EIU Master of Science in Communication Disorders and Sciences

About the Program

The Graduate Program at EIU in Communication Disorders & Sciences… where great students learn to become outstanding speech-language pathologists!

Unique Aspects of the Program

• Friendly, supportive faculty with a wide-range of expertise and an open-door policy prioritize teaching you in class and clinic.

• ALL faculty worked as speech-language pathologists prior to joining the faculty at EIU. ALL faculty teach courses and supervise in the clinic. Courses are clinically focused and include case-based teaching. 

• Faculty members actively engage in practicing their profession through teaching, supervision, service on professional committees, attendance at conferences, and mentoring research.

• You will have a variety of clinical experiences while on-campus, including diagnostic and intervention services at the EIU Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, in local schools, and through community outreach programs. 

• All students have passed the ASHA Praxis exam for many years. Mean test scores on ASHA Praxis exam are 5-10% ABOVE state and national averages.   

Program Timeline and Internships

• Standard Traditional Program includes 4 semesters of on-campus clinic and coursework (summer-fall-spring-summer) then 2 semesters of full-time, 14-week, off-campus internships in the medical and educational settings. Extended Program option includes 5 semesters on campus followed by 2 semesters of full-time, 14-week internships.  

• Educational and medical internships can be completed throughout the country when contracts are available. Past students have completed internships in Arizona, Hawaii, Virginia, Wisconsin, Missouri, Tennessee, Ohio, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, etc., with many choosing to complete their internships close to home.

• Internship supervisors and employers consistently report EIU students are very well-prepared to work in medical and educational settings, and students consistently state full-semester internships were a major part of their clinical training that prepared them for the professional world.

When asked if they would choose EIU all over again for their graduate training, second–year graduate students consistently answer, "definitely/yes/absolutely," with many adding that they wished they had attended EIU for their undergraduate education too.

"Taking your class made me more than prepared to take on this opportunity even though I've never done this before. The more I go back and look at resources, and what you've provided us, I really can see how well EIU prepared us to be SLPs."

-Nicole Gaudiano, May 2020 M.S. Graduate