School of Speech and Hearing Sciences

The School of Speech and Hearing Sciences offers programs leading to the Master of Arts, the Master of Science, and the Doctor of Audiology degrees. Master’s degree emphases are in two principal areas: (1) speech-language pathology, and (2) deaf education with a concentration in early oral intervention. The doctoral degree is in audiology.

New graduate students are accepted by the School of Speech and Hearing Sciences in speech-language pathology for the summer and fall semesters only. The deaf education program only accepts students in the summer, and the audiology program only accepts students in the fall. Speech-language pathology students must have regular admission status to register for practicum courses.

Nondegree students are not permitted to register for courses in Speech and Hearing Sciences without permission.

Potential graduate students should refer to other sections of the Bulletin for information regarding admission requirements as set forth by the Graduate School. Regular admission to the master’s and doctoral programs is based on previous academic records (GPA), and scores on the Graduate Record Examination. For admission consideration, applicants to the master’s program in deaf education or to the doctoral program in audiology must also submit three letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation should be provided by persons qualified to assess the applicant’s readiness for graduate study. The size of a graduate program is limited by accreditation standards; therefore, admission is competitive.

Students who do not qualify for regular admission may be admitted on a conditional basis, if space allows. Conditional students may be required to complete additional coursework for graduation. In addition, a speech-language pathology student whose initial admission is on a conditional or nondegree basis may register for no more than one hour of clinical practicum during any semester of the graduate program. Conditional students whose grade point average is less than 3.0 for the conditional semester of enrollment will be dropped from the program.

The Master of Science (MS) in speech and hearing sciences with a speech-language pathology emphasis requires:

a minimum of fifty four (54) semester hours,
passing a comprehensive examination,
4 semester hours of on-campus clinical practicum,
9 semester hours of off-campus clinical practicum,
no fewer than 15 three-semester-hour courses.

The Master of Arts (MA) degree in speech and hearing sciences with a speech-language pathology emphasis requires:

a minimum of fifty four (54) semester hours,
passing a comprehensive examination,
4 semester hours of clinical practicum,
9 semester hours of off-campus clinical practicum,
no fewer than 12 three-semester-hour courses,
a foreign language proficiency,
satisfactory completion of a thesis.

A 3.0 GPA is required for graduation for both the Master of Science and Master of Arts degrees.

The Doctor of Audiology degree requires 9 semesters of clinical practicum, a minimum of 26 three-semester-hour courses, completion of an extern residency, successful completion of a doctoral research project, and the successful completion of the doctoral qualifier and comprehensive examinations. A 3.0 GPA is required for graduation.

The Master of Science degree in speech and hearing sciences: deaf education is a 14-month (42 semester hours) course of study. All students begin in June and complete the program in July of the following year. All coursework is delivered at an off-campus location: Magnolia Speech School and adjacent Magnolia Home in Jackson, MS. Students are enrolled in concurrent center-based, home-based, or academic-based practicum experiences while matriculating through the course work. Most practicum experiences are currently based in the Jackson area, and final advanced practicum usually occurs out-of-state. The program contains a research component, and students must successfully complete a comprehensive examination. A 3.0 GPA is required for graduation.

Residency

Doctoral students must meet residency requirements in this Bulletin.

Continuous Enrollment Requirement: Students must meet the requirement specified in the front section of this Bulletin.

Transfer Credit

As many as six (6) semester hours of graduate credit from other accredited institutions may be transferred to a student’s program based on review and approval of the department chair and the dean of the Graduate School, provided that the course work falls within the six year period allowed for the degree. Such course work must include a letter or numeric grade of “B” or better and cannot be a pass/fail course. The course work may not have counted toward another graduate degree. The transfer grade will not calculate in the USM GPA. Students must submit all materials required for course evaluation.

Integrity Assurance Program (IAP)

All faculty holding Regular or Associate graduate faculty status must complete IAP training modules required by the Graduate School and their schools. All graduate students must complete the training modules required by the Graduate School and their schools the first semester they are enrolled in graduate school. The policy and training information can be found on the following website: http://www.usm.edu/research/research-and-scholarly-integrity-assurance-program

Accreditation

The master’s degree program in speech-language pathology and the doctoral program in audiology are accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and they are recognized by the Council on Post-Secondary Accreditation and the United States Office of Education.

Admission Requirements for International Students

In addition to meeting the requirements for admission stated in this Bulletin, international students are required to submit an official TOEFL/IBT score of 79 and submission of official scores from the GRE (all sections).

Programs

Master of Science

Speech and Hearing Sciences (Speech - Language Pathology) MS

Doctor of Audiology

Audiology AuD