Speech Language Pathology

Communication Sciences Disorders is both an academic department and a professional preparatory program with a dual focus on academic and clinical education. Graduates of CSD graduate level degree programs are qualified for professional positions in private and public clinical settings and in academic settings. The overall mission of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders is to provide a high-quality, student-focused education that prepares students to be ethical, engaged, compassionate, and accomplished professionals.

Our clinic mirrors our academic programs in terms of excellence and strength and is a vital and critical component of our programs; this is the training ground for our student clinicians. We offer a wide range of speech-language pathology and audiology services to clients of every age and provide our students with an excellent foundation of clinical knowledge and skills.

The Master’s Degree in Speech-language Pathology (MS in SLP) is a two-year degree program (six semesters with a summer start). This degree consists 40 hours of academic credit hours, 18 clinical credit hours, and the completion of one of the following degree options: comprehensive exams, an independent study, or master’s thesis.

In the SLP program, graduate student clinicians typically participate in four semesters of on-campus Clinic courses.  As students proceed through on-campus clinical education experiences and demonstrate proficiency in clinical competencies, they become eligible for part-time off-campus clinical experiences in conjunction with their last three semesters of on-campus practica. The culminating clinical experience for SLP graduate student clinicians is the completion of two, ten-week off-campus practica (one in an educational setting and one in a medical setting) in their final semester.  Upon graduation, students should demonstrate mastery of the clinical competencies necessary for practice as an independent beginning professional in the post-graduate Clinical Fellowship.

University Admission Requirements

A student applying to a master's program must:

• have earned a four-year bachelor's degree or its equivalent from a college or university that is accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting association, or do so within one academic year
• if accepted, present official transcripts from each college or university other than Illinois State at which graduate, undergraduate, or non-degree credit was earned. Transcripts can be emailed from the university to Admissions@IllinoisState.edu or mailed in a sealed envelope to: Office of Admissions, 201 Hovey Hall, Campus Box 2200, Normal, IL 61790-2200

International students can learn more about specific application requirements by visiting the Office of Admissions.

Additional Program Admission Requirements

A student applying to this program must have:

• A minimum GPA of 3.0 on the last 60 hours of coursework
• Submit three professional letters of recommendations (CSDCAS)
• Essays (CSDCAS)
• Video Clips (CSDCAS)
• Resume (CSDCAS)

CSDCAS Application

A student applying to this program must complete an application through Communication Sciences and Disorders Centralized Application Service (CSDCAS), submit all required documentation to this platform, and pay the CSDCAS payment.

Note: this application opens each year on August 1.

•  Request that official transcripts from all institutions attended be sent to CSDCAS
• Complete all required sections in CSDCAS, including:
• Uploading a resume
• Responding to all ISU specific questions/prompts
• Requesting 3 professional letters of recommendation
• After you submit your CSDCAS application, you will receive an email from Illinois State about 24 hours after you submit your CSDCAS application with the next steps. Once you do, create your Illinois State University (ILSTU) account from the instructions to review your application status.

Application Deadline

Summer Term -  Application deadline is January 15th (10:59PM CST)
Applications must be completed and verified by this date/time which means applicants should have submitted the CSDCAS application and sent all transcripts to CSDCAS at least two weeks prior to this date to ensure adequate time for verification to occur.

Graduate Assistantship Information

The University provides graduate assistantships as a means of financial support. They are intended as a way to facilitate a student's progress to degree while providing important professional development.

Eligibility

To be eligible for an assistantship a student must, generally,

• be admitted unconditionally as a degree-seeking student into a graduate academic program, or have a minimum of 120 undergraduate hours if in an integrated degree program
• be in good-standing
• be enrolled full-time (typically at least 9 credit hours during the fall or spring semesters, or at least 6 hours during the summer session).

Benefits

Graduate assistants receive

• monthly wages paid in the form of either a stipend or an hourly wage
• a waiver for 100% of tuition during a semester of appointment
• a waiver for up to 12 credit hours of tuition for the summer term immediately following a fall or spring appointment

Cost & Funding

See Student Accounts for information on tuition and fees. Funding for graduate students is available from several different sources. Students who have been admitted from contiguous states including Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin will receive in-state tuition.

Graduate Coordinator