SLP Concentration

Completion of the concentration in speech and language pathology (SLP) will prepare students to diagnose and treat speech, swallowing and language disorders in children and adults. Accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and ranked among the top in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, the SLP concentration prepares students to meet all academic requirements for the Certificate of Clinical Competence (ASHA), as well as state licensure and school certification. Our graduates go on to clinical practice in a variety of settings, including hospitals, rehabilitation centers, schools, clinics, and private practice.

The SLP concentration integrates a deep and broad curriculum with clinical observation, research and practice. Your coursework will include normal development and disorders of swallowing, voice, articulation, phonology, fluency, neurological substrates, language, and literacy. Most of your courses and your first four to five quarters of clinic practica will be held on the Evanston campus in the Frances Searle Building. Additional clinical education may take place at our hospital-based Voice, Speech, and Language Service, at the Swallowing Center on our Chicago Campus or at practicum sites throughout Chicago urban and suburban communities. These sites offer experiences with high and low-incidence disorders and individuals from many different cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

The length of the general program for the SLP concentration ranges from eight to twelve quarters of full-time study, depending on the student's educational background. Students may also choose to pursue specialization in early intervention for infants and children up to age three, school-age children, or neurogenic disorders. Those wishing to complete an area of specialization may need additional quarters of study.

Some features of the curriculum include:

• Courses that offer breadth and depth across the current speech-language pathology scope of practice
  • Sample Quarterly Plan
  • Sample Plan for the Leveling Year
• Specialization opportunities in early intervention (0-3), school-age children, and neurogenic disorders
• Advanced coursework in disorders of swallowing, voice, articulation and phonology, fluency, aphasia, and school-age language and literacy
• Nationally prominent faculty with research labs investigating both basic and clinical questions in communication sciences and disorders
• Clinical education in the Speech, Language, and Learning Clinic (Evanston campus), the hospital-based Voice, Speech, and Language Service and Swallowing Center (Chicago campus) under clinical faculty with specialized areas of expertise
• Practicum sites throughout Chicago urban and suburban communities offering experiences with high and low-incidence disorders and individuals from many different cultural and linguistic backgrounds
• Interdisciplinary opportunities in campus programs in neuroscience, linguistics, and language and cognition through elective course work and colloquia series