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What major should I look into to be accepted into a speech therapist program? ?

I’m going to be a sophomore in college and working on prerequisites. I know I want to become a speech therapist that specializes in children but am unsure after this year which way to go.

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medicine children speech-pathology pathology speech speech-therapy
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Pina’s Answer

Hello and thank you for your interest in the field of Speech Pathology. In my opinion the most interesting and meaningful work that anyone can do. San Francisco State University is close to Palo Alto and has an excellent program, called Language, Speech and Hearing Sciences for preparing you for a career in our field. San Jose State also has a great program, called Communicative Disorders and Sciences. These programs are both divided into B.A. or B.S., and M.A. or M.S. levels. After earning their Bachelor's level degree, some classroom-weary students are tempted to stop there, because many public school systems are happy to employ you, but I strongly suggest continuing on through Master's level studies, which give you more background and training in the field, as well as a significantly greater range of job opportunities. Both San Francisco State and San Jose State have counselors available to help you direct your studies so you can be ready to enter their programs. Reach Admissions at SF State by calling: 415/338-6486 and San Jose State by calling (408) 924-5910 or stopping by Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). Best of luck and enjoy the ride!
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Elena’s Answer

Hi there! First, you are so awesome for wanting to get into this field so young! Have you looked at masters programs? Go ahead and look at the requirements to apply to a masters program (just so you don’t take unnecessary courses). Masters programs are so competitive and have high requirements not to mention high GPAs. They also look for what volunteer work you have done. For example, in my case I always wanted to be a teacher so I obtained my bachelors in elementary education but two years into teaching I had an opportunity to take an additional 36 credits and obtain a special teaching license and work as a school-based speech therapist. I volunteered with children in Mexico. I liked it so much I went back to college and obtained a masters in speech-language pathology. This has opened up so many doors for me. I still work at the schools but also see adult clients in their homes through home health services. Those additional 36 credits fulfilled the requirements I needed to apply to a masters program (plus one more gen classes). Because colleges’ requirements may slightly vary, do your research with several colleges. Good luck!!!!
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Brianna’s Answer

Hi!

Speech-language pathology graduate programs do not require any particular bachelors degree. However, they do require many prerequisite undergraduate classes and learning experiences before you can begin taking graduate level courses and graduate level clinical placements. These typically include the following classes:

-1 course in normal anatomy & physiology for speech and hearing
-1 course in acoustics or speech science
-1 course in normal language development
-1 course in aural rehabilitation other than sign language
-1 course in hearing disorders and hearing evaluation
-1 course in phonetics
-1 course in biological sciences
-1 course in physical sciences
-1 course in behavioral/social sciences
-1 course in statistics

They additionally often require at least 10 signed observation hours of a certified speech therapist.

As for your overall major for undergrad, try looking into the following BA/BS degrees:

- Communication Sciences and Disorders
- Speech-language Pathology
- Education
- Early Childhood Education
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Linguistics
- Biology
- Neurology/Neuroscience
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