Speech Language Pathology Prerequisites

[Dylan M]

My BA is in linguistics, so I'm trying to gain information on what kind of prerequisites I need in order to apply to a master's program in speech language pathology.

Each school's individual requirements are pretty straightforward but, so far, every school has given me a different answer as to what exactly the ASHA requirements are.
In terms of the general prerequisites (social science, statistics, sciences, etc) I'm good to go. However in terms of the SPA courses, some schools are telling me that Intro to Hearing Sciences (or similar) is an ASHA requirement but some schools are telling me that I don't need it, which obviously doesn't make sense because if it's an ASHA requirement, shouldn't all schools require it? 

Besides coursework, are there any other requirements besides 25 hours of clinical observation? 

I'm trying to figure out everything on my own and since every program is giving me different answers as to what is and is not required, I'm afraid I will find out too late that I am missing something and not have enough time to complete it before the program starts. (I am aiming for an August 2021 start date and am starting my prerequisite coursework this fall) 

I would so appreciate any information or tips, and to speak with someone who went into SLP from an out-of-field BA. Thanks!

Edited June 10, 2020 by Dylan M

[gigislp]

I'm in the same boat and also looking for answers!  I'm applying for fall 2021 except I already graduated with an undergrad linguistics degree. My struggle is that I've taken a good amount of prerequisites, but not all of them. So I still need coursework, but going into a post baccalaureate program doesn't make sense. The courses I've taken are often similar to the prerequisites that grad schools have but don't fit perfectly. For example a school requires Speech and Hearing Science but I've taken Hearing Science and a second class, Speech and Hearing Disorders. Like does this work or do I have to take another class that is specifically Speech and Hearing Science, I don't know. And so far the universities haven't helped much they just send me the links to their post baccalaureate programs. 

Here is the best answer I can give to your question: the prerequisite coursework you need to fulfill is generally the same grad school to grad school, but some courses are different, it doesn't really depend on ASHA (beyond the bio, chem etc requirements) but on the school. You kind of need to do your research now on which grad schools you want to apply to and look at their specific prerequisites. If you don't find it directly on their application page, checkout their post-baccalaureate pages. These usually have the list of coursework that you would be taking if you were part of their program. These are also the courses that are prerequisites for grad school. I would use these as guidance for which courses to take, but yes it's freaking tricky. Also if your school has a speech pathology/communication disorders major, go to their department and ask them. My school unfortunately didn't have one. 

Edited July 29, 2020 by gigislp

[Cece93]

You could always call a grad program and ask them. When I was filling out my completed coursework documentation I had to email the grad school I was applying to to make sure the classes fit. You’re right classes do seem similar so it can be confusing.