Choosing DeSales means joining a values-driven community where your growth truly matters. Our part-time, online format offers flexibility for working professionals (until clinicals). With transparent tuition and comprehensive clinical placement support, we set you up for a successful and meaningful career as an SLP.
An SLP degree can prepare you for roles in a wide range of settings. Graduates often pursue careers in public and private schools, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, skilled nursing facilities, early intervention programs, outpatient clinics, and private practice.
This online SLP program is designed for driven students who want to make a positive impact through communication sciences and disorders. It’s a strong fit if you want a career that combines science, human connection, clinical skill, and service.
The field of speech-language pathology serves clients across the lifespan. At DeSales, you’ll prepare to support children, adolescents, adults, and older adults with a range of communication and swallowing needs.
The distance pathway for the Master of Science (M.S.) program in Speech-Language Pathology at DeSales University is under review by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
The SLP program connects academic learning with practical application. You’ll build skills in assessment, treatment planning, clinical reasoning, documentation, interprofessional collaboration, and communication with clients and families.
Yes. The program is designed to prepare you to support a range of needs, including speech, language, voice, fluency, cognitive communication, and swallowing disorders.
Yes. Speech-language pathology education includes clinical learning that helps you apply what you study in real or simulated practice settings. This hands-on preparation is an important part of building confidence and professional skill.
You can expect to strengthen skills in:
- Assessment and diagnostic thinking
- Evidence-based intervention
- Clinical decision-making
- Written and verbal communication
- Ethical practice
- Collaboration with families and professionals
- Support for diverse clients and communities
The didactic coursework is completed entirely online. The program also features two virtual residencies, meaning there are no travel or on-campus requirements. However, you will complete your 375 clinical practicum hours in person at approved sites near your community.
You can complete the online SLP program in just nine terms. The coursework is designed to be part-time, allowing you to balance your studies with your personal and professional life. However, please note that the clinical practicum portion of the program is a full-time commitment.
You’ll study topics that support assessment, diagnosis, prevention, intervention, and professional practice in speech-language pathology. Coursework includes speech and language development, disorders across the lifespan, swallowing, clinical methods, evidence-based practice, and related areas in communication sciences.
We invite applications from motivated individuals who are ready to earn their master's in SLP online.
Requirements include:
- A bachelor’s degree
- Recommended minimum 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) overall and in the sciences
- Official transcripts
- Two letters of recommendation
- 25 observation hours with an ASHA-certified, licensed provider
- Completion of specific prerequisites and foundational science courses
Before beginning our online SLP master's program, you must complete several prerequisite courses. These foundational classes will provide you with the knowledge base you need to succeed in our program and your future SLP career:
- Phonetics
- Introduction to Audiology
- Speech and Hearing Science
- Introduction to Communication Sciences and Disorders
- Anatomy and Physiology of the Speech and Hearing Mechanism
- Language Development
Along with a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, you must have also completed the following courses:
- Introduction to Biology or Biology I
- Statistics
- Introduction to Psychology
- Chemistry or Physics
No. We do not require the GRE for admission. We focus on your holistic potential, academic background, and passion for achieving positive client outcomes.
The clinical practicum experience is guided and directed by DeSales University, pairing you alongside an on-site practicum supervisor at the site where you will complete your hours. The M.S. SLP faculty and staff at DeSales determine practicum site eligibility based on requirements for certification and licensure.
Placement services help to facilitate and secure agreements with clinical practicum sites near your home location.
Our placement team works closely with you to navigate the clinical placement process and collaborates with you to identify placement opportunities in your preferred location. In geographic regions with limited placement options, you may need to travel 125 miles each way to meet clinical training requirements across the breadth and depth of clinical practice.
The clinical experiences are designed to provide you with real-world, hands-on experience across the breadth and depth of speech-language pathology clinical practice. These experiences are arranged in a variety of practice settings near your home.
Yes. Clinical education is designed to help you build experience in settings that reflect the field, such as schools, clinics, healthcare environments, or community-based sites.
Tuition is $950 per credit for a total of $62,700 (without fees).
Eligible students may have access to financial aid options. You can connect with DeSales to learn more about available aid, financing options, and the steps to apply.
State licensure is required to become a Speech-Language Pathologist. Detailed state requirements can be found on the ASHA website.
If you are seeking national certification through the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, you must complete a Master's in Speech-Language Pathology from a program accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA).
Upon graduation, the next steps are to pass the Praxis exam, apply for certification, and complete a Clinical Fellowship. This typically takes nine months to one year.
Graduates may pursue speech-language pathology careers in settings such as:
- Public and private schools
- Hospitals
- Rehabilitation centers
- Skilled nursing facilities
- Early intervention programs
- Private practices
- Outpatient clinics
- Community health organizations
Graduates may work as:
- Speech-language pathologists
- School-based speech-language pathologists
- Pediatric speech-language pathologists
- Medical speech-language pathologists
- Early intervention specialists
- Clinical fellows in speech-language pathology
The future shines bright for professionals in this field. Between 2024 and 2034, employment for speech-language pathologists is projected to grow by 15 percent. This growth rate climbs much faster than the average for all occupations.
A career in speech-language pathology offers both personal fulfillment and strong financial stability. As of 2024, the median annual salary for professionals in this role stands at $95,410.
