Master of Science

Program Description

The graduate program of the Department of Communication Disorders is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. The Department of Communication Disorders offers a Master of Science degree. Communication Disorders majors at the graduate level follow a prescribed program leading to eligibility for national certification in Speech-Language Pathology by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and licensure by the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. Students wishing to be eligible for West Virginia certification as public school speech-language pathologists must also meet the requirements for such certification.

Admissions

Admission Requirements

Program/Degree Requirements

A minimum of 33 graduate credit hours of academic coursework is required in addition to clinical practicum. All practicum necessary to complete certification requirements must be completed prior to graduation. Minimum practicum requirements include 12 graded academic hours plus 6 CR/NC hours (excluding CD 672/673). Students who apply for clinical practicum assignments are expected to fulfill the responsibilities of these assignments for the full semester. Students who fail to do so may not be assured of future assignments.

The student and advisor will develop a Plan of Study or blueprint for graduation requirements. The Plan of Study must be on file in the Graduate College office before the student registers for the 12th semester hour.

The Speech-Language Pathology specialty area exam of the ETS Praxis Series (NESPA) serves as the comprehensive examination required for all students. A score of 620 or better is considered passing. In addition to the comprehensive examination, a candidate who writes a thesis will be required to pass an oral examination on the thesis.

Students should consult the department chair, their Communication Disorders academic advisor, and the clinic handbook regarding all academic and clinical requirements and standards specific to the program

Curriculum

CD 601	Introduction to Graduate Studies	3
CD 622	Phonological Processes & Disorders	3
CD 570	Clinical Practicum I	3
CD 624	Foundations in Neurogenic Communication & Swallowing Disorders	3
CD 629	Child Language Disorders: School Age/Adolescent	3
CD 660	Special Populations: Clinical Observations	3
CD 571	Clinical Practicum II	3
CD 628	Child Language Disorders: Infant/Preschool	3
CD 691	Motor Speech & Swallowing Disorders	3
CD 625	Acquired Aphasia	3
CD 630	Cognitive Communication Disorders	3
CD 670/671	Advanced Clinical Practicum I/II	6
CD 620	Communication Disorders Related to Cleft Palate & Voice	3
CD 623	Fluency Disorders	3
CD 672/673	Clinical Practicum in the Schools	6
TOTAL	Degree Semester Hours:	57

Graduate Specialization Requirements

Student Outcome Data ( August - July )

	2012	2011	2010	2009
# Passing Comps	24/24 (100%)	23/23 (100%)	9/9 (100%)	11/11 (100%)
# Completed Program	24/24 (100%)	23/23 (100%)	9/10 (90%)	11/12 (91%)
# Employed after Graduation	24/24 (100%)	23/23 (100%)	9/9 (100%)	11/11 (100%)

Financial Aid

Graduate Assistantships

The Department of Communication Disorders (CD) offers a limited number of graduate assistantships (GA's) each year that include a tuition benefit and stipend. GA's in the CD program are awarded half-time assistantships which includes a partial tuition benefit and a stipend (10 hours' work per week). As a practice, the department does not award full time assistantships requiring a 20 hours of work per week due to heavy curricular and clinic demands.

Graduate assistants provide support to the department in a number of ways, which could include but are not limited to:

• Assisting in the Marshall University Speech and Hearing Center (MUSHC)
• Assisting faculty with teaching undergraduate classes, or scholarly research
• Teaching undergraduate sign language class
• Assisting non-academic units with service/administrative duties that are unrelated to teaching a class or conducting scholarly research

The CD Department is fortunate to have Graduate Assistantship stipends made available through outside funding sources. Current funding sources are:

• St. John's House after school program in cooperation with St. John's Episcopal Church
• Luke Lee Listening, Language, and Learning Lab
• The Kristin McComis Parsons Memorial Graduate Assistant Award established by LinguaCare Associates, Inc.

Scholarships

Students in the department are eligible to apply for the following scholarships:

• The Scottish Rite of Freemasonry Foundation Scholarship established by the West Virginia Scottish Rite of Freemasonry Foundation, Inc
• The Stephanie Dyer Memorial Scholarship established by the Dyer family
• West Virginia Speech, Language and Hearing Association Scholarship

Average scholarship awards are $500-$1,000 however award amounts will vary annually.