How to Apply

Master of Science Degree Requirements

Students seeking a master’s degree in communication disorders and sciences (CDS) must complete the prescribed academic and practica requirements. The master’s program is offered full-time via residential delivery and the expected timeframe for program completion is 2-years (seven consecutive terms).

The completion of the CDS master’s degree allows students to fulfill the requirements for:

• ASHA certification
• Knowledge and Skills Acquisition (KASA) and program competencies
• Oregon state licensure

Practicum Experience

To ensure all our students receive in-depth clinical training and experience in addition to course work, students are required to complete practicum experiences each term at the University Speech Language Hearing Center (UOSLHC) and in a variety of off-campus sites.

Graduate students provide intervention and evaluation services to children and adults with communication and cognitive disorders in the University of Oregon HEDCO Clinic and partnering community sites.

Students are supervised by faculty members who hold the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from ASHA and who are licensed by the state. Students rotate through immersion clinics to gain experiences across ASHA competencies, the life span, and with diverse populations.

Faculty supervise in their areas of expertise including early intervention, school-age speech language and social communication, acquired brain injury, acquired speech and language disorders, alternative and augmentative communication, fluency, and voice.

The CDS program uses CHARTR (Charting Rational Treatment), which is an explicit model for clinical decision-making developed at the University of Oregon Speech-Language-Hearing Center. It provides a method to improve systematic training for student clinicians by making the clinical process more concrete and increasing the consistency of supervisor training and feedback.

It is important that clinicians provide clear, rational explanations for their decisions based on the best available research evidence and current theory. Evidence-based practice (EBP) encourages clinicians to integrate research evidence and current theory with a client’s values and preferences using their clinical expertise and experience.

Externships

During the second year, students participate in two full-time externships, typically one in an educational setting and one in a medical setting.

Placement opportunities include public and private schools, early intervention, outpatient clinics, hospitals, home health settings, and skilled nursing facilities. Students are placed in all areas of the state of Oregon and in sites across the country.

Practice Project

Equivalent to a thesis, master’s students complete an evidence-based practice project. All students identify a clinical technique or procedure that interests them during their second year, and then apply it to an appropriate client. This project includes a literature review analyzing the evidence supporting the target intervention or procedure and a comparison of the research findings to their own clinical outcomes.

Two resulting products will be prepared:

1. Formal written paper
2. Oral presentation to students, faculty, and community members

In addition to program requirements, students must also meet all requirements established by the Division of Graduate Studies.

Students should also familiarize themselves thoroughly with the ASHA Membership and Certification Handbook, which details academic and clinical clock hour requirements.

Finally, students must take the PRAXIS II exam in Speech-Language Pathology prior to or shortly after graduation as a requirement for ASHA certification and TSPC licensure.

Language Requirement: MS Degree

There is no language requirement for the master of science (MS) and professional master’s degrees.

Program Plan

In addition to the following courses, ASHA requires course work in statistics, biological and/or physical sciences (e.g., chemistry, physics, astronomy, geology, etc.), behavioral/social sciences, and basic communication processes.

Degree Plan

First Year Courses - Total Credits: 57

Fall Term - Total Credits: 14

Winter Term - Total Credits: 15

Spring Term - Total Credits: 16

Summer Term - Total Credits: 12

Second Year Courses - Total Credits: 45

Fall Term - Total Credits: 13

Winter Term - Total Credits: 16

Choose one of the following tracks:

Medical Externship

Student Teaching

Spring Term - Total Credits: 16

Choose one of the following tracks:

Medical Externship

Student Teaching