Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology

SLP Program

• Communicate effectively with individuals and groups in person, by phone, and in written form while considering the communication needs and cultural values of the listener at a level which will support competent professional practice.
• Communicate proficiently in oral and written English.
• Communicate professionally, effectively, and legibly to meet demands required as part of coursework and during clinical work to ensure patient safety (e.g., scholarly papers, medical records, clinical reports, standardized assessment).
• Perceive and demonstrate appropriate non-verbal communication for culture and context.
• Convey information accurately with relevance and cultural sensitivity.
• Possess sufficient speech/vocal productions for provision of clinical services.

• Sustain necessary physical activity level in required classroom and clinical activities for the defined workday.
• Efficiently manipulate testing and treatment environments, materials, and equipment to complete screening and evaluation protocols and treatment and behavior plans.
• Access technology and equipment for clinical management (e.g., billing, charting, therapy programs), diagnostic testing, and treatment protocols.
• Negotiate patient/client care environments and move between settings such as the classroom, health care facility, educational setting, and community settings.
• Access transportation to attend academic courses and clinical placements.
• Use fine motor skills to perform procedure involving the outer ear and speech mechanisms (e.g., ear canal impressions, otoscopy, hearing aid fittings, oral mechanism exams, swallowing protocols).
• Safely manipulate patient-utilized equipment (e.g., durable medical equipment to include AAC devices, hearing aids).
• Provide a safe environment for others when responding to emergency situations (e.g., fire, choking, or other medical emergencies) and in the application of universal precautions.

• Comprehend, retain, integrate, synthesize, infer, evaluate, and apply large amounts of written and verbal information in a short period of time sufficiently to meet curricular and clinical demands.
• Read, comprehend, record, and interpret information accurately from diagnostic tests, equipment, and patient records to formulate a diagnosis, develop a treatment plan, make independent clinical decisions, and ensure patient safety.
• Generate discipline-specific documents and clinical reports in English.
• Seek relevant case information, synthesize, and apply concepts and information from various sources and disciplines.
• Analyze and solve problems, reason, and make sound clinical judgments in patient assessment, diagnostic, and therapeutic planning and implementation. 
• Accurately identify and communicate limits in one’s own professional knowledge and skills and utilize resources to increase knowledge and skills.
• Use technology to meet requirements of courses and practicum (e.g., internet access, learning management systems, electronic health records).

• Visually and auditorily identify normal and disordered characteristics in the areas of semantics, pragmatics, syntax, morphology, phonology, swallowing, cognition, balance, hearing, and social interaction related to communication.
• Observe patients’ activity and behavior accurately during assessment and treatment procedures.
• Visually monitor client/patient responses and materials.
• Identify and discriminate anatomic structures and imaging findings (e.g., otoscopy, oral mechanism exam, MBSS, FEES).
• Discriminate text, numbers, tables, and graphs associated with diagnostic instruments and tests.
• Accurately monitor, through both visual and auditory modalities, materials and equipment used for assessment and treatment of patients.
• Recognize and interpret when a client’s family/caregiver does or does not understand the clinician’s written and/or verbal communication.

• Comply with administrative, legal, and regulatory policies, including upholding the ASHA Code of Ethics.
• Demonstrate respect for individual, social, and cultural differences in fellow students, faculty, staff, patients, and patients’ families during clinical and academic interactions.
• Maintain adequate physical and mental health and self-care such that the health and safety of self and others in the academic and clinical settings is not jeopardized.
• Maintain adequate physical and mental health and self-care to access and participate in a variety of educational and clinical settings/activities.
• Develop and maintain professional relationships with clients/patients, fellow students, and colleagues.
• Demonstrate flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing situations and uncertainty (which includes maintaining professional demeanor and emotional health) in academic, clinical, and community settings.
• Conduct oneself in a mature, empathetic, and effective professional manner by exhibiting compassion, honesty, integrity, professionalism, and concern for others in an ethical and legal manner in all interactions and situations.
• Maintain regular attendance and meet responsibilities within designated timelines.
• Manage time effectively to complete professional and technical tasks within constraints.
• Accept feedback (e.g., suggestions, constructive criticism) and modify behavior accordingly.
• Maintain appropriate and professional appearance for varied clinical and academic environments.
  
  

• failing to maintain a semester graduate GPA of 3.0.
• earning a grade of D, F, “fail”, or “no credit” in any course
• failing to complete an individualized student support plan when required to remediate Learning Outcomes.

• Individual tutoring with a program faculty member.
• Individual tutoring with a student who is performing well in the program.
• Auditing courses.
• Repeating courses or clinical experiences.
• Participating in faculty-directed group or individual study.
• Preparing a research paper or project.
• Completing reading assignments pertinent to areas needing remediation.

• violating the academic and/or non-academic misconduct policies of the School of Health Professions.
• failing to achieve a semester GPA of 3.0 while on academic probation.
• failing to earn a grade of C or better when repeating a course in which the student previously earned a grade of D or F.
• failing to successfully complete remediation as established by the program.
• meeting the conditions of academic probation for a third semester.
• failing comprehensive examination remediation

1. Maintain a realistic daily schedule which allows sufficient time to manage patient assignments.
2. Determine if your clinic assignments are sufficient to meet your clinical clock hour requirements.
3. Schedule patients during regular operating hours subsequent to obtaining the supervisor’s permission.
4. Maintain all clinical fees, hours, and records as specified in the clinic handbook.
5. Attend all clinic meetings, supervisory appointments, and other professional activities (e.g., staffings and extracurricular departmental presentations).
6.  Secure all equipment, files, tests, rooms, and buildings used.
7. Fulfill all assignments issued by a Clinical Director.
8. Solicit constructive criticism from the clinical educator(s).
9. Incorporate constructive criticism provided by the clinical educator(s)
10. Behave in a professional manner when interacting with clinical educators, patients, other professionals, and caregivers (e.g., parents).
11. Obtain formal permission from the supervisor(s) prior to implementation of any communication with a patient or his or her caregiver(s) or the initiation of any clinical management (e.g., therapy, referral, dismissal from therapy, cancellation of a scheduled clinical session, assessment results and/or recommendations, etc.)
    
    

• Completion of required coursework culminating in a graduate degree from a program accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
• Skills in oral and written communication and demonstrated knowledge of ethical standards, research principles, and current professional and regulatory issues.
• Practicum experiences that encompass the breadth of the current scope of practice with both adults and children resulting in a minimum of 400 clock hours of supervised practicum (at least 375 at the graduate level).
• A clinical fellowship completed under the direction of a mentoring speech-language pathologist who holds a current Certificate of Clinical Competence.

Enrollment

Committee

• Case studies (choosing a client in the clinic or in the community)
• Replication study
• Chart review
• Descriptive study
• Experimental design

Expectations

• The thesis will include 5 chapters including an introduction, literature review, methods, results, and discussion.
• Students will decide to complete a thesis in lieu of comprehensive exams during their first fall semester. All students MUST defend by Spring Break of their final spring semester. See a tentative timeline below.
• The student must distribute the first 3 chapters (introduction, literature review, methods) 2 weeks prior to the prospectus meeting to each committee member. These chapters must be completed and in final form (see Prospectus Meeting below for  more details).
• The student may not under any circumstances begin data collection or data analysis prior to the prospectus meeting.
• The student is expected to schedule regular meetings with each committee member throughout the process.
• The student must schedule a meeting with the program director once a thesis chair has been selected.

Proposal/Prospectus Meeting

Oral Defense

Format and style

Grading

Each enrollment in thesis will be graded on a Pass/Fail basis.

Tentative Timeline

• Choose to complete a thesis
• Identify a thesis chair
• Begin exploring possible topics
• By early November, register for at least 1 hour of thesis course for spring

• Identify possible committee members
• Schedule meetings with each committee member
• Finalize research questions
• Schedule a meeting with Michelle Broselow to establish proper formatting for chapters
• Write introduction, literature review, and methods
• Register for 1-3 hours of thesis course for summer

• Complete IRB paperwork, if applicable
• Register for 1-3 hours of thesis course for fall

• Complete data analyses
• Write the Results chapter
• Begin writing the Discussion chapter
• Register for 1-3 hours of thesis course for summer
  
  

• Create any necessary tables, figures, appendices
• Schedule and complete Oral defense before spring break
• Schedule meeting with Michelle Broselow
• Submit final document to ETD (Electronic Theses and Dissertaions)

Thesis Committee Selection Form

Date:

Student’s Full Legal Name:                                                    R#:

Thesis committee must include a minimum of three members, not to exceed five members including the chair.

By signing, I agree to be an active member on _________________________’s committee through completion of the oral defense. 

Signatures

Prospectus

Date:

Student’s Full Legal Name:                                                                R#:

Title of Thesis: _______________________________________

By signing, I agree that ____________________ has successfully defended the first three chapters (introduction, literature review, methods) and is approved to begin data collection and analysis.

Signatures

Oral Defense

Date:

Student’s Full Legal Name:                                                                R#:

Title of Thesis: _______________________________________

By signing, I agree that ___________________ has successfully defended his/her thesis and has made all edits as requested by the committee.

Signatures

Completion of Degree Requirements Form   
          

• Thesis
•  Prospectus
• Oral defense

                        Title:      

Signatures

________________________________________ ___________________________________________

Graduate Student                                    Date                                   Committee Chairperson                     Date

________________________________________  

Committee Member                           Date                   

________________________________________  

Committee Member                           Date                     

________________________________________  

Committee Member                           Date                     

*The following signatures are ONLY required for the Thesis Oral Defense:

_________________________________________

*Department Chair                               Date                    

___________________________________________________

*Dean of the School of Health Professions       Date

Speech-Language Pathology Flowcharts

Academic Probation Flowchart

SLP Academic/Clinical Course Concerns Flowchart

SLP Comprehensive Examinations Flowchart

SLP KASA Learning Outcomes Flowchart