The department’s admissions committee conducts a holistic evaluation process that considers a range of factors related to potential for success in a graduate program, including the following:

• Preparation for graduate study including academic experience and achievement
• Ability to critically evaluate information from multiple perspectives
• Verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills
• Background, experiences, and interests that relate to potential for excellence as a speech-language pathologist or audiologist
• Personal and professional skills and attributes that relate to potential for excellence as a speech-language pathologist or audiologist

The following sources of applicant information are used to evaluate these factors as part of our admissions review process for all applicants:

• Courses taken and performance in each course from official transcripts
• Overall and subject GPAs from undergraduate and post-baccalaureate coursework
• Three professional letters of recommendation
• Responses to short answer questions in the Personal Essay document
• Highest submitted GRE scores within the last 5 years OPTIONAL
• TOEFL scores for International students whose native language is not English
• Relevant research experience (lab work, independent study, thesis, etc.) and/or clinical experience (including shadowing, observations, internships, etc.) from the Supporting Information and Personal Essay sections of the application
• Conversational, thinking and interpersonal skills from the virtual interview with faculty (after initial review, for applicants moving on in the admission process)

Successful applicants for our programs will include those students who show strong academic preparedness, diversity in background and experiences, and excellent interpersonal and communicative abilities.

While there are no absolute minimum cut-off scores, applicants with a U.S. or equivalent GPA of 3.0 or lower are unlikely to be admitted. Over the past few years, the number and quality of applicants has made those applicants with a GPA of 3.5 or higher most competitive for admission. GREs are optional for the MS SLP and the AuD programs. In general, GRE scores will only be viewed favorably by the Admissions Committee; strong GRE scores may increase an applicant’s ranking for admission and for funding, but low GRE scores will not be used as a basis to deny admission or funding. Students who do not report GRE scores will not be denied admission or funding solely on the basis of a lack of GRE score.

Strengths in non-quantitative areas as evidenced through individual background and experiences are actively considered and may override traditional numeric scores (such as GPA and GRE) in some cases. Examples may include candidates with a lower undergraduate GPA who have since successfully completed several CSD courses on a non-matriculated basis at a competitive program with excellent grades, or candidates who have completed coursework or a graduate program in another field with a high GPA. In addition, we consider other relevant interpersonal, communicative, and experience-related factors.

Acceptance Rates

We typically receive 70-100 verified applications for the Audiology doctoral program and 170- 220 verified applications for the Master’s of Speech-Language Pathology program each year. The number of admission offers is based on the qualifications of the applicant pool. In recent years, approximately 45-55% of applicants to our Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology programs have been offered admission.