M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology
Curriculum
Students who enter the M.S. program in the Fall semester with a bachelor’s degree in communicative disorders, and are enrolled full-time, will complete the program in five semesters, typically four semesters and a summer (about two years). Students who begin the program in the Spring semester, full-time with a bachelor’s degree in communicative disorders, are likely to enroll for an extra summer semester. For students whose bachelor’s degree is in another field, 19 additional CMD undergraduate credits will be required to complete the graduate program. These students can expect their time in the program to be extended by two semesters (about a year).
Program Requirements
A minimum of 54 credits is required, 10 of which will be earned through clinical practicum registrations. With the assistance of your advisor, you will choose either a thesis or non-thesis option for your required capstone experience.
Essential Functions
In addition to academic and clinical course work, graduate students are evaluated on their achievement of professional competencies. When you begin the program, you will be given a copy of these competencies, called Essential Functions, which you’ll sign and return to your department file.
Required courses
| CMD 493 | Cultural and Linguistics Diversity in Communicative Disorders | 3 credits |
| CMD 504 | Research in Communicative Disorders | 3 credits |
| CMD 550 | Audiology for Speech-Language Pathologists | 2 credits |
| CMD 560 | Voice Disorders | 3 credits |
| CMD 561 | Phonological Disorders | 3 credits |
| CMD 564 | Language Disorders in School-Aged Children | 3 credits |
| CMD 565 | Pre-practicum in Speech-Language Pathology | 1 credit |
| CMD 569 | Tests and Measurement in Speech Pathology | 3 credits |
| CMD 570 | Clinical Practicum in Communicative Disorders | 1-3 credits |
| CMD 581 | Dysphagia | 3 credits |
| CMD 582 | Motor Speech Disorders | 3 credits |
| CMD 583 | Acquired Cognitive-Communication Disorders | 3 credits |
| CMD 584 | Language Disorders in Developmentally Young Children | 3 credits |
| CMD 585 | Language Disorders in Adults | 3 credits |
| CMD 592 | Disorders of Fluency | 3 credits |
Electives
| CMD 492 | Special Problems | 1-3 credits each |
| CMD 494 | Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders | 3 credits |
| CMD 563 | Language Disorders in Infants and Toddlers | 3 credits |
| CMD 571 | Medical Speech-Language Pathology | 2 credit |
| CMD 580 | Augmentative and Alternative Communication | 2 credits |
| CMD 586 | Multisensory Instruction in Language and Literacy | 3 credits |
| CMD 594 | Counseling in Communicative Disorders | 1 credit |
| CMD 595 | Instrumentation and Computer Use in Communicative Disorders | 1 credit |
| CMD 598 | Special Problems | 1-6 credits |
| CMD 599 | Master's Thesis Research | 1-6 credits |
Required undergraduate coursework for students with bachelor’s degrees in another field
| CMD 272 | Auditory and Speech Mechanisms | 3 credits |
| CMD 273 | Phonetics | 3 credits |
| CMD 276 | Speech Science | 3 credits |
| CMD 375 | Language Development | 3 credits |
| CMD 377 | Functional Neuroanatomy | 3 credits |
| CMD 465 | Clinical Methods in Communicative Disorders | 4 credits |
***Note that the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) also requires that graduate students applying for ASHA certification have completed one biological science course, one physical science course, one social science course and one statistics course. Most students do so as part of their undergraduate degrees but if you have not, you are responsible for completing them prior to your graduation. Be sure to consult your department adviser about this requirement.
Professional Licensure Disclosure
In accordance with the 2019 Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, URI hereby discloses only that the curriculum for this program meets the educational requirements for licensure as a M.S. program in speech-language pathology in all U.S. States and Territories. The applicable licensing board in these states may impose additional non-educational requirements on candidates prior to granting a license (e.g., passing of an exam; obtaining a certificate; performing supervised clinical/practicum hours; etc.), and we encourage you to investigate those requirements with your licensing board.
Thesis Option
The thesis option includes 6 credits of CMD 599: Master’s Thesis Research
Non-thesis option
The non-these option includes either a written comprehensive examination or directed essay project.
Written Comprehensive Examination
Comprehensive examinations are offered each fall and spring semester for students planning to graduate at the end of that particular semester. Typically, the exams are administered the second Friday in November for the fall semester (typically coinciding with the Friday prior to the annual ASHA convention) and the Friday prior to the URI Spring Break (check the URI calendar). If students are planning to graduate during a summer session, they are advised to complete the comprehensive examination in the spring semester prior to the intended graduation date.
The following topic areas are covered on the comprehensive examinations:
- Language disorders in children
- Language disorders in adults
- Acquired cognitive disorders
- Voice disorders
- Stuttering
- Phonological disorders
- Dysphagia
- Motor speech disorders
- Research methods
- Audiology
The exams are typically administered in two segments of 3-3.5 hours. The Graduate Program Coordinator will contact students about the location and format of the exam several months prior to the exam dates.
You must pass all 10 sections of the exam to pass the comprehensive examination requirement for graduation. The Graduate School has specific guidelines for the re-taking of comprehensive examinations that can be found in their student manual, in Section 7.45.2.
Directed Essay Option
Purpose
As an alternative to the traditional comprehensive examination, the directed essay offers a capstone experience that promotes your academic development. It provides you with an opportunity to collaborate with faculty to produce scholarly work.
Student Selection
The directed essay option is not granted automatically upon request. Faculty will select students they consider to be strong academically and with whom they can develop a good working relationship. Supervising faculty members have the right to terminate a project before completion if a student is not making satisfactory progress. A student who is terminated will be required to take the traditional comprehensive examination.
Essay Topics
You will meet with your faculty supervisor to develop topics of inquiry and to design experiences pertinent to exploring these topics. The goal is to construct an individualized, scholarly capstone experience that is mutually beneficial to the student and the supervising faculty member.
Directed essay experiences may include, but are not limited to:
- Research projects that culminate in a written paper or publication;
- scholarly projects that culminate in a student presentation at a local, state or national conference; and
- scholarly reviews of the literature.
As part of the directed essay option, you will be required to register for and successfully complete at least 3 credits of independent study (typically CMD 598) tied to your specific project. You must decide on this option by the third Monday in September if you plan to graduate at the end of the spring or summer terms; or the third Monday of January, if you plan to graduate at the end of the following fall semester. At that time, you will specify the title of your project and inform the Graduate Program Coordinator.
Note: For either the thesis or non-thesis options, students must also complete directed observations and supervised clock hours of practicum to satisfy the requirements of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association. See Student Resources for the graduate manual.