What to expect in SLP classes

[MonicaSLP]

Beginning the journey... what are the classes like? Mostly tests or papers/writing? Any group project type work?

 

I'm a returning student with a husband and kids, so I'm trying to get an idea of what I'm in for exactly! Whatever it is I can take it - I just like to be prepared.

[Arcanelady27]

Group work yes...for sure

Many test and reading research articles

Writing absolutely, but I say mostly test.

[ljhslp]

The SLP grad students I know say definitely more group projects, research projects/papers/etc than anything else.... and a lot of time spent on preparing for clients. I'm sure it's very dependent on your school, though.  

[GandalfTheGrey]

I think the best way to get answers is to ask current students at your school - every school is so different.

[Missthang]

I agree that it really depends on which program you're referring to. I'm friends with several of my program's 1st and 2nd year grads and they all say it depends on the semester and the class/professor you're taking. Some professors have tests that are basically all essay format and other's are not (thank God!). In our program, full time students will take 4 classes in Fall and 4 in Spring of first year along with clients. It seems to be pretty 50/50 on prepping for clients, doing paperwork, meetings, etc. and then studying, group projects, research, attending class etc.

You could always contact the program manager of schools you're interested in and have them connect you with a grad student to really get a feel for what it's like to be a student there.

[nata25]

I'm wondering if anyone can shed some light on this...? As I look at the plans of study for some grad programs, it lists 5 or 6 courses per semester. This seems like A LOT. In undergrad, the typical course load was 16 credits, which is about four courses. Is each course for grad school more "simplified" (aka less material than an undergad one), and therefore it's the same amount of work overall? Or is it really like taking 20/24 credits worth of classes from undergrad?

[BiancaNicole21]

It really depends on the program (as stated above)

At the University of South Florida, we start the first semester with clients as well as 3/4 classes depending on their credit hours.

I know at other universities, some wait until the 2nd or 3rd semester to start in the clinic and the first two semesters have a heavier course load.

[HippoPirate]

I'm wondering if anyone can shed some light on this...? As I look at the plans of study for some grad programs, it lists 5 or 6 courses per semester. This seems like A LOT. In undergrad, the typical course load was 16 credits, which is about four courses. Is each course for grad school more "simplified" (aka less material than an undergad one), and therefore it's the same amount of work overall? Or is it really like taking 20/24 credits worth of classes from undergrad?

I think you might be comparing semester hours to quarter hours. Sixteen quarter hours is four courses, but sixteen semester hours would be more than five courses. Five courses spread out over a semester is equivalent to about 3.5-4 courses in a quarter. Another thing to keep in mind is that some grad courses might be only 1or 2 credits. I know the program I'm going into has a one-credit course that's on the list for the semester, but it's a one-day interdisciplinary seminar.

[emikate51]

I'm currently taking 3 graduate classes (class is half grads, half undergrads, not leveling courses) and it's really no different than undergrad. The only thing the grad students do different is an additional short project or paper. Most of my classes have: Midterm (1 or 2), Final exam, in class assignments, and quizzes. One has article reviews. I obviously don't have clients now so that's different but the classmates do seem to be very busy with their clients, they typically have two clients at the clinic each semester of the first year. I think they take about 3-4 courses a semester for around 12-15 credit hours. 

[SpeechyK]

Current student here, finishing my first year.  I agree that experiences are likely very different between schools, but here is mine, for what it's worth.  I am 31, married and living on student loans, whatever I can make during part time work, and my husband's kindness.  

 

What I'm about to detail is going to sound a little scary, but it is doable and you get really good at managing your time, balancing family obligations, and learning to place an emphasis on physical and emotional self-care.  I am NOT an academic by nature, if I can do this, you can. 

 

 

When I was applying to grad school, other people who got their Master's Degrees swore that, although it was cognitively demanding, 6-9 hours would be full-time and that working + school would be totally manageable. That was incorrect.  

 

I've taken 11-12 hours each semester, but it's really more like 18 credit hours worth of work. Most programs require this amount of credit hours for around 5 semesters- 2 Fall, 2 Spring, and a Summer. I'll explain:

 

First year: 

*Programs are different- some combine clinical experience and class work for both years, others do all of the classes first, then clinical experience.  Some require full-time internships, others spread them out over part-time. 

 

Classes:

6-8 of those hours, at 2 credit hours each class.  There's little to no "busy work," but an insane amount of reading.  Probably about 50-100ish pages of reading per class, plus research articles.  To date, I've never been able to read it all in time, so you learn to read what's absolutely necessary and bookmark the rest for winter break.  

 

Most of my classes have three-ish major assignments or tests.  Historically, these major assignments range from research papers to prepared presentations on a given topic + a brief research paper that you turn in, or group projects. They have taken between 5 and 30 hours each to complete.  I usually have between 2 weeks and 2 months to complete them, time frame decided by the professor.  Group projects are a pain because we're all grown-ups with lives outside of school to coordinate, but you'll figure it out.  Lots of google docs. 

 

Tests usually cover  4-6 chapters and come in the form of midterms or finals. Two tests might decide your whole grade in the class. But I get the feeling that, in such an exclusive program (Most are), they aren't looking to weed anyone out intentionally. It doesn't look good for these programs to have large numbers of people not completing the program.

 

Buy the books, they will be valuable clinical resources. I hate buying books, so I wouldn't say this if I didn't mean it.  I tend to focus on adults, so I rent the child books, but I've even ended up buying some of those.

 

Whatever time you spent studying for undergrad classes, you should probably double that, unless your study efficiency has improved since then. Lots more extrapolation of incomplete data and critical thinking. 

 

In 3/5 weeks, there's nothing major due, but we often have big deadlines that all fall in the same week, so things get a little uncomfortable if you don't plan properly.  I'm not great at making time to study, so some weeks I spend an hour studying/reading, other weeks I spend 15.  Both semesters I've sworn to myself that I'd stay on top of reading and not pull all-nighters. Both semesters I've failed.  Clinic usually takes precedence because there's a real, live person showing up for treatment at a designated time. 

 

Clinical experience:

 This is likely to vary greatly between schools.  We have an on-site clinic and a required amount of credits to complete there before we go to off-site experiences.  I typically have classes 2 days a week, and clinic on the other 2 days. Fridays are for working, researching, writing or studying.  Sundays too for that matter.

 

How much work you put in will depend heavily on your past experience, your knowledge of specific disorders affecting your clients, and whether or not your supervisor holds your hand to plan therapy.  Mine don't, they want us to experience the entire process from scratch and I feel that it's been time-consuming but very educational. 

 

In the first and last few weeks of the semester, my actual treatment time is between 2 and 4 hours each week, with an additional 4-6 hours of planning, writing, analysis and research.  Things lighten up in the middle of the semester and you find a groove.   I probably spend 8-10 hours a week total on therapy, but it feels like more because you'll constantly be thinking about treatment techniques and activity ideas- in the car, in the shower, while you're brushing your hair.  It invades most of your life for a little while :-) 

 

 

Outside work: Some weeks, I spend 70 hours a week on school and clinic things, some weeks it's 30.  Live close if you can.  Time spent commuting could be better used studying, treating or planning. 

 

I've managed to fit in 10-20 hours of work each week, BUT I have three jobs that are highly flexible. I'm a TA, so I can grade papers in my pajamas.  I Temp at apartment complexes (something I did in my pre-grad school life) and I can turn down a job if I simply don't have time that week.  I also do beer/wine demos at local grocery stores.  Another thing I can turn down if I'm having a full-on Jessie Spano "THERE'S NO TIME," kind of week.  I've had a few of those. 

 

I would recommend looking through your past skills inventory and find ways to make money that don't require you to show up for someone else's schedule.  I can't imagine that would work very well.  If you have teaching experience, put an ad on Craigslist.  Stuff like that. 

 

Family/Personal life: Through all of this, I'm lucky to still have 3-4 evenings a week for relaxation with husband and friends.  Think of it like a 60-70 hour a week job.  People in the business world do it all the time and still get sleep, some social time, and some family time.  But you kind of have to put your foot down about it.  Last semester, I designated Saturday as a "no-school/work," day.  It meant that two of my weekdays were pushing 18 hours each, but for one beautiful day every week, I did absolutely nothing except that which pleased me.  And laundry.  I did some laundry. :-)

 

Second year:

  I don't know how exactly it'll go. I'm looking at similar class structure but a reduced load.  The tradeoff is that I'll be doing an externship 3 days a week, from 8-5.  I anticipate lots of late nights spent researching disorders that I've heard of in classes, but never seen in real life.  So my 2-3 classes, thesis work and research for externship will have to be done in the other three days a week if I have any hope of keeping my "Saturdays belong to me and mine," rule.  I'm making some financial adjustments in anticipation of a decrease in time for paying work as a result.  

 

So like I said, it's doable, but you have to be firm in designating family time, study time, and you time.  Find the thing that centers you and revives you and make sure you have access to it.  For me, it's yoga, time with my husband, cycling and a healthy splash of vodka. :-) 

 

Hopefully this helps.  Let me know if I can answer any other questions. 

Edited April 11, 2014 by SpeechyK

[lgwslp]

Wow, thank you for sharing all of that. That helps so much.