Communication and Learning Disorders Specialization, MA

50 semester hours

Application Requirements

1. Please note: All applicants for the CDIS Master’s degree program must submit their application through the Communication Sciences and Disorders Centralized Application Systems (CSDCAS). In addition to the regular application requirements, applicants are required to submit successful completion of the following courses/equivalents:

CDIS 2400 Introduction to Communication Disorders
CDIS 3311 Normal Language Development
CDIS 3343 Articulation and Phonological Disorders
CDIS 3362 Introduction to Audiology
CDIS 3412 Introduction to Phonetics and Phonemics
CDIS 4315 Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology of Speech and Language
CDIS 4340 Aural Rehabilitation
CDIS 4351 Language Disorders in Children
CDIS 4411 Anatomy and Physiology of Speech
CDIS 5360 Speech and Hearing Science
PSYC 3381 Statistics

In order to be given credit for a prerequisite course, that course must have been completed within a six school-year span prior to application for the master’s degree program. Leveling courses will be required if applicant does not have prerequisite CDIS coursework.

1. Submission of a satisfactory ranking on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) taken within the last five years. The CSDCAS system will accept only the GRE as an entrance examination for the CDIS Master’s degree program. Applicants should use the OLLU CSDCAS GRE code 7519 when submitting GRE scores (scores for the CDIS program cannot be submitted using the general OLLU GRE code).
2. Three letters of recommendation by professionals in the field (one of which must be from a university professor) submitted to CSDCAS.
3. A personal essay submitted to CSDCAS.
4. Description of the applicant’s awards, honors, or recognitions and experiences in volunteer, service, and/or research activities submitted to CSDCAS.
5. Selected applicants will be invited to a group interview with the Communication and Learning Disorders Department program faculty.

Special and Transient Admission

Special and transient admission must be approved by the director of the Woolfolk School.

CDIS Leveling Students

Students who already possess a bachelor’s degree in another field and wish to enter the CDIS master’s degree program will not be admitted to that program without first completing prerequisite undergraduate courses. Ten undergraduate classes totaling 31 hours are offered every year. Full-time students may take all required courses in two long semesters or if part-time complete the leveling program over two years. Application to the graduate program is made through CSDCAS but application to the leveling program is made through the Graduate Admissions Office.

Admission Deadline

Deadline for submitting a completed application to the Master of Arts program in communication and learning disorders: Feb. 1. Applicants must have all necessary application documents, including transcripts, verified by CSDCAS by this deadline. CSDCAS indicates that verification may take up to four weeks.

Academic Requirements:

Students will be expected to complete the following requirements in addition to required coursework:

1. Practicum. Clinical practicum will include working with a variety of communication disorders, from mild to severe, for clients of all ages. Four hundred approved practicum clock hours required, including 325 hours at the graduate level in prescribed settings; student must meet all academic and practicum requirements of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Practicum requirements include the successful completion of clinical competences as outlined in the program’s student handbook. The master’s degree prepares the graduate to function in all settings and all areas of clinical service and satisfies all academic and practicum requirements for the Certificate of Clinical Competency of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
2. Comprehensive Examination. Must pass the PRAXIS Test in Speech-Language Pathology, or OLLU equivalent.
3. Elective Opportunities:
   1. Cultural and Linguistic Diversity (CLD)/Bilingual students interested in obtaining a CLD/Bilingual SLP certification who have already been accepted in the master’s degree CDIS program may apply to obtain CLD/Bilingual certification which requires some specialized course work as well as clinical hours with Spanish/English-speaking and other culturally-linguistically diverse clients.
   2. Thesis students interested in pursuing a career involving research in speech language pathology may opt to do some additional research for a thesis with a CDIS faculty member. Completing a thesis is not a requirement for the master’s degree but is an optional elective opportunity. Students interested in this option should consult with their academic adviser. Students who choose the thesis option do not have to register for CDIS 7353  but must attend the first 5 classes.
4. All students who complete the MA graduate program take a minimum of 50 credit hours, including 2 hours of Selected Topics courses or 2 hours of CLD/Bilingual coursework from the following courses: CDIS 7345, 7146, 7247. Those who seek CLD/Bilingual certification will take 6 hours of courses as part of the CLD/Bilingual certificate, meeting the 2 hour elective requirement for all students and adding 4 additional hours of course work in order to receive the certification.
5. The graduate program of the Woolfolk School of Communication Sciences and Disorders is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology.  Included in the requirements for accreditation is the following statement: ” The program must demonstrate how it verifies that students obtain knowledge in the basic sciences (e.g., biological, behavioral, physical science, and statistics), basic science skills (e.g., scientific methods and critical thinking), and the basic communication sciences (e.g., acoustics; physiological and neurological processes of speech, language, and hearing; linguistics).” Graduate students accepted to the program must have evidence of undergraduate coursework in all of these areas or must take additional coursework while completing the master’s degree to address any deficit areas. The student’s academic adviser will review undergraduate coursework and will identify and explain any deficits and discuss options for completing necessary coursework to address those deficits.