Taking Pre-requisite Courses for SLP Graduate Programs

[hspiegel]

Hi y’all! 

I have recently made the decision to enter this field. My undergraduate degree is in biology/chemistry, so I need to take the prerequisite courses for slp programs. Were any of y’all in the same boat? Did you take these courses prior to applying to grad schools? If so, where/which programs did you find that allowed you to take just those few classes?

Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

[bibliophile222]

I did a two-semester online post-bacc program through Pacific University. It's a great program, not outrageously expensive (and you can get federal student loans for it, so no out-of-pocket payment necessary) and 8 courses. It also had a good selection. One thing you really want to watch out for when you're taking prereqs is that they can vary widely by school. Some programs only require 5 or 6, others might want 12 that include some courses that are typically done in grad school, like fluency. If you have certain schools in mind, check out the prereqs to figure out the best option. The Pacific University program covered almost everything I needed (except audiology and hearing rehab was combined into one course, so my program only let me count audiology and I'm doing hearing rehab this summer). If you think you'll only need a few prereqs, there are a bunch of schools both in person and online that will let you take individual courses--ENMU and Utah State are popular choices for this. Also, make sure you've taken all the required ASHA prereqs: bio, physics or chemistry, statistics, and a social science course, but I'm guessing that with your background you're probably all set with these!

Another option is to apply to grad programs that have a leveling option. You take a year or so of prereqs either before or concurrently with grad courses. The nice thing about this is that once you're in, you don't need to apply anywhere else. The downside is that these programs can be very competitive and require high GPA and GRE. Also, the total cost is probably higher this way. 

Good luck with your searching and future career! Lots of people have been in your shoes (me included) and it's certainly attainable!

[hspiegel]

21 hours ago, bibliophile222 said:

I did a two-semester online post-bacc program through Pacific University. It's a great program, not outrageously expensive (and you can get federal student loans for it, so no out-of-pocket payment necessary) and 8 courses. It also had a good selection. One thing you really want to watch out for when you're taking prereqs is that they can vary widely by school. Some programs only require 5 or 6, others might want 12 that include some courses that are typically done in grad school, like fluency. If you have certain schools in mind, check out the prereqs to figure out the best option. The Pacific University program covered almost everything I needed (except audiology and hearing rehab was combined into one course, so my program only let me count audiology and I'm doing hearing rehab this summer). If you think you'll only need a few prereqs, there are a bunch of schools both in person and online that will let you take individual courses--ENMU and Utah State are popular choices for this. Also, make sure you've taken all the required ASHA prereqs: bio, physics or chemistry, statistics, and a social science course, but I'm guessing that with your background you're probably all set with these!

Another option is to apply to grad programs that have a leveling option. You take a year or so of prereqs either before or concurrently with grad courses. The nice thing about this is that once you're in, you don't need to apply anywhere else. The downside is that these programs can be very competitive and require high GPA and GRE. Also, the total cost is probably higher this way. 

Good luck with your searching and future career! Lots of people have been in your shoes (me included) and it's certainly attainable!

Thank you so much for your response! I appreciate your help!

[4ever]

I'm in a similar position, and after looking at all the options it looked like the best course for me was to take a few classes in a non-degree program and apply to schools that have flexible options for non-degree applicants (i.e. don't require a related BA and allow you to complete some of the pre-reqs as you apply, the summer before matriculating, and/or during the program). This way I can take just 1-2 courses per semester while working full-time. I'm going to try to do as many pre-reqs before applying to MAs as possible just to save money (as it'd be much more expensive to extend grad school an extra semester or two) but also not pushing it, because I want to do really well in them. Took my first prereq online at ENMU because it is the cheapest, but wasn't super thrilled with the quality, so am taking the next one at my local state college. For the rest I'll probably do a combination of my state school and online, depending on the course.

It sucks that every school wants different prereqs. I made a spreadsheet with a bunch of schools I'm considering and listed out which prereqs they each want. I'm prioritizing the courses that are most common across all my schools. There were about 6 courses that were common in almost all the schools I'm looking at (Speech/Language Acquisition or Development, Phonetics, Communication Disorders, Audiology, Anatomy & Physiology of Speech and Hearing Mech, Speech Science) so those are the ones I'm aiming to take.

[hverb85]

I have done none of the pre reqs, and will be taking them all through the online master's program I will be attending. Just seemed more straightforward this way, and I know the classes will meet their requirements. 

[justwaitin:)]

Hi there! I was a Sociology BS undergrad and I am currently taking my grad school prereqs. I'm taking the last 3 classes this fall and I will be applying to grad school this winter! I emailed my local university (Northern Illinois University) and they were tremendously helpful in getting me on track.

With NIU my prereq courseload has been:

• Phonetics & Phonology
• Anatomy & Physiology of the Speech & Hearing Mechanism
• Intro to Audiology
• Acoustics, Music & Hearing
• Aural Rehabilitation
• Language Development
• Clinical Procedures and Professional Issues
• Assessment Procedures in Communicative Disorders
• Speech and Hearing Science
• Neuroscience of Communication and Associated Behavior
• Developmental Speech and Language Disorders (not required by NIU's program, but required by a few others I'm looking at)

Good luck with everything!