BS in Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences/MS in Speech-Language Pathology
The combined BS/MS-SLP program is designed for highly motivated and academically talented students who are ready to commit to a career in speech-language pathology and to complete an undergraduate degree in speech, language, and hearing sciences (SLHS) with a master’s degree in speech-language pathology (SLP) in less time than the customary six years of study.
Bachelor’s-to-Master’s Programs are linked bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in which the two degrees are conferred sequentially. The BS/MS-SLP program allows students to begin taking graduate (MS-SLP) courses while enrolled as an undergraduate. Students may apply a maximum of 8 units from their undergraduate degree toward the associated master’s degree. The units applied toward the master’s degree must be at the 500 level or above.
Students must apply to Bachelor’s-to-Master’s Programs before the conferral of the bachelor’s degree. Current SLHS undergraduate students who meet the eligibility requirements (described below) are invited to apply to the BS/MS-SLP program in fall of their junior year. Students in the BS/MS-SLP program will complete at least 167 units overall, including at least 128 units that count solely for the baccalaureate (BS) degree and at least 39 units that are earned while enrolled as a master’s (MS-SLP) degree student.
Students in the BS/MS-SLP program must complete at least 39 units while enrolled as a graduate student. Students should consult with the Financial Assistance office to learn how entrance into the Bachelor’s-to-Master’s program might impact their financial aid.
Eligibility Requirements
In fall term of their junior year, students who meet the following eligibility criteria will be invited to apply for the BS/MS-SLP program. The requirements include:
- An overall GPA of 3.6 (or better) at the end of their sophomore year.
- A GPA of 3.75 (or better) in the five core SLHS courses (SH 110, 220, 221, 230, and 240).
- Completion of all of their natural science (biology and physical science) requirements and the required psychology course.
- Registration for both SH 325 and the cognitive/neurosciences requirement in fall of junior year.
- A minimum of 54 units earned at Boston University.
At least one of the required biology courses (CAS BI 105 and CAS BI 210) must have been taken at BU.
Students enrolled in the BS/MS-SLP program will complete SAR SH 340 Aural Habilitation & Rehabilitation during fall of their senior year. Three courses required for undergraduate SLHS majors—SAR SH 355 Language Disorders Across the Lifespan, SAR SH 356 Introduction to Speech Sound Disorders, and SAR SH 415 Senior Seminar: Internship—will be waived for students in the combined program, as this content will be covered in their graduate coursework. Students must fulfill all of their other undergraduate course requirements, including Hub requirements, prior to fall of their senior year.
A sample course plan is included below.
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
- Show measurable progress in the basic foundation knowledge that underlies research and clinical work in speech, language, and hearing sciences.
- Apply hearing science, disability awareness, and audiological testing to an analysis of the effects of hearing loss on a specific individual that includes remediation recommendations.
- Analyze clinic patients, research lab experiences, or other in-depth data to develop skills that can apply directly to their graduate school and/or post-BS employment opportunities.
- Interpret data from a speaker with a phonological disorder and support their conclusions by justifying the scope of their analyses, using primary journal articles and providing a coherent summary of their thought process.
- Apply their coursework in an integrative way to situations in a clinical, research, and/or other professional setting to complete a project or other duties assigned by the internship supervisor.
Requirements
All BU undergraduate students, including both entering first-year and transfer students, will pursue coursework in the BU Hub, the University’s general education program that is integrated into the entire undergraduate experience. BU Hub requirements can be satisfied in a number of ways, including coursework in and beyond the major as well as through cocurricular activities. Students majoring in Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences will ordinarily, through coursework in the major, satisfy BU Hub requirements in Quantitative Reasoning, Communication, Scientific and Social Inquiry, Diversity, Civic Engagement and Global Citizenship, and some elements of the Intellectual Toolkit. Remaining BU Hub requirements will be satisfied by selecting from a wide range of available courses outside the major or, in some cases, cocurricular experiences. Please note that students planning for the combined BS/MS degree must have all of their Hub requirements completed by the end of junior year.
Sample Course Plan
Freshman Year
First Term
- SAR SH 110 Introduction to Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
- CAS BI 105 Introductory Biology for Health Sciences
- CAS WR 120 First-Year Writing Seminar
- CAS PS 101 General Psychology
- SAR HP 150 First-Year Sargent Seminar
Second Term
- CAS BI 210 Human Anatomy
- CAS WR 151, 152, or 153 Writing, Research & Inquiry
- SAR HP 151 Introduction to Health Professions (2 units)
- Math, Data Science, or Computer Programming (CAS MA 119, CAS MA 121, CDS DS 100, CDS DS 110, CAS CS 101, or CAS CS 111)
- BU Hub requirements or general elective
Sophomore Year
First Term
- SAR SH 220 Anatomy and Physiology of the Speech Mechanism
- Physical Science (CAS PY 104, or any other course in CAS PY or CAS CH)
- SAR HP 252 Health and Disability Across the Lifespan
- CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics
Second Term
- SAR SH 221 Phonetics
- SAR SH 230 Language Acquisition
- SAR SH 240 Introduction to Audiology
- Statistics (CAS MA 113, CAS MA 115, or CAS MA 213)
Junior Year
First Term
- SAR SH 325 Speech Science
- SAR HP 353 Organization and Delivery of Health Care in the US or SAR elective
- Cognition/Neuroscience (SAR SH 335 Neurobiology of Language, CAS NE 101, CAS PS 231, or CAS PS 336)
- BU Hub requirement or general elective
Second Term
- SAR SH 350 Clinical Methods
- BU Hub requirements or general elective
- BU Hub requirements or general elective
- BU Hub requirements or general elective
Senior Year
First Term
- SAR SH 340 Aural Habilitation and Rehabilitation
- SAR SH 605 Speech Sound Disorders (3 units)
- SAR SH 700 Research Methods (1 unit)
- SAR SH 709 Language Sampling Analysis (2 units)
- SAR SH 733 Voice and Resonance Disorders (3 units)
- SAR SH 737 Evaluation and Diagnosis in Speech Pathology (2 units)
- SAR SH 756 Cognition and Neural Bases (3 units)
Second Term
- SAR SH 729 School-Age Language Disorders (3 units)
- SAR SH 735 Preschool Language Disorders (3 units)
- SAR SH 736 Aphasia (3 units)
- SAR SH 738 Dysphagia (3 units)
- SAR SH 740 Clinical Practicum (2 units)
- SAR SH 748 Hearing Practicum I (1 unit)
Continuation into the MS-SLP program
During their senior year, students complete coursework that counts toward both the BS and MS-SLP degrees. Students who remain in good academic standing after their senior year will continue to take courses to fulfill the remaining requirements of the MS-SLP degree. Students in the combined BS/MS program follow the same curriculum and sequence of courses as MS students matriculating with all the prerequisite courses with the following differences:
- Combined BS/MS students take SH 542 Aural Rehabilitation in the fall term of their senior year of the BS degree/first year of the MS-SLP program.
- Combined BS/MS students take the clinical practica sequence in the following terms:
- SAR SH 740 in the spring term of their senior year of the BS degree/first year of the MS-SLP program,
- SAR SH 741 Clinical Practicum in the fall term of their first year as a graduate student/second year of the MS-SLP program,
- SAR SH 742 in the spring term of their first year as a graduate student/second year of the MS-SLP program,
- and SAR SH 743 in the summer of their first year as a graduate student/second year of the MS-SLP program.
First Term
- SAR SH 691 Introduction to Augmentative and Alternative Communication (3 units)
- SAR SH 701 Counseling (2 units)
- SAR SH 705 Clinical Reasoning: Case Studies (1 unit)
- SAR SH 702 Public School Seminar (1 unit)
- SAR SH 721 Motor Speech Disorders (2 units)
- SAR SH 727 Autism (2 units)
- SAR SH 728 Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing (2 units)
- SAR SH 741 Clinical Practicum (3 units)
- SAR SH 744 Clinical Practicum: Diagnostics (1 unit)
- SAR SH 761 Research Seminar (2 units) [for students doing a thesis]
Second Term
- SAR SH 650 Healthcare Seminar (1 unit)
- SAR SH 704 Clinical Reasoning: IPE (1 unit)
- SAR SH 715 Professional Issues (0 units)
- SAR SH 725 Bilingual Considerations in Language Assessment & Intervention (2 units)
- SAR SH 732 Stuttering and Related Disorders (2 units)
- SAR SH 734 Acquired Cognitive Disorders (2 units)
- SAR SH 743 Clinical Practicum (5 units)
- SAR SH 752 Hearing Practicum II (1 unit)
- SAR SH 757 Aging and Dementia (2 units)
- SAR SH 790 Comprehensive Exam (0 units) or SAR SH 760 Thesis (2 units)
- Elective(s) (2 units) [for students not doing a thesis]
Summer
- SAR SH 743 Clinical Practicum (4 units)
