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Community
The
Department
of
Communication Sciences
& Disorders’ graduate
program
in
speech-
language pathology has
been elevated 14 places
to No. 73 out of more
than 250 programs in
the U.S. News & World Report ranking of the 2012 Best Graduate
Speech-Language Pathology programs. Among programs that do
not offer a doctoral degree (master’s only), the program ranks No.
13 nationally.
The rise in the U.S. News rankings reflects the growing national
prominence of the department, echoing the achievements and
success of several initiatives COSD has undertaken over the past
few years, including:
• An increasing number of scholarly publications of original
research by COSD faculty in prominent national and
international journals
• Maintaining a nationally-leading pass rate on the PRAXIS
Speech-Language Pathology examination by graduating
master’s degree students (100 percent of COSD graduate
students have passed this exam for more than a decade)
• Creation of innovative international study opportunities for
COSD graduate students in Australia and the United Kingdom
• A growing excellence in training graduate students able to work
with Spanish-speaking populations through the department’s
Emphasis in Bilingual Speech-Language Pathology graduate
track, which was the first federally-funded bilingual training
program in the country
“TCU has educated speech-language pathologists since 1947, so
there is a history and tradition of excellence in our program at
this university,” said Christopher Watts, professor and chair of the
COSD department. He added, “The continuation of this excellence
in graduate-level training, along with the innovative curriculum
and opportunities we offer to students seeking a master’s degree
in speech-language pathology, has facilitated the rising national
prominence of our program. Our growing reputation also has
been noticed by students – we have had a record number of
applications in each of the last three years.”
Watts indicated that almost 200 students from 36 states applied
for the 15 spots in the graduate program during the past
application cycle. The graduate program has a target enrollment
of 30 graduate students across two academic years, and plans
to grow enrollment to 20 students each year as needed physical
space becomes available.
The program is a five-semester academic and practical series that
allows students to gain significant clinical experiences in multiple
treatment settings, including the Miller Speech & Hearing Clinic,
the primary on-campus training facility for the COSD department.
The department also maintains community partnerships
with medical facilities and school systems in Fort Worth and
throughout the metroplex, with graduate students in speech-
language pathology completing externships with community
partners as an element of graduate clinical training.
Moving
up
200 students
from
36 states
applied for the
15 spots
in the graduate program during the
past application cycle.
Photo by Jim Hudson
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