Speech and Hearing Sciences
Help Improve Lives
Prepare for your future as a speech-language pathologist or scientist as you learn how we hear, speak, swallow, and communicate. Gain the skills to identify communication disorders and provide assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for patients of all ages.
Learn about speech, language, and communication problems in conditions such as:
- Speech sound disorders
- Pediatric language disorders and delays
- Language and literacy
- Motor speech and neuromuscular disorders
- Voice disorders and paradoxical vocal fold dysfunction
- Speech, language, and cognitive problems resulting from brain injury, stroke, or neuromuscular disabilities
- Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)
- Dysphagia (swallowing)
- Accent modification
- Gender-affirming voice and communication
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 current research innovations. 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 Karen Simpson for additional information at simpsonk@wsu.edu or 509-358-7585.
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
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at Washington State University. When you choose to study speech and hearing sciences at WSU, you become part of a diverse, inclusive, and academically rigorous community of dedicated scholars, teachers, and students.
The position of the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at Washington State University within the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine gives our program a global reach with a focus on impacting our local communities. Our involvement with programs such as the Stephens County Mentorship and Outreach program and the Hearing Oral Program of Excellence School allow our students to learn more about rural and special populations while working with other disciplines. Our program also offers our students an opportunity to work and learn with other healthcare professionals.
We are especially excited to announce the opening of the Autism Spectrum and Neurodevelopmental Program of Excellence this spring, giving students access to cutting-edge clinical experiences, opportunities for research, and delivering services and support for a population in great need. In Fall 2023, we will also launch a new on-campus clinic to provide evidence-based assessment and treatment and give our students new opportunities to grow professionally while serving our community.
The WSU Health Sciences Spokane campus is an excellent place to learn and grow as a future speech and hearing professional. Our campus has all the advantages of a major research university while maintaining a small campus sense of community and belonging. Through our active student organizations and vibrant Student Diversity Center, you’ll find a place to belong at WSU Health Sciences Spokane. If you ask our students, they’ll say that they value our supportive faculty, interdisciplinary collaboration, opportunities for student involvement, and campus-wide support for their future success.
When you venture off our campus on the banks of the Spokane River, you’ll find Spokane has a lot to offer. As the second largest city in Washington state, Spokane is the hub of the largest metro area between Seattle and Minneapolis – St. Paul. Spokane is home to a vibrant arts community, a thriving restaurant scene, and outstanding outdoor recreation activities.
Amy Meredith, PhD
Chair and Clinical Professor
Research
Faculty expertise spans neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders affecting communication. We study and treat complex disorders such as autism, childhood apraxia of speech, speech neurophysiology, childhood deafness, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, translating research from the lab to the clinic to the community.
See the faculty experts page for more on our faculty research strengths.
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.
Alumni and 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 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, MD 20850, 800-498-2071 or 301-296-5700. The Master of Science (M.S.) program is also recognized at the state level by the Washington State Board of Education.