Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology

Working with the full range of human communication, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) evaluate and diagnose speech, language, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders and treat such disorders in individuals of all ages, from infants to the elderly (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association). 

The TWU master's degree program in Speech-Language Pathology is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). The program has two different learning venues. 

The on-campus venue admits students each summer and fall and provides evening classes on the Denton and Dallas campuses. Students participate in clinical experiences two to five days a week at the TWU Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic in Denton, The Stroke Center - Dallas, and pediatric and adult externship sites throughout the Denton and Dallas-Fort Worth area. 

The distance learning venue runs in two-year cohort cycles and offers a schools-focused cohort and a healthcare-focused cohort. While most classes are offered synchronously online, students attend classes on the Denton campus for up to one week each summer. 

• Schools-focused cohort: Partially funded by the Texas Education Agency, this distance learning focus was created to help ameliorate the shortage of speech-language pathologists in Texas schools. This venue is offered to students across the state of Texas through partnerships with Education Service Centers and sponsoring school districts and admits students in summer semesters of odd years.
• Healthcare-focused cohort: This distance learning focus was created to address the growing need for SLPs in healthcare. Students across the country participate in synchronous online evening courses each semester as well as practicum experiences in their local communities. Cohorts are admitted in summer semesters of even years.

Pre-Master’s Leveling Courses for SLP

Students who plan to pursue a master’s degree in speech-language pathology (SLP) at TWU but have a bachelor’s degree in a field other than communication sciences and disorders, speech-language pathology, or an equivalent will need to complete leveling courses prior to starting the graduate program. While TWU offers these pre-master's leveling courses, they may be taken at another university. The TWU pre-master's leveling coursework does not meet the requirements for state licensure as an SLP-Assistant.

In the event a student does not get accepted into graduate school or chooses not to continue on to graduate school, options are available to continue in the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate for the Speech-Language Pathology Assistant program.  After successful completion of this certificate program, students would be eligible to apply for Texas licensure as a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant and to apply for the national certification exam. 

Note: Acceptance into and completion of the leveling coursework does not guarantee acceptance into TWU’s SLP master’s program.

About the Leveling Courses

• Offered to individuals who plan to apply to the TWU MS SLP program
• Includes eight online undergraduate-level courses over three consecutive semesters beginning each summer
• Classes meet synchronously online two to three evenings each semester
• Students must maintain grades of A or B to continue with leveling coursework

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 leveling courses, applicants must:

• Have a bachelor's degree
• Have 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. 
  • On page 3 of the GoApplyTexas application (Educational Background), check the boxes for the first question indicating that you already have a bachelor’s degree AND are seeking a second bachelor's degree. Do not check the last boxes.

  • 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 leveling application deadline.

• Once admitted to TWU as an undergraduate transfer student, complete the Pre-Master’s Leveling Department Application. To complete the department 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 department application, applicants must submit: 
  • The names, titles/positions, employers, and email addresses of two recommenders (The department 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 pathologist (this will be uploaded within the online department application)

Students must be accepted by both the university and the department. Department notices of acceptance will be emailed by May 1.

Course Sequence

The pre-master’s SLP leveling coursework consists of eight courses (total of 22 semester credit hours). The courses listed below meet the leveling requirements for TWU's MS in Speech-Language Pathology program. Leveling courses taken at other universities should have equivalent course content.

Summer

• COMS 2233 Comparable Courses - Anatomy & Physiology courses offered through Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) departments. A&P courses offered through biology departments will not meet this requirement but will fulfill the basic biological science requirement.
• COMS 3333 Comparable Courses - Phonetics courses offered through CSD departments. Phonetics courses offered through Linguistics or other departments must include transcription practice with IPA.
• COMS 3001 Comparable Courses - An introduction of the etiology and treatment of communication and swallowing disorders across the lifespan.

Fall

• COMS 3063 Comparable Courses - Normal speech and language development courses offered through Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) departments. Similar courses offered through psychology or other departments must be approved by the TWU COMS department.
•  COMS 4103 Comparable Courses - Speech disorders, articulation disorders, speech sound disorders, or similar coursework offered through CSD departments. In the event that this course is combined with language disorders, two such “speech and language disorders” courses would be required.

Spring

• COMS 3523 Comparable Courses - Basic foundational audiology courses offered through CSD departments.
• COMS 3553 Comparable Courses - School-age language development courses offered through CSD departments. Often this course is taught as Language Science. Note: Not all CSD departments offer this course. In the event a student is able to take all leveling coursework except this one at another university, another CSD course will be permitted to replace it. 
• COMS 3563 Comparable Courses - Language disorders (for children or adults) or similar coursework offered through CSD departments. In the event that this course is combined with speech disorders, two such “speech and language disorders” courses would be required.