Academics

The Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology seeks to graduate knowledgeable and skillful clinicians in the field of Speech-Language Pathology by integrating academic, clinical and research components into its curriculum.

The department’s clinic, the Hunter College Center for Communication Disorders, provides initial and ongoing clinical experiences for its students by offering diagnostic and therapeutic services across the lifespan for a wide variety of speech, voice, fluency, swallowing, language, and hearing disorders.

Advanced clinical externship practica are obtained off campus through the department’s contracted external affiliations throughout New York City’s multi-culturally diverse metropolitan area.

The unique features of the master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology are:

1. Course work and experience in the application of speech science instrumentation to the objective clinical assessment and treatment of various speech, voice, swallowing and fluency disorders
2. Emphasis on the school-age language-learning child including issues related to the acquisition of literacy
3. Emphasis on assessment and treatment of dysphagia, tracheostomy and ventilator dependent children and adults
4. Specific clinical course work directly addressing non-biased assessment
5. Emphasis in both pediatric and geriatric disorders
6. Treatment procedures for culturally and linguistically diverse populations

One of the Department’s goals as a graduate program is to assist those who qualify to earn a master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology. The field of Speech-Language Pathology a growth field in the areas of health care and education.

Students matriculated in the Speech-Language Pathology curriculum are enrolled in a full time "locked" sequence of courses only. This means that part time studies are not permitted and that the same courses are not offered every semester. The curriculum is offered in a progression of courses and students can only enroll in the order in which courses are given. Full time enrollment requires up to 6 semesters of studies:

• Year 1 - Summer pre-enrollment of 3 credit course required for the New York State Teachers of Students with Speech-Language Disabilities (TSSLD), followed by fall, spring and summer
• Year 2 - Fall and spring enrollment. Students may take one extra semester of clinical practicum as well as complete the TSSLD required course if missed during year 1.

A student who falls out of the lockstep sequence will need to enroll for more semesters in order to catch up to the curriculum.