Our philosophy is to develop highly competent clinical practitioners. The intent is to educate students to embody the best of the clinician’s rigorous approach to problem solving using the scientific method. The academic program provides a broadly-based fund of knowledge in communication sciences and disorders, with emphasis on a processing framework that helps the students analyze and synthesize information.
Our mission is to educate students to become highly competent clinician researchers in the field of speech language pathology who contribute to their community. Our model future clinician demonstrates intellectual curiosity, cultural humility, integrity, high ethical standards, consistent professionalism, and the ability to evolve as an innovator in the future.
CWRU Diversity Statement
Case Western Reserve University aspires to be an inclusive environment, believing that the creative energy and variety of insights that result from diversity are a vital component of the intellectual rigor and social fabric of the university.
As a scholarly community, Case Western Reserve is inclusive of people of all racial, ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic, national and international backgrounds, welcoming diversity of thought, pedagogy, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, political affiliation and disability.
We believe in a culture of inclusion that encourages relationships and interactions among people of different backgrounds, a culture that enhances human dignity, actively diminishes prejudice and discrimination and improves the quality of life for everyone in our community.
The M.A. program is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Upon completion of the master’s degree program, graduates will meet the academic and clinical requirements to be eligible for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in speech-language pathology from ASHA and the Ohio Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology.
Students are required to complete a minimum of 44 credit hours of graduate coursework (and maintain a 3.0 GPA for those courses) and 375 clock hours of supervised clinical practicum as residential, full time students over 5 semesters. In addition, they must satisfactorily pass written and oral examinations or complete a master’s thesis. Students who select the written and oral examination option are required to complete a meta-analysis project. Students who select the thesis option must enroll in six hours of thesis credit and pass an oral defense of their thesis.
An individual plan of study is designed with each student, based on his or her undergraduate background and professional goals. Students interested in applying to the graduate program are not required to have an undergraduate degree in communication disorders, however they are required to complete additional undergraduate coursework to meet the requirements for ASHA certification. Although the actual number of classes will vary depending on the student’s prior area of study, the following courses or their equivalent are required prior to entrance to the program:
| COSI 211 Phonetics and Phonology | COSI 313 Language Development |
| COSI 321 Speech and Hearing Sciences | COSI 325 Anatomy and Physiology of Speech |
| COSI 352 Introduction to Clinical Practice | |
In addition, prospective leveling students must have completed one course in the biological sciences (biology), one course in the physical sciences (physics or chemistry), and one statistics course (statistics must be in the course title) to be considered for admission to the graduate program.
Gail Richard and Blair Gorenberg, NSSLHA regional councilor
Speech-Language Pathology MA students and members of Fluency Group in session.
Congratulations to our M.A. class of 2017!
The graduate program Communication Sciences (COSI) in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Case Western Reserve University offers M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. Learning is enhanced for all students by small class size, supportive and frequent interactions with faculty, and varied clinical and research opportunities. Graduates with a degree (M.A. or Ph.D.) in speech-language pathology are able to pursue careers in fields that are challenging, stimulating, and rewarding. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor indicate that there will be a 36% or more increase in jobs in the field of speech-language pathology over the next seven years. Career opportunities exist for graduates in universities, hospitals, schools, private practices, nursing homes, special education centers, rehabilitation centers, non-profit agencies. Additionally, within each of these employment settings, opportunities are available for for speech-language pathologist to provide services to individuals exhibiting a range of communicative impairments or to specialize in service delivery to a specific population such as the elderly, infants, hearing-impaired children or clients who have suffered traumatic brain injury.
Facilities and Equipment
COSI is housed on the third floor of the Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center. The CHSC, is located at East 116th and Euclid Avenue, includes offices for department faculty, research labs, and classrooms. There is also a student workroom with study carrels and a computer lab. Students have access to current assessment and intervention materials.
In addition, MA SLP students participate in interprofessional education on the Health Education Campus (HEC) with medical, dental, nursing, social work, physician assistant, nutrition and genetic counseling students. Technology used by our students in their coursework includes HoloLens and HoloAnatomy. Here is a brief video of Dr. Mulheren’s Voice Disorders class:
Meta-analysis poster day
Student SLP during a therapy session
Surrounding Community
Case is located in University Circle, a 550-acre, park-like concentration of over 40 educational, scientific, medical, artistic, and cultural institutions. In addition to the University, which is the Circle’s largest institution, the surrounding community includes: Severance Hall (home of the Cleveland Orchestra), the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Art, University Hospitals of Cleveland, the Museum of Natural History, the Children’s Museum, the Health Museum of Cleveland, and the Western Reserve Historical Society. All are within walking distance of the Program of Communication Sciences.
The Master of Arts (M.A.) education program in speech-language pathology {residential} at Case Western Reserve University is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2200 Research Boulevard, #310, Rockville, Maryland 20850, 800-498-2071 or 301-296-5700.