How to Apply

Applying for the bilingual track program (STEPS)

It is important that you indicate your interest in our bilingual training track in your application essay. In addition, please email STEPS director, Dr. Raquel Anderson, and let her know that you have applied to the program. Once your application is completed, STEPS personnel will contact you to arrange a phone interview to assess your oral language proficiency in Spanish (or English, for those non-native English speakers). We anticipate that students will be contacted in January to February.

Note that you do not need an undergraduate degree in SLP to apply.

Prerequisites for admission to STEPS

  • minimum GPA of 3.0
  • fluency in Spanish (minimum of low-advanced fluency in listening and speaking)
  • the desire to work as a bilingual SLP with children and adolescents ages 3-21

Funding opportunities

The STEPS program is currently funded by the U.S. Department of Education, OSERS H325K160104. Funding is available to support for one year of the two-year graduate program a total of seven students who have the necessary qualifications to participate fully in the program. This scholarship includes fee remission for up to 30 credits and a stipend.

Such funding requires that STEPS students agree to comply to the service obligation as outline by the Department of Education/OSERS. Detailed information concerning the service obligation can be obtained by visiting their website at https://pdp.ed.gov/OSEP/Scholar. Students who are not funded will compete with other M.A. applicants for departmental funding. Please contact Dr. Raquel Anderson for additional information concerning other potential funding outside of the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences.

Required Tertulias

Students are also required to participate on bimonthly clinical grand-rounds known as Tertulias during their Fall I, Spring I, and Fall II semesters. These meetings occur one evening every other week, with students in the regular master’s program also invited to participate.

Tertulia topics focus on our work as bilingual speech language pathologists and include practical activities for analyzing speech and language, assessment and intervention best practices, and aspects related to counseling and advocacy. In addition, every fall, the program hosts a workshop with a prominent researcher in the field. STEPS students participate in the planning and are required to attend the workshop.

Clinical practicum

STEPS students begin their practicum during their first semester in the program. The clinical practica includes the following opportunities:

  • assessment and therapy assignments in regional public schools with a high Latino enrollment
  • clients in the on-campus department clinic
  • community screenings
  • externship placement in schools with a significant Latino population, as well as in a medical or other non-educational setting
  • incorporated within STEPS core courses is a service-learning component. In collaboration with the bilingual supervisor and STEPS director, students participate in a variety of service learning activities in the community