Communication Sciences and Disorders

Graduate Program

Who Should Apply?

Students with an undergraduate degree in communication disorders may complete the training program in two years of full-time study. While it is possible to fulfill some of the requirements to earn a master's degree as a part-time student, it is usually necessary to plan for at least one year of full-time study. Students who hold a bachelor's degree in a major other than communication disorders must first apply to and complete the Communication Disorders prerequisite program before being eligible to apply to the graduate program. Information on the prerequisite program can be found at this link. Students who should apply are those students who will receive their baccalaureate degrees in Communication Disorders before the summer term of the year they wish to enroll.

Completion of a graduate degree in speech-language pathology is required for national certification and state licensure, as well as for teaching certification in most states. Most graduate programs require 1 1/2 to 2 years of full-time study to complete. Participation in UK's graduate program, or any other program around the state or country, is very competitive. Most programs will require a cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least a 3.0 to be considered for admission.

Requirements of the Graduate Program

Course Number	Title	Credits
CD 621	Alternative & Augmentative Communication	3
CD 647	Language Disorders in Dev. Young Individuals	3
CD 648	Language Disorders in School-Age Populations	3
CD 654	Clinical Orientation	3
CD 657	Clinical Practicum	2
CD 659	Clinical Rotation in 3 sites VA or Adult Site School or Child Site AHEC Site	21-30
CD 661	Phonological Development & Disorders	3
CD 670	Voice Disorders	3
CD 674	Disorders of Fluency	3
CD 677	Neurogenic Communication Disorders I	3
CD 701	Research Methods in CD	3
CD 710	Cognitive Communication Disorders	3
CD 744	Adult Swallowing and Motor Speech	3
CD 745	Pediatric Feeding and Motor Speech
CD 748	Thesis (Optional)	0
CD 768	Thesis (Optional) (Residence Credit)	6
XXX	Electives	2

Program Outcome Data:

The master's program in Communication Sciences and Disorders tracks progress of its graduates on several outcome measures. We are happy to report that:

97% of the students who started our program within the past three years finished on time.
95% of our graduates passed their certification/licensure exam (Praxis) the first time they took it.
97.5% of our graduates who have been out of the program at least one year are employed in the profession.

Admission Criteria

Prospective graduate students need to recognize that admission to our graduate program is very selective. We only accept a limited number of students each year, and very few out-of-state students are accepted. While the minimum requirements are a 3.0 GPA out of a possible 4.0 and a GRE (verbal & quantitative) score of 800, the average GPA of students selected for our program is 3.5 and the average GRE (verbal & quantitative) score is 1000.

Application Procedures

Click here for more information.

Advising

When a student is accepted into the graduate program, the Director of Graduate Studies forwards a letter of acceptance to the student. At that time, the student is provided the name of the academic advisor from among the CD faculty.