Students and New Professionals

The Department of Communication Disorders at Southern Connecticut State University offers an undergraduate Bachelor of Science Degree in communication disorders and a Master of Science Degree in speech-language pathology.  In addition to offering an exemplary academic program, the Department of Communication Disorders provides its students with rich internal and external clinical experiences. With the largest university clinic for speech-language pathology in Connecticut, Southern students are offered a wide variety of clinical opportunities. Three on-campus clinical service programs, The Center for Communication Disorders, The Access Network, and Southern Connecticut Audiology Services, provide the communities of the Southern campus and the Greater New Haven area with a wide variety of diagnostic and treatment opportunities in the fields of speech-language pathology and audiology.

The mission of the SLHS department is to educate students on the processes of hearing, speech, language, cognition, and swallowing, to engage in the scientific study of human communication and its disorders, and to serve the community of individuals with communication disorders or differences. In all endeavors the department strives to foster a culture of inclusiveness and respect.

The department offers an undergraduate program in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences as well as three graduate programs – 1) M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology; 2) Au.D. in Audiology; 3) Ph.D. with five areas of emphasis.

The undergraduate concentration is a pre-professional major within the liberal arts and sciences curriculum. Upon graduation, students pursue studies in one of two distinct areas offered within the graduate program leading to either professional or research degrees.

Clinical experiences in speech language pathology and audiology are important components of these degree programs and are offered in the UConn Speech and Hearing Clinic (located in the D.C. Phillips Communication Sciences Building) as well as at several external sites. Off-campus placements include acute and rehabilitation hospitals, long term-care facilities, out-patient clinics, birth-to-three agencies, schools, and private practice settings.

Five areas of emphasis are offered for the research Ph.D. degree: (1) speech pathology, (2) language, (3) audiology, (4) speech science, and (5) hearing science. The curriculum for the full-time program involves broad-based coursework and mentored experimental investigations followed by dissertation research.

The Speech-Language Pathology program at Sacred Heart University currently has an undergraduate minor in SLP and a graduate program that recently underwent a successful site visit for accreditation from the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. Our program is also accredited by the CT Office of Higher Education and approved for teacher endorsement by the CT State Department of Education. Students in SHU’s SLP undergraduate program have the opportunity to participate in a service learning experience in Guatemala, where they work with other professions to provide hearing screening and home literacy instruction. Students from the graduate program may also participate. Our graduate SLP program is unique in placing students in real clinical settings, in teams accompanied by supervisors from SHU, from the first semester of the graduate program. Each graduate student experiences at least five different clinical placements in the course of the five semester program (Fall, Spring, Summer, Fall, Spring). Research opportunities are provided for students who wish to assist faculty with their research, as a volunteer, or through competitively awarded graduate assistantships. SHU is the only University in CT that has Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and SLP on one campus and provides multiple interprofessional experiences for students each semester. Our program has been evaluated as a national model of interprofessional education. SHU SLP also offers the option to complete a certificate of specialization in autism, medical SLP, or English Language Learners’ Literacy.

SHU’s NSSHLA Chapter has been awarded Gold status by the National NSSLHA office and SHU student Ny-Aja Boyd serves as a regional representative to NSSLHA.