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Student Opportunities

Graduate School (Part I)

What to Look for in a Graduate School


1. Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) is essential
To be assured that you will be eligible for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in both the Master's and Doctoral degrees in Speech-Language Pathology from ASHA, you must attend a CAA-accredited program. "CAA” stands for the Council on Academic Accreditation. This council approves the curriculum, practicum experiences, staffing, etc., for the programs they accredit.

2. Are both master's and doctoral degrees offered at the school(s) you are considering?
A program that offers both levels of graduate degrees may place its primary emphasis on the doctoral program. This means senior faculty may not teach Master’s level classes or that this program has a heavy research emphasis. Sometimes the doctoral students may teach Master’s level classes. On the other hand, more equipment and a more diverse client population for practicum experiences may be available in this type of program.

3. Faculty expertise and interests
Find the names of the faculty members for the graduate program you’re interested in by checking ASHA’s Guide to Graduate Education. Have you heard of any of the faculty members who teach in this program? Have you read in class something they’ve written? Have you heard them present a paper? Do they have specialized interests which match something you might be interested in knowing more about? Do they participate in listserv discussions on the Internet? Do any of the CSD faculty know these faculty members that they could tell you something about them?

4. Financial opportunities
Check with the financial aid office at each university to determine what scholarships and assistantships are available. Also consider student loans. Ask for a packet of financial aid information. Study it carefully to determine which awards you may be eligible to receive.

The Speech Language Pathology and Audiology department may have grants and assistantships available through the department. Check to see how many and for what amounts may be available. Also ask if first year MA students are eligible for department financial aid.

If you work to support your education, consider the amount of hours you must work to earn enough to live on and pay your university fees. Be sure to allow enough time for study and clinical work. The practicum experiences require more time because you will have more clients to serve. Check to see when the majority of courses are offered when planning your work schedule. Courses may be scheduled in the evening for seminars and clinical practicum may be earlier in the morning. Carefully check the demands of the courses and practicum and compare those demands to the number of hours you must work to support yourself. If you work more than 15-20 hours per week, you should consider taking a reduced academic load. Would that university allow flexible scheduling?

5. Practicum experience

Consider and ask:

  • What kind of practicum experiences are offered?
  • How many practicum experiences are in the school's speech-language-hearing clinic? Will you be paired with another Master's student? Undergraduate student? How many clients can you expect to work with each semester?
  • Are there specialized practicum experiences such as a preschool language classroom, hearing impaired classroom, adult communication group: neurologically impaired?
  • What off campus practicum experiences are available? What is the diversity of the setting, such as regular hospital, specialized hospital (rehab or children's, agencies, schools, specialized settings (extended care facilities), private practice opportunities.
  • Is there diversity in the population you will work with clinically: age, race, gender, type of disorder. Can you meet the ASHA required clinical experiences on campus or will you need to rely on meeting these through your off campus practicum and externship experiences?
  • Will the Director of the Clinic ensure that you will receive the ASHA required diversity in the clients or do you need to take that responsibility? This is a good question to ask the students when you visit.
  • Does the school have opportunities for you to specialize or gain clinical skills with population(s) that you think you want to work with in the future? For example, does the school offer a gerontology certificate? Early childhood practicum? Educational audiology?
  • Who are the supervisors? Faculty? Clinic Staff? Graduate Students?

6. Visit the universities you are most interested in attending.
The best time to visit is at the end of your junior year or the summer/fall before you intend to apply to graduate school. Make an appointment to talk with the departmental Graduate Student Advisor or Chairperson of the Department. Ask to see the clinic and classroom/lab areas. If possible, talk with some of the students. Pay attention to how everyone treats you. Do they seem interested in you? For example, do they ask you about your interests? Do the students seem happy, busy and willing to share information with you? Are the students enthused about their academic and clinic experiences? Is that university someplace you want to spend the next two years? Would you want to spend time with the people you met? What other opportunities does the university and/or the city it is in offer? Is it in a city with many cultural and recreational outlets? Is the university large enough to have a variety of events and groups to enjoy? Is there a theater? Dance program? A variety of music groups? Outside entertainers and lecturers who come to the campus? Sports events? What are the housing opportunities? How will you travel to the university? Is parking a consideration?

IPFW is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access University.