Applicants to the program must possess a bachelor's degree in speech-language pathology or complete a post-baccalaureate sequence of courses from an accredited university.

• Applicants must be able to submit transcripts with at least 6 credits of post-baccalaureate courses at the time of their application
• It is acceptable for students to apply if they are still taking post-baccalaureate courses during the spring/summer semester
• In order to be considered for admission, applicants must have completed at least 6 credits of post-baccalaureate coursework by June 15^th
• Updated transcripts should be sent to CSDCAS immediately following completion of a Spring course, in order to meet the deadline for verification
• We will still be able to accept Summer 2025 SLP prerequisite coursework despite our June 15, 2025 deadline. If you are an applicant who is finishing SLP prerequisite coursework in the Summer, please email Steffany Wechter (swechter@uakron.edu) prior to the June 15th deadline to inform her. Applicants in this situation can still be considered for our program despite the June deadline. Final Summer 2025 transcripts will need to be sent directly to the University of Akron Graduate School at gradsch@uakron.edu. CSDCAS will no longer accept transcripts in late July/early August.
• Once accepted into the master’s program, students will need to have all of the speech-language pathology post-baccalaureate courses completed with a B- or above (with transcripts received) prior to the January start of the graduate program

Applicants to the program should complete the academic course requirements for ASHA Standards IV-A (general education) and IV-B (in-field). 

ASHA STANDARD  IV-A: General Education Prerequisite Courses

All students must meet ASHA Standard IV-A course requirements. This coursework does not have to be completed prior to applying to the distance learning graduate program, however it must be completed prior to beginning the master’s program. These courses must be taken for credit and grade (not pass-fail or audit). In order to count as a pre-requisite, the course should be 3 credit hours or more with a grade of C or higher.

1. Statistics: one 3-credit hour “stand alone” statistics course (not a research methods course) 
2. Biological Science: One 3-credit hour course in the biological sciences (general human anatomy & physiology, biology, neuroanatomy & neurophysiology, human genetics, veterinary science)
• This requirement is not met by the anatomy and physiology of the speech and hearing mechanism course, which is a course requirement needed to meet Standard IV-B
3. Physical Science: One 3-credit hour course in physical sciences (must be chemistry or physics)
4. Behavioral/Social Science Coursework: One 3-credit hour course in behavioral social sciences (psychology, sociology, anthropology, or public health)

ASHA STANDARD IV-B & C: In-Field Prerequisite Courses

All students must meet ASHA Standard IV-B & C course requirements. These courses must be completed prior to beginning the master’s program, however students are eligible to apply to the distance learning graduate program if they have at least 6 credit hours of speech-language pathology coursework. 

The following lists the speech-language post-baccalaureate course requirements for students who are interested in the distance learning (online) graduate program. These courses must be completed within 7 years from the date that the student plans to start the graduate program. Applicants must achieve B- or higher in each of the in-field prerequisite courses (Standard IV-B & C courses), in order to be an eligible candidate. However, this does not guarantee admission to the graduate program.

The following ASHA Standard IV-B (in-field) courses should be completed at the undergraduate level:

1. 1. Biological bases - anatomy of the speech and hearing mechanism
   2. Acoustic bases - speech and hearing science
   3. Developmental bases - language acquisition/development
   4. Linguistic bases - phonetics or linguistics

The following ASHA Standard IV-C (in-field) courses should also be completed at the undergraduate level:

1. 1. Observations and Clinical Techniques

ASHA Standard V-C should also be taken at the undergraduate level and prior to any direct contact with clients. Students should take a course that addresses clinical methods and techniques and allows them to accrue 25 guidance clinical observation hours. The observation hours must be within the ASHA Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology and must be under the supervision of a qualified SLP who holds a current ASH certification. During the observations there should be communication between the clinical education and observer, rather than passive experiences where the student merely views sessions and/or videos. Guided clinical supervision may occur simultaneously during the student’s observation or afterwards through review and approval of the student’s written reports or summaries. Students may use video recordings of client services for observation purposes. Guided observation hours must be current within 5 years from the start of the program. A record form needs to be completed and maintained for all 25 guided clinical observation hours, which includes: date, population (adult/pediatric), type (evaluation/treatment), site, supervisor license numbers (state/ASHA), supervisor signature, guided discussion completed (yes/no), and number of minutes observed.

Please note that all prerequisite courses must be successfully completed prior to beginning the master’s program.

Distance Learning (100% Online) Program In-field Prerequisites

For additional information regarding our post baccalaureate series for the distance-learning program, please visit our post baccalaureate website at https://www.uakron.edu/sslpa/postbacc.dot, or email Marci Tomajko at marci5@uakron.edu.

English Language Proficiency

If English is not the applicant's primary language, they must demonstrate competency in oral and written communication and language by submitting English proficiency test scores

• The University of Akron Graduate School requires:
  • a minimum score of 79 on the internet-based TOEFL (CSDCAS code: C122)
    -or-
  • a minimum score of 6.5 on the IELTS test to enroll
  • Students may not enroll in graduate courses until the English proficiency requirements has been satisfied (https://bulletin.uakron.edu/graduate/general-information/)

Applying to our program requires the submission of an application through CSDCAS

A Statement of Purpose essay must be included with the CSDCAS application.

• Only submit through CSDCAS
  
  
• The prompt for the essay may be found within the CSDCAS’ program application but also presented here: "Please describe your background, your in-field and life experiences, and your aspirations as an SLP" 
  
  
• The essay should be approximately 1-2 typed pages, address the four items in the prompt, and be well-written without grammatical or spelling errors
  
  
• CSDCAS allows applicants to enter different essays for different schools
  • Applicants are highly encouraged to personalize the essay for The University of Akron

Our program requires three (3) letters of recommendation and submitted through CSDCAS

• Letters sent directly to our department will NOT be considered or evaluated as part of a student’s application
  
  
• At least one letter must be from an in-field instructor (professor or instructor)
  
  
• Other letters should be from people who can attest to students’ academic and/or clinical abilities, potential to succeed in a graduate SLP program, and potential as a future clinician
  • Examples of recommenders include: clinical supervisors, faculty in other disciplines, coaches, and job supervisors

Information that is typically found on a resume is collected in the CSDCAS application, in the “Extracurricular and Volunteer Activities” section

• This includes work experience, volunteer experience, extracurricular activities, organizations, awards, etc. 
  
  
• Please include detailed information for all items entered into the application
  
  
• Please Do NOT submit a separate resume

Official transcripts from ALL colleges/universities attended (including post-secondary) must be submitted to CSDCAS. Once CSDCAS has verified all coursework, the application will be forwarded to our school.  

• Applicants who are completing a Spring course should request transcripts from their University as soon as official transcripts become available to meet the June 15th deadline
  
  
• Please DO NOT submit transcripts directly to The University of Akron as our Graduate School will accept all official transcripts submitted through CSDCAS. The only exception to this is if you are finishing coursework during the Summer 2025 semester. All Summer 2025 transcripts will need to be sent to the University of Akron Graduate School at gradsch@uakron.edu. CSDCAS will not accept official transcripts in mid-July/early August, and therefore transcripts need to be sent to the Graduate School.

Our program includes, and requires, a virtual interview as part of the application process.

• Once the faculty admissions committee has reviewed all applications which have been Verified by the deadline, selected applicants will be invited to complete a virtual interview
  
  
• Our virtual interview day is held in late July and is by invitation only
  
  
• Invited applicants will be notified via email, approximately 2 weeks prior to the interview date
  
  
• Applicants who are not invited to interview are typically no longer under consideration for admission to our program
  • They will be notified via email of their status at the time that the interview invitation decisions are made – typically in early to mid July