Return to: 4110 Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
The Master of Science (M.S.) degree with a major in Communication Sciences and Disorders prepares speech-language pathologists to work with individuals of all ages who have communication disorders. The Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology accredits the program. It is designed to lead to the Professional Standards Commission licensure at the master’s level, licensure by the Georgia Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, and certification in speech-language pathology by the Council for Clinical Certification of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
Program Admission
Students entering this program must hold a baccalaureate degree in communication disorders or baccalaureate degree in another area and have completed coursework in each of the areas listed below:
- Anatomy and Physiology for Communication
- Audiologic Rehabilitation
- Behavioral or Social Science
- Biological Science
- Exceptional Children and Youth
- Hearing Science and Disorders
- Introduction to Communication Disorders
- Introduction to Language Development
- Statistics
- Phonetics
- Physical Science (Chemistry or Physics)
Students who have not completed study in each of the areas listed above may still gain admission to the program; however, they will be required to complete this coursework as part of the program of study. Such coursework will not substitute for program courses and will not count toward the master’s degree minimum semester hour requirement.
Program Academic Regulations
Upon enrollment in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program students must complete all required courses at Georgia State University. Requests for exceptions to this policy must have prior approval of the Communication Sciences and Disorders faculty.
Students must earn a grade of “B” or higher in all courses in the teaching field/major (B). If students earn a grade below “B” in a course, that course must be repeated. Students will be allowed to repeat a course one time. Students who fail to earn a grade of “B” or higher after taking the course a second time will be scholastically excluded from this major. If students earn a grade below “B” in a practicum experience or earns a grade below “B” in more than one course, the Communication Sciences and Disorders faculty will review the students’ progress in the program to determine if the students will be allowed to continue the program of study.
In addition to the successful completion of academic coursework and a comprehensive portfolio, the students must also accumulate 400 clock hours of supervised clinical experience during practicum experiences to be eligible for graduation. Of the 400 clock hours, no less than 375 must be earned at the graduate level. The distribution of clock hours must comply with the current requirements as contained in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program Student Handbook.
Students who have successfully completed all master’s-degree program requirements as well as the additional coursework requirements described above will be recommended for professional certification. This recommendation is made only at the conclusion of all master’s degree requirements. Students seeking licensure from the State of Georgia must also achieve a passing score on the Praxis II (ASHA) exam for speech pathology before being recommended by Georgia State University. [Georgia will continue to accept results of the Speech and Language Pathology PRAXIS II test administered by ETS with test code 0330 and passing score 600.]
Evaluation of the student’s performance is continuous and involves consideration of the student’s performance in all academic settings. Inappropriate or unprofessional conduct by a student may result in the student being dropped from a course or a program. If such removal from a course is necessary, the student will receive the grade of “F” and may be judged ineligible to re-enroll in the course.
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