Communication Sciences and Disorders, M.S.

The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) offers a master's degree in speech-language pathology. The graduate program prepares students to provide preventative, diagnostic and rehabilitative services to persons exhibiting speech, language and swallowing disorders. It is a full-time, on-campus graduate program and features a curriculum that integrates research, evidence-based clinical experiences and a focus on serving diverse populations.  Students benefit from faculty who are teaching courses and supervising in their primary areas of research and clinical interests. The NCCU Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic provides speech, language and hearing evaluations and treatment services for monolingual and bilingual clients from birth through adult age. Additionally, the Department of CSD offers online prerequisite courses needed to apply for admission to most graduate programs in speech-language pathology.

Graduates are eligible to apply for certification by ASHA, for licensure by the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (NCBOESLPA) and for the specialist license issued by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

The academic and clinical components of our master’s program address the following sets of requirements:

• The University’s School of Graduate Studies minimum requirements for the M.S. degree;
• The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders' academic and clinical requirements;
• American Speech–Language–Hearing Association's (ASHA’s) certification requirements for speech-language pathology;
• North Carolina’s state licensure requirements for speech-language pathology;
• North Carolina Department of Public Instruction requirements to practice in public schools;
• The Department of Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders has not made a determination that its curriculum meets the state educational requirements to practice in any other state. Prospective and current students who are non-North Carolina residents should use the following link, https://www.asha.org/advocacy/state/, which provides information regarding state licensure specific to individual states throughout the United States.

The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders requires prerequisite courses in the following areas to address ASHA certification standards IV-B and IV-C for speech-language pathology (NCCU course numbers are provided, and these courses are offered online):

• Anatomy and Physiology (EDSH 5710)
• Aural Rehabilitation (EDSH 5752)
• Introduction to Audiology (EDSH 5751)
• Phonetics (EDSH 5730)
• Scientific Bases of Speech or a similar class that combines speech and hearing science (EDSH 5725)
• Speech and Language Development (EDSH 5700)
• At least 25 clinical observation hours of ASHA-certified speech-language pathologists (SLPs) with valid supporting documentation across a variety of settings (EDU 4810)

ASHA certification standards also require three-credit-hour coursework in the following basic sciences:

• Biological sciences (courses should emphasize a content area related to human or animal sciences, e.g., biology, human anatomy and physiology, genetics, neuroanatomy or neurophysiology)
• Physical sciences (chemistry or physics only)
• Social sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology or public health)
• Statistics (at least a grade of B or grade 3.0)

With the exception of Aural Rehabilitation, each prerequisite course and a minimum of 25 guided observation hours must be completed before a student can enroll in a clinical practicum. Students who have not completed all of the prerequisite courses can be admitted to the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders offers graduate students the opportunity to enhance their professional competencies by specializing in areas of service. Faculty members coordinate these areas of specialization and determine the eligibility criteria and application process.

Upon selection, students participate in distinct educational, professional development or practicum experiences in speech-language pathology to foster their knowledge and skills in a specific area. These areas may require students to complete courses and practicum experiences in addition to the expectations in the typical course sequence. Areas of specialization include:

• The Bilingual specialization provides a combination of specialized coursework and practicum training to address the needs of bilingual or multilingual children and adults with communication disorders.
• A Collaborative Approach to Training Special Educators and Speech-Language Pathologists (CATSS) is a federally funded personnel development grant from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), United States Department of Education, designed to improve the outcomes for children with disabilities such as significant emotional disabilities, communication impairments or autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The purpose is to train graduate scholars in special education (SPED) and speech-language pathology (SLP) to provide evidence-based practices to school-age children with high-intensity needs through an interdisciplinary curriculum.

Upon participating in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, graduates will be able to:

• Provide preventative, diagnostic and rehabilitative services to persons exhibiting speech, language and swallowing disorders according to practices in the profession
• Assess evidence-based information collected through a variety of sources during professional clinical practices
• Provide culturally responsive services to a culturally diverse group of clients and other stakeholders
• Apply ethical and professional behaviors according to adopted standards in the profession
• Exhibit research, advocacy and leadership skills according to commonly accepted practices in the profession

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Note: Applicants must submit two applications: the Centralized Application Service for Communication Science and Disorders (CSDCAS) application and the NCCU online graduate admission application.

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