Masters Program

The University of Nevada, Reno offers a two-year program leading to the M.S. degree in Speech Pathology. Students are prepared for professional careers as speech-language pathologist in schools, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and community clinics. The program provides the academic and clinical requirements necessary for the Certificate of Clinical Competence from ASHA. Students become eligible for ASHA certification following completion of the M.S. degree, successful completion of the national certification examination (Praxis) and completion of a one-year clinical fellowship year (CFY). The CFY consists of nine months of full-time professional employment as a speech-language pathologist completed under the supervision of a certified speech-language pathologist. If you have any questions regarding the academic program, please contact Pradyumn Srivastava Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Director of Graduate Studies at psrivastava@med.unr.edu.

Program of Study

Academic Work

Students work with their advisors to develop an approved program of study. The M.S. curriculum provides a variety of course offerings that emphasize evaluation and treatment of communicative disorders involving language, phonology, fluency, voice, alaryngeal speech, aphasia, cleft palate, augmentative communication and cerebral palsy. The M.S. degree requires a minimum of 45 semester credits at the graduate level non-thesis option or 50 semester credits for thesis option. Please refer to the Academic Handbook for requirements.

Although individuality is considered in designing a program of study, students are encouraged to take the majority of curriculum offerings in order to adequately prepare for professional careers and successful performance on the comprehensive exam.

Clinical Work

Master's students must also complete a minimum of 375 clock hours of supervised clinical practicum. Students typically complete three to four semesters of practicum in our extensive on-campus Speech and Hearing Clinic. Clinical services are offered for a variety of communicative disorders and are supervised by faculty. Students also are required to complete two off campus clinical externship placements. Numerous placements are available in the community's public schools, hospitals, Veteran's Administration Hospital, rehabilitation centers, and early intervention programs. Please refer to the Clinical Handbook for requirements. If you have any questions regarding the clinical component of the graduate program, please contact Rachael Walden, Clinical Director, at rwalden@med.unr.edu