Program of Study Requirements
- UNL's Master's Degree program in Speech-Language Pathology meets the academic and clinical requirements for the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP) of ASHA, Nebraska licensure, and the Nebraska Department of Education teaching endorsement in Speech-Language Pathology. The typical timeframe to complete the program is 6 terms, which includes two summer semesters.
- A student, in consultation with his/her adviser, will select either Option A (thesis program) or Option B (non-thesis program). Completion of all academic and clinical requirements typically takes two years, including two summers. A minimum of 45 semester hours is required for the Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology.
- Option A (thesis) - This option requires completion of 31 semester hours of core requirements, 6 semester hours of Thesis Research (SLPA 899), and 8 semester hours of electives.
Students interested in completing a thesis should identify a thesis adviser as early in their program as possible but no later than the end of the first academic year. Once a topic has been identified and its general suitability discussed with the adviser, the student is in a position to select a Thesis Committee and begin preparation of the thesis proposal. The committee, to be selected by the student in consultation with the student's thesis adviser, must include a thesis adviser from the area of Speech-Language Pathology and two other Graduate Faculty members, one of whom can be from another department. The list of selected Committee members should be noted on the Final Examination Report (Parts 1, 4 & 5, without a title) and submitted with the student's MOC no later than Monday of the 15th Week of the student's second semester.
The thesis proposal is a crucial step in the thesis process. This written document prepared by the student normally contains the following sections: Review of Relevant Literature, Statement of the Problem and Research Questions, Proposed Methods and Procedures, and Proposed Analysis.
Once the proposal is complete and a student has received preliminary approval by the thesis adviser, a thesis proposal meeting will be scheduled. The student gives a copy of the proposal to the committee members at least two weeks prior to the meeting. At the meeting, the student discusses the proposal with the committee and requests approval for the project. Upon receiving full or qualified project approval from the committee, the process of carrying it through to completion is generally turned over to the student and the thesis adviser. The student is encouraged to consult with committee members as necessary.
Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval must be obtained before initiating a study that involves human subjects. Theses involving animals require approval from the UNL Animal Care Committee. A student should consult with his/her thesis adviser about the necessary steps and procedures to obtain approval.
At the completion of the study, a student writes a draft version of the entire thesis document and selects a thesis defense date and time mutually agreeable to all committee members. To prepare the thesis document, students should follow the guidelines recommended by the Office of Graduate Studies and the most current edition of the American Psychological Association (APA) Style Manual.
The student must notify the Graduate Coordinator of the exam date at least four weeks prior to the date of an oral exam during the fall/spring semesters and three weeks prior to the exam during the summer session.
A minimum of two weeks prior to the thesis defense date during the academic year and at least one week prior to the thesis defense during the summer, a student submits a copy of the final draft of the thesis to each member of the Thesis Committee for review before the oral exam.
Following the oral defense exam, the Committee members must sign the Final Examination Report form. The student or thesis adviser promptly submits this form to the Graduate Coordinator. The Graduate Coordinator will complete the Final Examination Report form with date and time of exam and forward to the Office of Graduate Studies before the exam is held.
B. Option B (non-thesis) - Two alternatives are available for students wishing to enroll in an Option B (non-thesis) program: the Evidence-Based Practice option or the Directed Research option. Students desiring the Directed Research option should approach faculty who may be performing research in a shared area of interest. Students may wish to approach more than one faculty member about Directed Research opportunities. Each faculty member has the right to accept or decline student participation in a research experience. If the faculty member agrees to accept a student's request for a Directed Research experience, the two will jointly prepare the Scholarly Activity Agreement Form specifying the criteria for successful completion of the project.
1. Option B - Evidence-Based Practice: This option requires completion of 31 semester hours of core requirements, 2 semester hours of Evidence-Based Practice (SLPA 870), and 12 semester hours of electives. In the Evidence-Based Practice course, students identify and weigh levels of evidence relating to clinical and research activities. The focus is on developing an understanding of evidence-based practices and outcome-based treatment as it applies to the field of Speech-Language Pathology.
2. Option B - Directed Research: This option requires completion of 31 semester hours of core requirements, 2 semester hours of Independent Study (SLPA 894) or Research Other Than Thesis (SLPA 998), and 12 semester hours of electives. Directed Research may take the form of pilot studies of interest, participation in some facet(s) of a faculty member's research, or single-subject design studies of clinical intervention.
III. Of the minimum number of graduate credits required for completion of the Master's Degree, at least 18 must be in courses open only to graduate students (i.e., 900-level courses or 800-level courses that do not have undergraduate co-listed numbers). A minimum grade of B is required for any graduate course also open to undergraduates (i.e., 400- to 800-level courses) including courses outside of the major. Students cannot select the Pass/No Pass grading option for courses counted toward program completion.
IV. Core required courses include SLPA 862, SLPA 864, SLPA 874, SLPA 875, SLPA 886, SLPA 966, SLPA 966L, SLPA 967, and SLPA 870 or 898 or 899.
V. Students must choose 10-12 credits of elective courses, and at least six credit hours of electives must be SLPA courses.
A. Speech-Language Pathology electives include SLPA 862A, SLPA 862J or SPED 809 (not both), SLPA 870 (if not taken as research), SLPA 884, SLPA 888, SLPA 890 & 890L, SLPA 982, SLPA 987, SLPA 988, and SLPA 990 section 001.
B. Special Education electives include SPED 806 & 806A or SPED 815 & 815A (not both sets), SPED 860, SPED 863, SPED 875, and SPED 960.
C. Gerontology electives include GERO 846, GERO 847, GERO 855, and GERO 867.
D. Child, Youth, and Family Studies electives include CYAF 813 and CYAF 881.
VI. Students register for Advanced Clinical Practicum (SLPA 897) each semester they are enrolled in the program, including summers. Students will be assigned as many clients as reasonable for their clinical practicum. Those students engaged in student teaching or off-campus practicum will have clients assigned to them by their cooperating clinician(s). They may also have clients assigned to them in the Barkley Clinic. The number of hours and types of clients will depend on the nature of each placement. Students may not graduate until they have acquired the total number of practicum hours required for ASHA certification. In addition, all necessary hours in any subcategories of the total must have been accumulated. Additional semester registration may be required to meet any practicum hour deficiencies. Students are not required to be enrolled in clinic if they need to retake comprehensive exams and are in good standing with having completed the necessary clinical competencies and hours for ASHA certification.
VII. Students have the option to complete independent study coursework (SLPA 894) as a part of their graduate programs. This coursework will not count toward the 45 hours required for completion of the master's degree unless a student petitions the faculty to substitute it for one of the standard elective courses. To do this, students must complete the following steps:
- Obtain permission from a graduate faculty member who is willing to provide instruction for the independent study.
- Write a letter to the Speech-Language Pathology faculty petitioning them to allow the independent study to count toward the required 45 hours. The letter should include: (a) a rationale for why the student wishes to complete the independent study; (b) an explanation of how the topic supports the student's career plans; and (c) a list of objectives or learning outcomes and activities to be performed as part of the independent study course.
- Submit the request to the SLP Graduate Chair no later than the last Speech-Language Pathology faculty meeting of the semester preceding the one in which the student will enroll in the independent study. This will allow the faculty time to consider the petition and make a decision to accept or reject the student appeal.
Grade Requirements
- For any deficiency (e.g., Nebraska Department of Education requirements, ASHA general education requirements, SLPA undergraduate requirements), a student must earn a grade of C or better if enrolled in an undergraduate course or a grade of B or better if enrolled in the 800-level option of a 400/800 cross-listed course. Regardless, the course credits do not count as part of the 45 semester hours of required graduate work.
- If a student receives a grade of B- or lower in a core requirement course, the course instructor has the right to require the student to retake all or part of the course. This may require the student to re-enroll and pay for the course a second time.
- For SLPA 897B, SLPA 897C, SLPA 897E, SLPA 897G, only clinic hours in which the student earns a "pass" or a grade of B or higher will count toward the minimal number of clinical practicum hours required. Students must have three semesters of 897B or 897C on their transcripts. If students receive a grade lower than a B in a semester when they are enrolled in 897B or 897C, the faculty may require them to take a fifth semester of 897C. Students must pass 897G and 897E with a B or better. Students who do not earn a B or better in 897G or 897E must repeat the experience.
- For scholarly activities in courses SLPA 894, 998 or 899 (pass/no-pass only), students will be assigned a letter grade for completed work, guided by the agreements between student and instructor as outlined on the Scholarly Activity Agreement Form. If, however, the student fails to complete the contracted project by the end of the semester, he or she will be assigned a grade of Incomplete in the form of either IP or XP to reflect adequate or inadequate progress. Once the proposed activities and products are completed, the supervising mentor that semester will submit a grade change to a letter grade. Receipt of a XP will result in a letter from the SLP Graduate Governance Committee warning the student of the consequences of receiving additional XP grades and providing resources available to help the student address the inadequate progress. Receipt of two XPs during the student's program of study may result in dismissal from the program.