Program Objectives
The academic courses and clinical opportunities prepare students to address speech, language, and swallowing disorders across the lifespan in both medical and educational environments. Emphasis is placed on evidence-based practice with sensitivity to cultural and linguistic diversity. This program is designed to meet all academic and practicum requirements for clinical certification from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
Accreditation
The Master of Science (MS) program in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center 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, Maryland 20850, 800-498-2071 or 301-296-5700. (Latest accreditation period: June 1, 2022 - May 31, 2030)
Admissions
The UTHSC Program utilizes the Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders Centralized Application Service https://www.capcsd.org/. Prospective applicants may apply by accessing the Speech-Language Pathology Applicant website at https://csdcas.liaisoncas.com.
Requirements for Admission
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university.
- A minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the Bachelor’s Degree.
- Admissions essay.
- Three letters of recommendation preferably from 3 professors who had the student in class.
- GRE scores will be considered if submitted, but they are optional.
- Foreign applicants whose native language is not English must submit results of TOEFL with a minimum score of 550.
Transfer of Credit
Up to the 30 of the 75 total academic semester hours required for the Master’s degree may be transferred from undergraduate degrees from UT or another institution on the basis of knowledge and skills gained and with the recommendation of the academic advisor and approval of the chair / program director.
A maximum of 15 semester hours of graduate-level academic work and 5 semester hours of clinical practicum taken at the graduate level required for the Master’s degree may be transferred from work completed at an ASHA CAA accredited institution. Such work must have been taken for graduate credit and passed with a grade of B or better and be part of an otherwise satisfactory graduate program. Official transcripts must be received by the Chair of the Department directly from the appropriate institutions before any transfer of credit will be approved. All transfer hours must be approved by the Department and then entered into the transcript by the Registrar’s office.
Health Requirements
Speech-Language Pathology students are required to show proof of current health insurance prior to enrollment. Students are required to be immunized against the Hepatitis B virus and to have an annual skin test for Tuberculosis. Information about meeting these requirements is presented via email prior to the first day of class and, again, during orientation. Some clinical education sites require affiliating Speech-Language Pathology students to have one or more of the following: rubella titer or vaccine, general physical examination. Students are responsible for these costs.
Technical Standards
In order to be considered for national certification or state licensure, Speech-Language Pathology students must have or acquire certain essential skills, functions and professional attitudes and behavior as described in the Technical Standards document. All students who enroll must be prepared to understand and abide by these requirements. Information about meeting these requirements is presented during orientation.
In order to acquire the knowledge and skills requisite to the practice of audiology or speech-language pathology, to function in a broad variety of clinical situations, and to render a wide spectrum of patient care, individuals must have skills and attributes in five areas: communication, motor, intellectual-cognitive sensory-observational, and behavioral-social. These skills enable a student to meet graduate and professional requirements as measured by state licensure and national certification. Many of these skills can be learned and developed during the course of the graduate program through coursework and clinical experience. The starred items (*), however, are skills that are more inherent and should be present when a student begins the program.
Communication
A student must possess adequate communication skills to:
- Communicate proficiently in both oral and written English language. (Language to be determined by program.)*
- Possess reading and writing skills sufficient to meet curricular and clinical demands.*
- Perceive and demonstrate appropriate non-verbal communication for culture and context.*
- Modify communication style to meet the communication needs of clients, caregivers, and other persons served. *
- Communicate professionally and intelligibly with patients, colleagues, other healthcare professionals, and community or professional groups.
- Communicate professionally, effectively, and legibly on patient documentation, reports, and scholarly papers required as a part of course work and professional practice.
- Convey professional information accurately with relevance and cultural sensitivity.
Motor
A student must possess adequate motor skills to:
- Sustain necessary physical activity level in required classroom and clinical activities.*
- Respond quickly to provide a safe environment for clients in emergency situations including fire, choking, etc.*
- Access transportation to clinical and academic placements.*
- Participate in classroom and clinical activities for the defined workday.*
- Efficiently manipulate testing and treatment environment and materials without violation of testing protocol and with best therapeutic practice.
- Manipulate patient-utilized equipment (e.g. durable medical equipment to include AAC devices, hearing aids, etc.) in a safe manner.
- Access technology for clinical management (i.e. billing, charting, therapy programs, etc.).
Intellectual/Cognitive
A student must possess adequate intellectual and cognitive skills to:
- Comprehend, retain, integrate, synthesize, infer, evaluate and apply written and verbal information sufficient to meet curricular and clinical demands.*
- Identify significant findings from history, evaluation, and data to formulate a diagnosis and develop a treatment plan.
- Solve problems, reason, and make sound clinical judgments in patient assessment, diagnostic and therapeutic plan and implementation.
- Self-evaluate, identify, and communicate limits of one’s own knowledge and skill to appropriate professional level and be able to identify and utilize resources in order to increase knowledge.
- Utilize detailed written and verbal instruction in order to make unique and independent decisions.
Sensory/Observational
A student must possess adequate sensory skills of vision, hearing, tactile, and smell to:
- Visually and auditorily identify normal and disordered communication in all areas relevant to professional practice.
- Identify the need for alternative modalities of communication.
- Visualize and identify anatomic structures.
- Identify and discriminate findings on imaging studies.
- Discriminate text, numbers, tables, and graphs associated with diagnostic instruments and tests.
- Recognize when a client’s family does or does not understand the clinician’s written and or verbal communication.
Behavioral/Social
A student must possess adequate behavioral and social attributes to:
- Display mature empathetic and effective professional relationships by exhibiting compassion, integrity, and concern for others.*
- Recognize and show respect for individuals with disabilities and for individuals of different ages, genders, race, religions, sexual orientation, and cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.*
- Conduct oneself in an ethical and legal manner, upholding the ASHA Code of Ethics and university and federal privacy policies.*
- Maintain general good physical and mental health and self-care in order not to jeopardize the health and safety of self and others in the academic and clinical setting.*
- Adapt to changing and demanding environments (which includes maintaining both professional demeanor and emotional health).
- Manage the use of time effectively to complete professional and technical tasks within realistic time constraints.
- Accept appropriate suggestions and constructive criticism and respond by modification of behaviors.
- Dress appropriately and professionally.
Criminal Background Check
A criminal background check is required after acceptance and prior to enrollment. Upon receipt of an adverse criminal background check, an explanation by the student will be required and a decision will be made by the Chair and Dean as to whether the incident(s) would be a problem for the student when seeking internship placements or licensure to practice. Admission may be denied in some cases. Students should be aware that additional criminal background checks along with drug screens and fingerprinting may be required by clinical sites, certification committees, and state licensure boards. Students are responsible for these costs.
Clinical Externships and State Authorization
Full-time clinical externship sites are located in the Knoxville area, throughout Tennessee, and throughout the United States. Due to the limited number of clinical externship sites in Knoxville and other urban areas in Tennessee, students should anticipate the financial impact of traveling and living out of town for their clinical externship education experiences. As described in more detail in the UTHSC distance education portion of the bulletin, state authorization is mandated for any clinical experiences in a facility outside of the state of Tennessee. UTHSC is responsible for securing the necessary authorizations for any out of state experiences to be completed. Students are to work closely with their respective Directors of Clinical Education to ensure the necessary authorizations are in place prior to finalizing any out-of-state education experiences.
Curriculum Summary
The MS in Speech Pathology program typically requires at least six semesters of study for full-time students with undergraduate preparation in the discipline and eight semesters of study for full-time students who hold bachelor’s degrees in other areas. For this reason, most applicants with an undergraduate background in speech pathology will begin the program in year two. Students with a Bachelor’s degree in an area other than communication disorders are eligible to apply for the program, but their program will be extended an additional 2 semesters (fall and spring) of undergraduate coursework prior to graduate level courses. Part-time students are accepted into the MS-SLP program on occasion and time to completion of the program is dependent on their schedules and availability of needed courses and clinical practicum experiences. In order to earn a MS-SLP, satisfactory completion of a minimum of 75 hours in academic coursework and a minimum of 15 hours in clinical practicum are required. (Up to 30 hours of requirements may be waived on the basis of knowledge and skills gained at the undergraduate level or prior to enrollment.)
The following courses are required:
All students are also required to take at least one graduate level class in stuttering (ASP 514 - Stuttering ) and voice (ASP 508 - Voice Disorders or ASP 523 - Advanced Voice Disorders ).
The MS-SLP curriculum also offers the opportunity to complete a thesis in lieu of certain elective courses.
In general, courses are offered one time per calendar year. Professional series in SLP (ASP 590), clinical practicum experiences (e.g., ASP 533 - Advanced Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology , ASP 537 - Advanced Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology: Off-Campus School Sites , and ASP 538 - Advanced Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology: Off-Campus II Medical Sites , and directed research or independent study courses (e.g., ASP 500 - Thesis , ASP 593 - Independent Study ) are offered every term.
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