Overview of MA (SLP) Program

The MA program at Indiana University provides a broad exposure to students in all areas of the field, while giving students the opportunity to specialize in areas of particular interest. To be awarded the MA degree, students must complete at least 36 credit hours of graduate course work. In speech-language pathology, this course work will include five required courses designed to establish the theoretical and research foundations for clinical course work, together with elective courses focusing on assessment and treatment of speech, voice, and language disorders, across the age span.

Course work will be accompanied by a clinical practicum each semester. Practicum sites include the Indiana University clinics, as well as off-campus sites in and around Bloomington. In addition to clinical experience in diagnosis and treatment of childhood and adult communication disorders, the practicum includes a weekly seminar in which important clinical issues are presented and discussed.

The MA program is designed to be completed in two years for students with undergraduate degrees (BA or BS) in speech and hearing sciences or communication disorders, in a typical sequence of fall, spring, summer, and fall semesters on campus, followed by a spring of off-campus clinical externships. Most students with the appropriate undergraduate backgrounds graduate at the end of the second spring semester. Students who enter the program without undergraduate degrees in the field may have a different program sequence, depending on how many prerequisite classes they need to take. Students with few prerequisites should plan on completing the M.A. program in three years.

The MA program is accredited by the Council of Academic Accrediation through 2017. Once finishing the clinical fellowship year, students are then eligible for the Certificate of Clinical competency and can obtain licensure in all 50 states in the US, including Washington DC. Some of the states in which graduates are working are Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, New York, Massachussets, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Nebraska.