Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, the CSD Department offers tours once every Fall and Spring semester.  The purpose of the session is to provide potential students and families with general program information, answer advising questions, and tour the Communication Disorders Clinic and Academic Complex.  Please visit the following link for information on the next Meet and Greet:  http://www.wku.edu/communicationdisorders/undergradadmission.php

The minimum GPA for admittance is a 3.0.  Students will be ranked by GPA for admittance to the program.

We accept approximately 36 students every spring semester to begin the following fall.

No, when formally admitted to the undergraduate major in the spring semester, students must start the following fall semester.

Students are advised by professionals in the Advising and Career Development Center until formally admitted to the CSD program.

Complete form on TopNet and take to CSD Office 104B in Academic Complex.

Yes, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association requires students have courses in four areas:

• Biological sciences should emphasize content related to human or animal sciences.  Students are required to enroll in BIO 131 – Human Anatomy & Physiology. This also meets the Colonnade requirement for Explorations: Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World – Natural & Physical Sciences.
• Physical sciences include physics or chemistry.  Students are encouraged to enroll in PHYS 130 – Acoustics of Music and Speech.* This also meets the Colonnade requirement for Explorations: Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World – Natural & Physical Sciences.
• Social/behavioral sciences should include psychology, sociology, anthropology, or public health.  Students are required to enroll in PSY 100 – Introduction to Psychology. This also meets the Colonnade requirement for Explorations: Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World – Social & Behavioral Sciences.

A stand-alone course in statistics is required (a course in research methodology does not meet this requirement).  Students are encouraged to enroll in one of the following statistics classes: MATH 183 – Introduction to Statistics (This also meets the Colonnade requirement for Foundations: Intellectual and Practical Skills – Quantitative Reasoning), PH 383 – Biostatistics in Health Services, SOCL 300 – Using Statistics in Sociology or PSY 301 – Statistics in Psychology.

Students admitted to WKU Fall 2019 and after are required to take BIOL 131 - Human Anatomy and Physiology and ENG 300 - Writing in the Disciplines.

The program is completely online. No travel is required.

This program will not prepare you to work as a SLP. You will not earn clinical hours or receive a bachelor’s degree after completion. This program is designed to provide the prerequisite coursework required for application to graduate school in the area of communication disorders.

At this time, students are only accepted into the program to begin courses during the summer.

3.0 cumulative GPA from your most recent completed degree, or in-progress degree if one has not been completed.

Current tuition information is available at http://www.wku.edu/bursar/. The Pre–SLP courses are considered undergraduate distance learning courses. Distance learning tuition rates are the same for in–state and out–of–state students.

The program is now eligible for financial aid.

The GRE is not required when applying to our program.

Cumulative GPA of 3.0 for the last degree earned or the degree in progress

We accept 74 students, with at least 20 of those being in the campus program.

No, cohorts begin once a year (in the fall semester) and you must apply and be admitted into the program.

There are 8 core classes and 4 basic sciences that must be completed prior to beginning any graduate courses. Those courses are:

Core Classes:

CD 405 Applied Phonetics

CD 481 Normal Speech & Language Development

CD 483 Articulation Disorders 

CD 484 Speech Anatomy & Physiology

CD 485 Diagnostic Procedures for Communication Disorders

CD 482 Audiology

CD 486 Language Disorders

CD 347 Science of Speech and Hearing (formally titled: Bases of Speech)

Basic Sciences (one 3 credit course from each of the following categories; suggested course types are listed in parentheses): ASHA does not accept remedial-level courses, methodology courses (methods of teaching), or courses modified for CD such as speech science (which includes some acoustics, but would be credited as a basic CD processes course). **WKU only accepts

 CLEP exams or AP credit for credit by exam** **WKU does not accept DANTES exams unless a person is on active military duty**

Biological Science (Intro to General Biology, Human Biology, Ecology, Human Anatomy & Physiology, Animal Biology, Cell Biology, Microbiology, or CLEP: Natural Science or Biology)

Statistics: A 3 credit course in any STATISTICS course.  Research Methods courses are not acceptable.  Examples: Introductory Statistics, Introduction to Statistics, Statistics in Social Work, Psychology Statistics, etc.

Social Science (Behavioral) Psychology (including Dev. Psych or Applied Behavioral Analysis), Sociology, Anthropology, Human Geography, Gerontology, CLEP: Psychology)

Physical Science Physics, Acoustics (not the same as speech and hearing sciences), Chemistry, CLEP: Chem.

Look at the Department Application in the Graduate Admission section of this website.  There is a worksheet to determine how courses will match the prerequisite coursework along with course descriptions and instructions to assist.

E-mail or mail to angie.alexieff@wku.edu the course number and title along with a transcript and syllabus for each course you would like to be considered for graduate transfer credit. All graduate transfer credit must be evaluated by our Coursework Evaluation Committee. The cumulative GPA on the transcript must be 3.0 or greater in order for the course to transfer. All coursework towards the Master of Science in Communication Disorders must be completed within 6 years, therefore, courses taken more than 4 years before beginning the program would not transfer. The committee meets monthly and you will be e-mailed their decision as soon as your coursework is reviewed.

Yes, students are required to come to the WKU campus the first summer in the program for approximately 6 weeks for our Summer Clinic. This is a requirement of the program and is not optional. Clinical Internship information

No, students can enroll in only one externship per semester.

A maximum of 25 observation hours and 50 clinical (treatment or evaluation) hours from undergraduate may be transferred to the graduate program with department approval. All clinical hours earned while enrolled in a graduate communication disorders program will apply toward the 400 hours required by ASHA. However, graduate students must fully complete SLP 590 Clinical Internship and six credit hours of SLP 591 Clinical Externship meeting the minimum requirements for each section completed. At least 200 hours must be completed through WKU.

Policies for transferring observation and clinical hours:

POLICY 4a:

Students must complete 25 hours of observation prior to beginning the graduate program or during the first semester of the program. Observation hours must be earned under the auspices of university coursework. (See procedure under policy 4b)

 POLICY 4b:

Students will be allowed to transfer a maximum of 25 observation hours and a maximum of 50 clinical clock hours from an undergraduate clinical experience. PROCEDURE: Transfer hours must be submitted in writing. A written statement from the program director or designee of the institution where the hours were earned is required. The statement must indicate that the hours were earned under the supervision of an ASHA certified Speech-Language Pathologist. The statement MUST be a signed document on official letterhead from the institution. The letter should be mailed to the CSD departmental address to the attention of Catherine Martin or sent to catherine.martin@wku.edu via email. Observation hours do not have to be listed or broken down into categories. However, if you have clinical hours that need to be transferred, those do need to be specific and categorized by child/adult, hearing, treatment/diagnostic, and according to the 9 areas of competency.

Summative evaluations are required by WKU Graduate School and our accrediting agency. This department uses the departmental comprehensive exam as the summative evaluation.  Students who successfully defend a thesis are exempt from taking this comprehensive exam.

There are a number of resources available at www.wku.edu/online to help you decide if an online learning format would be a good fit for you.

Click here to go to the admissions and application page.

You'll be sent an agreement that stipulates what courses you may still need to complete before the start of the fall semester.