U of Tennessee SLP (UTHSC) Masters class of 2019

[rach.mack]

Hey! 

 

So if you're 100% committed to UTHSC for Fall '17 admission, come join our Facebook group! I'm currently an undergrad at UT, and will be starting the Masters program in the Fall. I know some girls are looking for roommates who will be in the program, so feel free to post about that! If you have any questions, let me know! Here's the link: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1873295146293554/

Edited April 6, 2017 by rach.mack

[WannabSLP124]

Hi! Since you are an undergrad, I would love to hear what you think of UTHSC's program. I am so fortunate to have been admitted of the waiting list, and I am now deciding between two schools. Obviously I've looked into the program extensively before applying, but I was not able to visit the program - I don't have much "inside" info. Please share what you love about their program. Also, if you have heard anything about graduate assistantships and financial aid. If money was not an issue I think I would hands down choose UTHSC, but I am out of state so it's quite pricey. Thank you for any input about the program!

[rach.mack]

Hey there! I'd be happy to help!

First off, CONGRATS on getting in! So exciting! I'll be brutally honest about our program/Knoxville in general, since you can't come visit before deciding. I'm from Knoxville, so hopefully this will be helpful. Obviously this is a huge decision! So pros and cons:

Pros about UT/Knoxville: 

SEC school--so we're a huge school (30,000+ students). Also $10 football student tickets (which grad students can get as well, thank goodness).

Mid size city--the Knoxville metro area has ~800,000 people, so we have a big city vibe, but not overwhelmingly large like Atlanta where there's crazy terrible traffic. Basically, we have any major chain store that you could think of. 

Campus is right downtown--we're within walking distance of the downtown restaurants/theaters/nightlife, but also off on our own, so there's no other random downtown buildings on campus, if you look at Google Maps, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Housing--is generally not terribly priced. Can be as cheap or as expensive as you'd like. Ranges from $400ish to $800+ per person/month. I can answer questions about specific locations/apt complexes if you do decide to come here. The Fort Sanders neighborhood is where the majority of student housing/complexes are. Within walking distance to campus.

Knoxville is gorgeous--Campus is right on the Tennessee River, and we're 45 minutes away from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, so if you're outdoorsy, you'd definitely feel at home here (paddleboarding, mountain biking, rock climbing, trail running, etc).

Professors--I'll be honest, I don't know every single professor that teaches grad courses, but I am at least acquainted with most of them. In my experience, most are very nice and helpful; I've never had any issues with them. I've worked with a few as a research assistant, and they have all been super great, supportive, and encouraging.

Concentrations--if you're looking at specializing in anything, we have quite a few concentrations (AAC, aural rehab, voice disorders, literacy, autism, etc). If you have any specific questions about that, I can try to help. 

Our program has an employment rate of 100%--so you're going to get a job once you're out, no doubt. 

Large cohort--I think we can accept up to 40-45 per class, which I think is nice. 

 

Cons:

We're a huge school--not sure if that's a good or bad thing, so I put it as both. Personal preference. 

Our department's building SUCKS--like so bad. I'm not even going to try to make it sound appealing. We're located in "South Stadium Hall" aka we're literally inside Neyland Stadium.............. except not the nice part of Neyland. Our facilities haven't been updated in roughly 50 years. That's not an exaggeration. We only have window unit air conditioners (which is the least helpful thing when trying to test hearing/assess in a quiet environment), and radiators in the hallway for wintertime. So basically, it's 900 degrees in the winter (because you can't turn off the radiators), and loud as heck in the summers (because window units). It's a great time. Like any other room in our department, the therapy rooms haven't been updated either, so there's definitely nothing state-of-the-art about them, BUT of course we have all the resources we need in them. Wifi is also kind of iffy in the building, in my experience. 

In addition to South Stadium Hall, we also have the Hearing and Speech Center--which is literally just as old. This is where our lectures will be held, and it's not any nicer, sadly. 

BUT there is hope for us kind of. Not really. So for the last...century (ok like 5 years), we've been promised a new building. It's supposed to be a huge, brand new building located near UT Med Center (which isn't located on campus, it's directly across the river from UT). HOWEVER, there's no way the building will be finished in time for us to actually have classes/clinic in it. :/ they've been "breaking ground" on the building for the past 2 years. It's kind of a joke at this point. Considering our program is only 2-3 years (depending on if you're a leveling student or not), there's no way we'll get a semester in it. 

Financial aid--Also not going to sugarcoat this one. Our department is not generous when it comes to financial aid. Like at all. I've been told that first years do not have the potential to receive graduate assistantships at all. Apparently they reevaluate after the first year, see where everyone stands in the class, and basically give the very little amount of funding to the top of the class. I'm already working on applying for third party scholarships, in hopes to offset the cost, because I know 100% that I will not be getting any financial help from the department this year. So if cost is a huge factor, you may really need to write out a budget and see if you can make it work--without relying on a GA or TA position, as they are incredibly rare here. However, I'm sure you could find a part-time job for the evenings if you wanted. 

 

So that's pretty much all I can think of. Let me know if you have any more questions! What is the other school you're trying to choose between? I hope this helped!!

Edited April 10, 2017 by rach.mack

[WannabSLP124]

@rach.mack Sooo helpful! The other school I am deciding on is University of Houston. I currently live in Houston, so obviously that is much easier and cheaper, but I don't love it here. I am super outdoorsy which is one of many reasons I want to go to UTHSC! I am very interested in getting as much medical experiences as possible - it seems UTHSC has a big medical focus. Aphasia and pediatric TBI are areas I definitely want to explore in grad school, but it doesn't seem that UTHSX has a focus/research in those areas. Maybe I am wrong though? 

I really appreciate your input. It is really helpful to know that financial assistance is unlikely. That's honestly the biggest reason I am having trouble deciding. UH would be around $20K for the entire program, whereas UTHSC will cost me $15k a semester. Program offerings seem pretty on par, aside from the medical focus. If grad school were free I would be packing my bags to go to Tennessee for sure! I suppose I can always move to Knoxville after school! lol Thank you so much for all the info!

[rach.mack]

@Alicia124 you're welcome!! Today I ended up asking one of my professors, because I didn't have exact answers to all of this. So we definitely don't have aphasia or ped TBI concentrations, but apparently we've just hired a professor who specializes in aphasia! They will be here in the Fall, so my professor said graduate students are welcome to research and work under them, of course, but that's pretty much all we're able to offer here. That's still good work experience and exposure to those areas though! As for placements and medical settings, my professor really couldn't elaborate on that, because he doesn't deal with placements. I know we have many hospital setting placements (I know we do work with UT Med Center, but I don't know to what extent), but I don't know if we have a BIG medical focus, compared to other schools. If that makes sense? He did say you can email our program director who would definitely be able to answer any placement questions/any other sort of specifics. I can give you his contact info if you're interested! 

And you're welcome about the financial aid info! Yeah, I'll be lucky to get out with ~30k in grad school debt and I'm even in-state! It's definitely a trade off! UTHSC really is a great program, but 15k per semester is obviously a HUGE commitment. :/ you're so welcome for the help! Let me know if you need anything else!

[WannabSLP124]

@rach.mack Thank you so much for asking about this for me. You are awesome!!! I do have the contact info for the program director, so I will definitely reach out to him and get more infromation. It is always nice to have the perspective of students though! Thank you again, and congratulations on your admittance!

[L123]

hi,

I am thinking about going to UT HSC Knoxville for Fall 2018. I was wondering what everyone thought about it and about Knoxville in general?