Speech Pathology
Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology,
School of Health Professions

Health Professions Building (building 66), room 304
PO Box 15045, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5045
520-523-2969

Graduate Adviser--Dennis C. Tanner
520-523-2969

"Our program is accredited by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. We can provide students with the necessary clinical training and coursework to meet the requirements for professional certification. Our program provides diverse clinical experiences with infants, preschool children, school-age children, and adults with various communication disorders."
     --Wayne Secord, Chair

Introduction
Our professional program in clinical speech pathology prepares you for employment in educational institutions, state hospital facilities, medical environments, private practice, and community speech and hearing centers.

Our program is strong in childhood language development and disorders, neuropathologies of speech and language, stuttering, voice disorders, and diagnosis and rehabilitation of hearing disorders. Because of our proximity to the Navajo, Hopi, White Mountain Apache, Havasupai, Hualapai, and Yavapai reservations, we offer a variety of clinical experiences with diverse populations.

Our goal is to provide you with a strong academic and clinical background. Our program requires at least two years of academic coursework, clinical practice, externship, and research.

Admission Requirements
To apply, you must submit an application, official transcripts, and scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) to NAU's Graduate College.

In addition, you must send the following materials directly to our department:

We may also require a personal or phone interview as part of the application process.

To be admitted to the clinical speech pathology program, you must have an undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 for coursework in your major area. We may admit you in graduate provisional status if you have an inadequate background in speech/language pathology or audiology; this means you must take preparatory undergraduate courses as specified by our faculty before taking graduate courses.

If you have an undergraduate background in another academic area and we admit you to the program, you must complete leveling courses before taking graduate core courses. We update the required leveling courses regularly; you can obtain information about them by writing to our graduate adviser.

Financial Assistance
We offer teaching and research assistantships and/or tuition waivers to qualified graduate students. To guarantee consideration for such financial assistance, you should complete your application for admission no later than February 1 and send a letter requesting such assistance with your application for admission.

Additional information is available in the Financial Information chapter of this catalog.

Degree Offered--
M.S. in Clinical Speech Pathology
To complete this degree, you must take 45 credit hours of coursework and an externship of 12 hours. The 45-hour requirement represents a minimum, given strong undergraduate preparation; our area faculty committee may require that you take additional courses as well.

Moreover, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has requirements for certification that may necessitate your completing other courses. The remaining courses in your graduate program must be approved by our faculty or meet the current requirements of ASHA.

You must take the following courses:

The externship requires that you devote fourteen weeks to full-time clinical practice at a prearranged clinical site other than NAU's Speech and Hearing Center. You may participate at one site for the semester or at two sites for seven weeks each, pending agreement by the requested sites. You must meet academic and clinical requirements before applying to a site with which the department has an externship affiliation. We encourage you to get our Externship Handbook and meet with our externship coordinator to ensure that your application and placement are appropriate. You must also provide proof of liability insurance coverage when applying for an externship. The grade for externship is pass/fail.

As a full-time graduate student, you will be involved in clinical activities as part of your training. The extent and nature of this involvement depends on your accumulating sufficient clinical clock hours to meet ASHA's certification requirements. If our faculty believes you have not made satisfactory progress in acquiring clinical skills, we may require you to enroll for additional credits in SPH 602 and/or 608.

To receive your master's degree, you must also complete a research project or take 6 hours of additional graduate coursework in lieu of the project.

Speech Pathology Courses
Some courses may not be offered every semester. Check with the department for current information about when specific courses are offered.

SPH 550 Seminar in Speech and Hearing Sciences (3). Review of the relevant research on vocal physiology, experimental phonetics, and acoustic phonetics.

SPH 551 Neuropathologies of Speech (3). Speech disorders resulting from neuropathologies including dysarthrias, apraxia of speech, cerebral palsy, and dysphagia with emphasis on anatomy, physiology, assessment, and treatment. Summer

SPH 552 Aphasia and Related Language Disorders in Adults (3). Examination of aphasia, agnosia, generalized intellectual impairments, and related neuropathologies in adults. Emphasis on differential diagnosis and therapy. Spring

SPH 553 Limited-English-Proficient Language Assessment and Remediation (3). Theory and practice in conducting language evaluation and remediation of limited-English-proficient students and clients. Fall

SPH 554 Advanced Evaluation (3). Theory and practice in determining, administering, and summarizing appropriate speech and language tests for adults and children. Summer

SPH 555 Organic Speech Disorders (3). Speech and language disorders associated with oral facial and genetic anomalies, mental syndromes, and related disorders; emphasis on assessment and treatment. Fall

SPH 556 Communication Processes and Acquisition (3). The use of language in a communicative situation that is carried out through two basic human activities: speaking and listening. Deals primarily with language strategies for comprehension and production and their acquisition. Course is geared to individuals who deal with communication disorders.

SPH 557 Phonological Disorders (3). Study of the theory-supported diagnostic and treatment strategies related to normal and disordered developmental phonology of young children. Fall

SPH 559 Speech and Hearing Problems of Aging (3).Basic information about speech, hearing, and language disorders among the elderly. Emphasizes the etiology and nature of such disorders and how they affect communication

SPH 599 Contemporary Developments (1-3). Fall, Spring

SPH 602 Clinical Practicum (1-8). In-depth preparation and professional application in an area of study within the department. May be repeated for up to 16 credit hours. All semesters

SPH 608 Fieldwork Experience in Speech Pathology (Externship) (1-12). Fee required. All semesters

SPH 651 Stuttering: Diagnosis and Therapy (3). Theories of stuttering for the purpose of developing method of diagnosis and recordkeeping; current research on different types of therapy for adults and children. Spring

SPH 652 Voice Disorders: Assessment and Treatment (3). Disorders of related mechanisms resulting from vocal misuse and abuse, paralysis, trauma, resonance, laryngectomy, and psychogenic factors. Spring

SPH 653 Psycholinguistic Disorders (3). Assessment and remediation of language characteristics and disorders related to learning disabilities, mental retardation, autism, and multicultural and multilingual factors. Spring

SPH 654 Seminar in Case Studies and Management (3). Etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of selected speech, voice, and/or language disorders with emphasis on unique disorders reported in current literature. Fall

SPH 655 Administration of Speech and Hearing Agencies (3). Training in establishing and maintaining speech and hearing programs in public or private settings.

SPH 656 Diagnostic Audiology (3). Study of the theoretical and physiological bases of various auditory pathologies, and discussion and application of instrumentation and procedures for advanced site-of-lesion test procedures for hearing-impaired children and adults. Fall

SPH 657 Aural Rehabilitation (3). Theoretical and practical aspects of habilitation and rehabilitation of hearing-impaired children and adults; includes auditory training, speech reading, and amplification. Prerequisite: SPH 656 or equivalent.

SPH 685 Graduate Research (1-6). Entails writing a master's project paper to be submitted for presentation or publication.

SPH 697 Independent Study (1-3).

SPH 698 Graduate Seminar (1-3).

Faculty
William R. Culbertson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP., Assistant Professor
Motor speech disorders, anatomy and physiology, phonology (Michigan State University 1981)

Judith B. King, Ph.D., CCC-SLP., Associate Professor
Voice disorders, speech science, communication development, stuttering (University of Colorado-Boulder 1989)

Wendy Lamb-Ritland, M.S., CCC-SLP., Instructor
(Northern Arizona University 1983)

D. Elise Lindstedt, Ph.D., CCC-SLP., Assistant Professor
Multicultural issues, language acquisition and disorders (University of Denver 1994)

Katherine Mahosky, M.S., CCC-SLP., Assistant Clinical Professor and Clinic Director
(Northern Arizona University 1982)

Wayne A. Secord, Ph.D., CCC-SLD., Professor and Department Chair
Phonological disorders, language-learning disabilities, measurement and assessment, team-based classroom intervention (University of Cincinnati 1980)

Dennis C. Tanner, Ph.D., CCC-SLP., Professor
Speech science, aphasia, and stuttering (Michigan State University 1976)

Laura C. Wilson, M.S., CCC-SLP., Instructor
(Northern Arizona University 1992)

M. Wende Yellin, Ph.D., CCC-A., Assistant Professor
Audiology and aural rehabilitation (University of Texas-Dallas 1995)

[bar]


[ball]  Search the Graduate Catalog

[ball]  Graduate Catalog main page

[ball]  Graduate Admissions and Academic Services home page

[ball]  NAU home page


[cover photo]

Please note that this electronic version of the 1996-1998 Graduate Catalog is a reproduction of the official printed catalog and is not updated more frequently than the printed catalog. If you have questions or comments about these pages, please e-mail Graduate Admissions and Academic Services.