Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA)
Get started on your career with a post-baccalaureate certificate from TWU for the speech-language pathology assistant. Students who have a bachelor’s degree in a field other than Communication Sciences may pursue this online post-baccalaureate certificate program to prepare them to work as a speech-language pathology assistant.
NOTE: This certificate program does not meet all the prerequisite requirements for application to TWU’s master’s program in Speech-Language Pathology. Students in the certificate program will be eligible to enroll in two additional courses upon completion of this certificate to prepare them for graduate school applications. More information about the pre-master’s leveling courses can be found on the Pre-Master’s Leveling Courses for SLP catalog page.
Program features
- Certificate completion in 5 semesters (27 semester credit hours)
- Coursework targeted to meet Texas state licensure and national certification requirements
- Courses offered synchronously online in the evenings
- Small class sizes with knowledgeable faculty
- Available to students who have a bachelor's degree in a field other than communication sciences
- University-guided observation hours under the supervision of experienced faculty
- Direct clinical experiences under the direction of speech-language pathologists in your geographic location*
- Opportunities to develop a professional network through clinical experiences and practicum
*Students are responsible for securing their own clinical placement
Marketable Skills
Defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's 60x30 Strategic Plan as, "Those skills valued by employers that can be applied in a variety of work settings, including interpersonal, cognitive, and applied skills areas. These skills can be either primary or complementary to a major and are acquired by students through education, including curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities."
- Provide appropriate therapy interventions to address speech and language deficits, under the direction of a licensed speech-language pathologist.
Admissions
All applicants must meet the general undergraduate admission requirements.
Applications are accepted each year between January 1 and April 1 for classes beginning in the summer semester. To be considered for acceptance into the SLPA certificate program, applicants must:
- Have a bachelor's degree
- Have earned a minimum GPA of 3.25 for the last 60 hours of college coursework
- Apply to TWU as an undergraduate transfer student by completing the Transfer Apply Texas application
- Select "Communication Sciences" as the first school program choice.
- Select "Certificate in Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA)" as your first choice major.
- On page 2 of the GoApplyTexas application (Educational Plans), check the boxes for the first question indicating that you already have a bachelor's degree AND the second question that you are seeking a second bachelor's degree.
- Submit official copies of all transcripts to TWU's Office of Admissions Processing. As it may take Admissions Processing several weeks to approve your application to the university after receiving all transcripts and any other required documents, these items should be submitted prior to the April 1 application deadline.
- Once admitted to TWU as an undergraduate transfer student, complete the Post Baccalaureate SLP-A Certificate Program Application To complete the application, applicants must first create their TWU Pioneer Portal account and log in to their TWU Google Drive account using their TWU email address and Pioneer Portal password.
- To complete the Post-Baccalaureate SLP-A Certificate Program Application, applicants much submit:
- The names, titles/positions, employers, and email addresses of two recommenders (The program staff will email the recommenders directly asking for a letter of recommendation)
- A one-page letter of intent describing the reasons you would like to be a speech-language pathology assistant (This will be uploaded within the online program application)
Students must be accepted by both the university and the program. Department notices of acceptance will be emailed by May 1.
Plan of Study
Total Semester Credit Hours (SCH): 27
Program Code: COMSSLPA.CER; CIP Code: 51.0203.00
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | TCCN | ||
| COMS 2233 | Anatomy and Physiology for Speech and Language | 3 | |
| COMS 3001 | Overview of Communication Disorders | 1 | |
| COMS 3333 | Phonetics | 3 | |
| SCHs | 7 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| COMS 3063 | Language Development | 3 | |
| COMS 4103 | Articulation and Phonological Disorders | 3 | |
| SCHs | 6 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| COMS 3563 | Language Disorders and Intervention | 3 | |
| COMS 4133 | Clinical Methods for the Speech-Language Pathology Assistant | 3 | |
| SCHs | 6 | ||
| Summer | TCCN | ||
| COMS 4112 | Professional Practices for the Speech-Language Pathology Assistant | 2 | |
| COMS 4123 | Voice, Fluency, and Social Communication Disorders | 3 | |
| SCHs | 5 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| COMS 4131 & COMS 4132 | Practicum Strategies for the Speech-Language Pathology Assistant and Speech-Language Pathology Assistant Practicum | 3 | |
| SCHs | 3 | ||
| Total SCHs: | 27 | ||
