About
Do you want to help people cope with speech-related disorders? Do you have knowledge of speech and hearing sciences?
A background of undergraduate courses in speech and hearing sciences is essential to your path to earning an MS in communication sciences and disorders. If you do not have an undergraduate degree in the field, specific undergraduate courses must be taken prior to formally beginning the MS degree sequence.
Both face-to-face and online coursework is present in the degree. In addition to traditional classroom and online instruction, you will complete both part-time and full-time clinical internships. Typically, a student will graduate with a minimum of 400 clinical clock hours of experience.
The department also offers a three-year, full-time master's degree through a distance education program. We consider the distance-education program a "distance education" program, not an "online" program. Your lectures are online, but there are classes that require library research, activities in the community (service learning), and observations at health-care facilities, for example. Some classes require group work and assist you with having "cyber meetings" with your classmates.
As a speech-language pathologist, you could work with people who have a variety of speech-related disorders. These disorders can include the inability to produce speech sounds or produce them clearly; speech rhythm and fluency problems, such as stuttering; voice quality problems, such as inappropriate pitch or harsh voice; problems understanding and producing language; and cognitive communication impairments, such as attention, memory and problem solving disorders. They also work with people who have swallowing difficulties.
ECU Advantage
The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders has gained national attention in groundbreaking research. Our faculty's findings have led to the development of devices and methods that have made a difference for people living with speech-language conditions.
The College of Allied Health Sciences is the largest university-based allied-health provider in the state of North Carolina. The college has eight departments: Addictions and Rehabilitation Studies, Biostatistics, Clinical Laboratory Science, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Health Services and Information Management, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Physician Assistant Studies, and offers degrees on the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels.
Delivering a comprehensive professional education that will prepare allied-health graduates to make a difference in the health of the region, state, and nation was the primary reason for the creation of the College of Allied Health Sciences and its departments. Fueled by the growth and aging of our population, the demand for these highly skilled specialists is expected to greatly increase as health care continues to be a priority for our citizens.
What You Will Study
Application for admission to the graduate program in communication sciences and disorders must be initiated through the Graduate School. A minimum overall cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in undergraduate work is required with a minimum of 3.2 in communication sciences and disorders major (or pre-requisite speech-language pathology courses). The applicant must submit three letters of reference with at least one from faculty of the college(s) or university(s) previously attended.
Completed applications should be received no later than January 15 for enrollment in the fall semester. Applications for fulltime study beginning in either the spring or summer semesters will be considered only under special circumstances because of the sequential nature of the program of study.
A background of undergraduate courses in speech and hearing sciences is required. For those students who do not have an undergraduate degree in the field, specific undergraduate courses must be taken prior to formally beginning the MS degree sequence. The following undergraduate courses or their equivalent must be taken prior to enrolling in graduate courses: CSDI 3010 (phonetics), 3020 (child language development), 3040 (anatomy and physiology), 3045 (speech science), 3050 (acquisition and development of phonology and articulation), 4100 (introduction to audiology), 4110 (aural rehabilitation), and 4440 (Neural Processes). See requirements for the BS degree in the undergraduate catalog for course descriptions.
Candidates for the Communication Sciences and Disorders, MS may select from two areas of emphasis - communication sciences or speech-language pathology.
The communication sciences area of emphasis is tailored to the special interests of the students. This non-clinical course of study can include a substantial portion of the courses in the speech-language pathology or audiology areas. Additionally, communication sciences students are required to complete a thesis and successfully pass a final oral defense of the thesis. Students in the communication sciences emphasis do not receive clinical training and are not eligible for credentialing as a clinical speech-language pathologist.
The speech-language pathology area of emphasis is a professional program designed to prepare students for credentialing as a clinical speech-language pathologist. This program of study is designed to meet all academic and clinical requirements for certification by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). In addition, graduates of this program may also be eligible for licensure in North Carolina as well as in most other states, and advanced licensure by the North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction.
The degree requires a minimum of 54 s.h. as follows:
- CSDI 6100 - Language Disorders
- CSDI 6103 - Research Design in Speech and Hearing
- CSDI 6101 - Language and Learning Disabilities
- CSDI 6523 - Readings in Speech and Hearing Research
- CSDI 6104 - Seminar in Voice Disorders
- CSDI 6106 - Stuttering and Other Fluency Disorders
- CSDI 6108 - Seminar in Articulation/Phonology Disorders
- CSDI 6109 - Motor Speech Disorders
- CSDI 6110 - Brain, Language, and Aphasia
- CSDI 6112 - Seminar in Cranio-Facial Anomalies and Alaryngeal Rehabilitation
- CSDI 6113 - Linguistic/Cognitive Impairments in Brain-Injured Adults
- CSDI 6114 - Dysphagia
- CSDI 6121 - Speech Science
- CSDI 6200 - Multicultural Communication Disorders
- CSDI 6521 - Readings in Speech and Hearing Research
- CSDI 6527 - Research in Speech-Language Pathology
- CSDI 6528 - Research in Speech-Language Pathology
- CSDI 7000 - Thesis (Six semester hours are required.)
- CSDI 6101 - Language and Learning Disabilities
- CSDI 6104 - Seminar in Voice Disorders
- CSDI 6106 - Stuttering and Other Fluency Disorders
- CSDI 6108 - Seminar in Articulation/Phonology Disorders
- CSDI 6109 - Motor Speech Disorders
- CSDI 6110 - Brain, Language, and Aphasia
- CSDI 6112 - Seminar in Cranio-Facial Anomalies and Alaryngeal Rehabilitation
- CSDI 6113 - Linguistic/Cognitive Impairments in Brain-Injured Adults
- CSDI 6114 - Dysphagia
- CSDI 6200 - Multicultural Communication Disorders
- CSDI 6320 - Clinical Methods in Speech-Language Pathology I
- CSDI 6321 - Clinical Methods in Speech-Language Pathology II
- CSDI 6901 - Professional Issues in Speech-Language Pathology
- CSDI 6226 - Clinical Practicum in Speech and Language Pathologies
- CSDI 6227 - Clinical Practicum in Speech and Language Pathologies
- CSDI 6229 - Distance Education Clinical Internship
- CSDI 6992 - Internship in Speech-Language Pathology/Audiology
- CSDI 6993 - Full-time Internship in Speech-Language Pathology/Audiology
- CSDI 7000 - Thesis (Only 3 s.h. may count toward the degree.)
(Select one of the following areas.)
Students work with the program coordinator to select a group of structured, graduate-level CSDI electives tailored to personal interests and career goals. Students may select from the following courses or take approved graduate-level CSDI course(s) not on the list.
(A minimum of 25 hours of clinical observation are required prior to beginning any clinical experience in the program.)
A minimum of 250 clinical clock hours in the diagnosis and treatment of communication disorders is required. If there are no hours accumulated at the undergraduate level, 375 hours will be required at the graduate level to meet certification and licensure requirements as set forth by the American Speech-Language- Hearing Association (ASHA) and the North Carolina State Board of Examiners.
All ECU graduate programs require students to successfully complete a comprehensive assessment. Speech-language pathology candidates are required to take and pass a final comprehensive examination, which may be taken upon completion of enrollment in all didactic courses required for the degree in the major area of study. Communication sciences candidates are also required to take and pass a final comprehensive examination based on required core and area of emphasis coursework, including structured electives.