMDS 663: Voice Disorders (4)
CMDS 612: Preschool Language Intervention (3)
CMDS 652: School Age Language and Phonology Intervention (3)
CMD S 611: Practicum: Speech Pathology (1)

Summer I

CMDS 696: Augmentative & Alternative Communication (3)
CMDS 690: Dysphagia (3)
CMDS 611: Practicum: Speech Pathology (2)
ELFH 600: Introduction to Research Methods and Statistics  (3)(graduate credit will be granted for an approved undergraduate course)
EDSP 637: Transdisciplinary Collaboration for Inclusion (3)(teacher certification)

Fall II

CMDS 611: Practicum: Speech Pathology (3)
AUDI 604: Essential Techniques in Audiometery (3)
CMDS 699: Thesis (thesis option)
ELFH 600: Introduction to Research Methods and Statistics (3) (graduate credit will be granted for an approved undergraduate course)
OBIO 501: Biomedical Data Analysis: Experimental Design and Statistics or an approved advanced statistics course (3) (thesis option)
CMDS 665: Fluency Disorders (3)
CMDS 695: Special Topics in Speech and Language Disorders (3)

Spring II

CMDS 668: Professional Issues in Audiology and Speech Pathology (1)
CMDS 611: Practicum: Speech Pathology (4)
CMDS 680: Medical Speech Pathology (2)
CMDS 699: Thesis (1-3) (thesis option)
CMDS 610: Practicum: Audiology (1)
ELFH 600: Introduction to Research Methods and Statistics (3) (thesis option)
AUDI 621: Audiologic Rehabilitation (3) (odd years), or,
AUDI 638: Communication Evaluation and Training in the Pediatric Population (3) (even years)
EDSP 540: Introduction to Exceptional Children (3) (teacher certification)