Master’s Admissions

The Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences (SLHS) welcomes applicants to our Master of Arts (MA) program. We are a full-time, residential clinical training program with students matriculating each fall. With a small faculty-to-student ratio, our program provides personalized attention, hands-on clinical experience, and guidance to prepare students for successful careers.

Application Instructions

Prospective MA students must apply through both the Centralized Application Service for Communication Science & Disorders Programs (CSDCAS) and the UConn Graduate School's online application to be considered for admission to the program.

Below are steps to help ensure you complete all required parts of the application process.  The admission cycle will open in September.  Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible to ensure that they complete their applications on time.

Application Deadline

January 15

For more information, contact slhs@uconn.edu.

CSDCAS Application Instructions

Log on to the CSDCAS Portal.

  • Search for the UConn program.
  • Complete application questions.
  • Submit official copies of all transcripts from any institution in which you have completed collegiate courses to CSDCAS for review.
    • Please read the transcript section below for important information.
  • Submit three letters of recommendation – we recommend that at least two of these come from academic references. The CSDCAS system requires that letters be submitted electronically. If you are having issues obtaining an electronic reference, please contact the department at slhs@uconn.edu.
  • Complete essay questions.
  • Refer to the CSDCAS Help Guide for questions.

UConn Graduate School Application Instructions

Log on to the UConn Graduate School application portal.

  • Complete application questions.
  • Under “Intended Program,”
    • select “Health,”
    • select “Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences MA,”
    • select “Storrs,” and
    • select “Fall” of the next year.
  • Upload unofficial copies of your transcripts. Note: International applicants should follow the instructions listed on the Transcript application page.
  • If your primary language is not English, send TOEFL scores to UConn using code 3915.
  • Please note that "Employment," "Essays and Documents," and "Recommendation Letters" sections are not required.

Application Review

Your applications must be listed as “Complete” or "Verified" in the CSDCAS application portal (with all transcripts in received status) and “Submitted” in the UConn Graduate School application portal for the Admissions Committee to consider your application. Please check the application portals to confirm your application status.

Our Admissions Committee will begin reviewing applications shortly after the deadline.

Decisions and Entrance Requirements

We generally reach admissions decisions around March 15. We will send decision letters to applicants via the UConn Graduate School application portal in March. To allow for processing, it may take up to two weeks for each applicant to receive notification of their admission decision.

Upon admission to our program, students are required to undergo a background check. Students may also be required to undergo drug screenings while enrolled in the program.

Application Status

Please note that the department does not respond to inquiries to confirm the submission of your application. Please check the application portals to confirm your applications have been submitted. If you have concerns about your application status, please contact the following:

On-Campus Visits

We currently do not host open houses for the MA program. If you are interested in visiting our facilities, we are able to accommodate one-on-one meetings. We kindly request that you send an email to the department with any questions that you may have, and we will direct your inquiries to a faculty or staff member who will get back to you at their earliest convenience. To do this, please email slhs@uconn.edu.

Admissions Requirements

Transcripts

Please be sure to include transcripts of all college-level coursework, including college credit earned while in high school. Do not send copies of your official transcript directly to the department.  CSDCAS has an online transcript request form for students. Learn more about how to send your official transcripts to CSDCAS. Please follow the instructions carefully when entering your transcript information. Mistakes made here can often delay your application.

We will not review your application unless CSDCAS marks the application as “Complete” or "Verified" by the deadline.  Fall grades are required in order to review your application, but you should not wait to apply.  We strongly encourage applicants to submit their application and materials, including your current transcripts, as early as possible.  The earlier you apply the more quickly CSDCAS can process and verify your application, which can take several weeks. You should enter your fall courses as "in-progress" and your spring courses as "planned" on your application and then later complete an academic update in CSDCAS to send a new transcript with your fall grades.  This process allows you to update in-progress coursework.  The earliest date an academic update can be completed is December 15 and the latest will be no later than the admission deadline.  You may not be considered for admission if we do not have your fall grades verified by the time admission decisions are made.

International applicants only must also submit an official copy of their transcripts directly to the UConn Graduate School at the following address:

The Whetten Graduate Center, Second Floor
University of Connecticut
438 Whitney Road Extension, Unit-1152
Storrs, CT 06269-1152

GPA

The minimum GPA to be considered for admission by the UConn Graduate School is 3.0. The Graduate School will accept either your cumulative GPA or your last two-year GPA to meet this standard. Although the minimum GPA is 3.0, the median GPA of admitted applicants is significantly higher (ranging from 3.6 to 3.7).

Testing Scores

The MA in SLHS program partners with the UConn Neag School of Education so that our students can complete coursework to receive certification as set forth by the State of Connecticut standards to work as a speech-language pathologist in a school system. Students will be required to apply to the Neag School of Education during the first semester they are enrolled in our MA program.

As part of the application, students must demonstrate meeting minimum requirements for standardized test scores outlined by the school.  Although we do not require GRE scores to apply, most students can meet this requirement with a GRE or SAT score and if you have completed these tests you can report them to UConn at code 3915. If your GRE or SAT score falls below the minimum, you may take the Praxis Core prior to arriving in the program or during the first semester in the program.

Observation Hours

Admitted students are required to complete 25 observation hours before beginning the program in the fall. The department must receive a formal letter from the accredited institution where the student’s hours were documented prior to the student’s fall term start date.

Should an admitted student not have all 25 documented hours, they can earn the hours over the summer prior to enrollment; however, they are required to follow the UConn SLHS department’s rules and guidelines on the observation hour approval process. It is the responsibility of the student to reach out to speech-language pathology practitioners within their area to ask if they can observe and document their clock hours. The practitioner must be certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and must sign off on the documented hours. In these cases, students are still expected to earn and have all their observation hours submitted and approved before beginning the program in the fall.

Please visit the Guided Clinical Observation page for more information.