Community-Based Clinical Experience
Partnerships with local clinics and advocacy groups provide a unique opportunity for students to gain clinical training in multidisciplinary teams and to learn through integrated experiences involving mentoring, advocacy, and clinical training.
Graduate students also receive hands-on clinical experience at an on-campus training facility that serves as a health care option in the community.
Why WSU Speech and Hearing Sciences?
Innovative Research
Work with well-known scholars on innovative research that spans both basic and translational research. Students also have access to state-of-the-art equipment, enabling them to experience cutting-edge applications in clinic and laboratory technology.
Clinical Expertise
Train with master clinicians in onsite and community-based clinical settings. Low faculty-student ratios also ensure individual attention, close supervision, academic innovation, and excellence.
Interprofessional Learning Environment
Interprofessional, clinical, and classroom experiences are cornerstones of our curriculum. As a department embedded within a school of medicine, interdisciplinary learning is not only possible but integral to your education.
Our Degree Programs
Earn a degree and build a strong foundation in speech science, language development, and audiology.
Additional Certifications
Educational Staff Associate (ESA) Certification
ESA certification for speech-language pathologists and audiologists in Washington is separate from ASHA CCC certification and is required by the state for employment in a public school setting. There are two levels of ESA certification: Initial and Continuing. Consult with Dana Algeo-Nichols for additional information at dalgeo@wsu.edu or 509-368-6587.
Get to Know Us
- Located on WSU Spokane campus
- Curriculum and research address the physiological, neurological, and behavioral dimensions of normal and disordered communication across the lifespan
- State-of-the-art equipment for clinical experiences, practicums, and research
National Student Speech-Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA)
Speech and Hearing Sciences students take the lead in community outreach efforts as members of our local chapter of NSSLHA, the pre-professional student organization affiliated with the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA). NSSLHA provides students at the undergraduate and graduate levels with opportunities for engaging in educational experiences outside of their coursework. Membership in NSSLHA guides preparation for entering the disciplines of audiology and speech-language pathology.
Led by a faculty advisor, NSSLHA offers community panel-based educational sessions known as “Ed Nights”, open to all students on the WSU Health Sciences Spokane campus, which address a variety of topics related to communication disorders and various health conditions. These sessions are supported by participating interdisciplinary healthcare professionals sharing their experiences in clinical practice. As part of their philanthropy efforts supporting the community, NSSLHA holds fundraisers to support organizations serving individuals with communication disorders across the lifespan. NSSLHA has donated funds to organizations such as the HOPE School, the Stuttering Foundation of America, the Isaac Foundation, the Northwest Autism Center, Vanessa Beehan Crisis Nursery, Ogden Hall, and many other community partners.
Wavelength Newsletter
Celebrating Program and Research Successes
Stay up to date on some of the latest program successes and important research underway within the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences.
SHS’s Babble Boot Camp Launches National Training for Providers, Families
Graduate Makes Her Mark on Speech and Language Research
New Equipment Will Improve Speech Therapy Teaching, Clinical Outcomes
Read more stories from Speech and Hearing Sciences on the College of Medicine News site.
Giving
The Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences is proud of the students who have graduated from our academic programs. We want to hear from our alumni, and in turn, want our alumni to know what is happening with us in Spokane and beyond.
Our alumni and friends are invaluable as we strive to redefine education. Gifts to assist our students are always appreciated. Please consider a gift to make a difference for future generations. Gifts support student scholarships and financial aid, student travel expenses to attend professional conferences for presentations and networking, student and faculty research, the purchase of new equipment for laboratories, and recruitment and retention of faculty.
Accreditation
The Master of Science (M.S.) education program in Speech-Language Pathology {residential} at Washington State University, Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), 2200 Research Boulevard, #310, Rockville, MD 20850, 800-498-2071 or 301-296-5700.
It also is recognized at the state level by the Washington State Board of Education. The program provides the basis for certification in speech-language pathology by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), the certificate of clinical competence, and for state licensure.