The Master of Science (M.S.) degree program in Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) is administered through Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. The M.S.-SLP program provides academic and clinical education leading to the Certificate of Clinical Competence in speech-language pathology (CCC-SLP) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
The program spans two academic years (20 to 24 months). The length of the program depends upon the student’s academic background. The program covers at least five semesters, including the summer session following the first calendar year of full-time study. Students matriculating without a background in communication sciences and disorders will require an extra semester.
Throughout the program, a variety of clinical training venues are available within the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center for Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences, the Monroe Carrell, Jr. Children’s Hospital, the Vanderbilt University Hospital, and off-campus. The M.S.-SLP program culminates in a ten-week clinical or research externship at a site of the student’s choosing.
The curriculum and clinical practica exceed the standards set by the Council for Clinical Certification (CFCC) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Specialty training tracks and elective courses are available to eligible students who have career interests with specialized populations (i.e., children with severe to profound hearing loss, autism spectrum disorders, feeding and swallowing disorders, school-aged language-literacy disorders). Interested students have the option of conducting a research project leading toward a master’s thesis.
Students with academic backgrounds in communication sciences and disorders and related professions, such as biomedical sciences, psychology, counseling, education, and psycholinguistics are encouraged to apply. Applicants for admission must possess GRE scores consistent with Vanderbilt University’s graduate admission standards; an exemplary record of academic achievement and scholarship, a commitment to professionalism, perseverance, and exceptional organizational and time management skills.
The Vanderbilt Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences is committed to recruiting, admitting, and training a diverse student body of future audiologists, speech-language pathologists, educators of the deaf, and researchers. Accordingly, we are continually working to establish and maintain equity and inclusivity in all areas of our educational mission.
Our commitment to embrace and promote diversity, equity, and inclusivity is broad with respect to race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, nationality, disability, and differences, among others. This commitment is founded on our core belief in equality for all humans. Our goal is that our culture and the diversity of our department will reflect the diversity of the nation and the populations that we serve.
Furthermore, we strongly believe that our focus to embrace diversity is a critical element in education that will prepare our future audiologists, speech-language pathologists, educators, and researchers to serve the populations with whom we work in all settings.
The Master of Science (M.S.) education program in speech-language pathology (residential) at Vanderbilt University is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2200 Research Boulevard, #310, Rockville, MD 20850, 800-498-2071 or 301-296-5700.
