Admission Requirements

Pre-requisites and Entry Requirements

Applicants to the Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology program should have an undergraduate degree in speech and hearing sciences or a related field.

Students who do not have an undergraduate degree in speech and hearing sciences may be required to complete prerequisite courses. The following courses are considered prerequisites for the Master of Science in speech-language pathology. These courses may be taken prior to applying for admission into Master of Science program. Some courses may be taken concurrently with graduate coursework. Determination of suitability for accelerated leveling will be made on an individual basis.

SPHS 2372 Phonetics
SPHS 3310 Language Acquisition
SPHS 3318 Speech Anatomy and Physiology
SPHS 4334 Audiology 1
SPHS 4342 Audiologic Rehabilitation
SPHS 3314 Speech and Hearing Science
SPHS 4332 Neurology

Students must have taken a physical science (physics or chemistry), a biological science, a statistics and a behavioral science course.

To apply as a post-baccalaureate student in the Department of Speech and Hearing Science, fill out an application for admission on the Apply Texas website. Students should have a minimum 3.0 GPA in their undergraduate degree.

Application Process

We are currently waiving the GRE requirement during the application process.

Apply to the Master of Science program by completing the following two steps:

Go to the Apply Texas website and complete an application. This application includes your biographical, education, and residency information. Please contact Dr. Johanna Boult, SPHS Chair, at slp@lamar.edu regarding a waiver for the application cost.
Go to the to submit your transcript, GRE scores, response to two writing prompts, letters of recommendation, and letter of intent. This application portal opens Aug. 2 and closes Feb. 1 for the annual fall cohort.

Technical Standards and English Proficiency

The American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) has identified several technical standards in the 2007 Technical Standards document. The faculty of the doctoral program at �鶹��Ƶ considers these standards to be of paramount importance to successful study in a clinical doctorate program and for entry level into independent practice in the field of audiology.

Minimum technical standards for students wishing to pursue speech and hearing graduate study at �鶹��Ƶ include:

Critical thinking: All students must possess the intellectual, ethical, physical, and emotional capabilities required to undertake the full curriculum and to achieve the levels of competence required by the faculty. The ability to solve problems, a skill that is critical to the practice of Audiology, requires the intellectual abilities of measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis, and synthesis. Successful graduates of the program must be able to integrate knowledge into practical skills.
Communication skills: A candidate should also be able to speak, to hear, and to observe patients in order to elicit information. The candidate must have a strong command of the English language, evidenced in writing and oral communication.*
Auditory-visual ability: Candidates must also be able to observe a patient accurately by vision and hearing, both at a distance and close at hand without visual cues. This ability requires the functional use of audition and vision.
Mobility and fine motor skills: A candidate should be able to execute movements reasonably required to move from area to area, maneuver in small places, calibrate and use small equipment, and provide patients with general care.
Interpersonal abilities: A candidate must possess the emotional health required for full utilization of his or intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, the prompt completion of all responsibilities required for the diagnosis and care of patients, and the development of mature, sensitive, and effective relationships with patients, families, and colleagues.

In addition to ASHA standards above, we also follow the guidelines of our University. Given the scope of practice in communication disorders, oral English proficiency is considered an essential tool. �鶹��Ƶ's graduate catalog states that "International students whose first language is not English are required to pass an English proficiency test before they may be admitted to candidacy for a graduate degree." Information about the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) can be found at International Graduate Admissions.

Additionally, if a student whose native language is not English is accepted into �鶹��Ƶ's speech and hearing sciences graduate programs, and if there is evidence that this student is having exceptional difficulty with one or more of the tasks required in clinical service delivery (speech perception, speech/language modeling, comprehending speech or language produced by individuals with communication disorders, writing clinical reports, counseling families, etc.) the student will be asked to address these deficits through a remediation plan (therapy for accent reduction, perceptual training, etc.) as needed.

Questions? Contact slp@lamar.edu.