{"id":21601,"date":"2026-09-04T00:40:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T00:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/?page_id=21601---461fa675-6734-46bb-9f76-8856a8feb41b"},"modified":"2026-09-29T22:13:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T22:13:11","slug":"speech-therapist-masters-degree","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/speech-language-hearing-sciences-degrees\/speech-therapist-masters-degree\/","title":{"rendered":"What Master\u2019s Degree Should a Speech Therapist Have?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Have you decided to be a speech pathologist? That is great! Most speech language pathologists (SLPs) have an interesting career dealing with a variety of problems, conditions, and patients. The job outlook for a career as an SLP is extremely bright. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports 27% growth<\/a> in SLP job outlook through the year 2028, which is much higher than other industries.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve done some research, you\u2019ve likely discovered that in the United States a master\u2019s degree is required in all 50 states for those who want to legally practice as an SLP. However, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA<\/a>) reports that more than 300 colleges and universities offer both undergraduate and graduate degree programs for professionals interested in an SPL career.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Educational Path for an SPL<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Those who desire to be an SLP are most commonly going to be pursuing a degree in communication sciences and disorders (CSD). A CSD degree track is also used for those interested in being an audiologist or a speech, language and hearing scientist.<\/p>\n

(Learn more about what degree you need to be an audiologist.)<\/a><\/p>\n

Undergraduate Education: <\/em><\/strong>A bachelor\u2019s degree in CSD is the most common first step to becoming an SPL, but it is not required for entry into a master\u2019s level CSD program. If a student does have a different bachelor\u2019s degree, there will be extra prerequisite coursework required of them before they would be eligible for entry into a CSD master\u2019s program.<\/p>\n

Students with an undergraduate education in CSD may also pursue master\u2019s degrees in healthcare, education, science, or public policy. Occasionally, bachelor\u2019s CSD programs prepare students to work as audiology or SPL assistants, allow them to begin working in the industry before their master’s education is complete.<\/p>\n

Graduate Education: <\/em><\/strong>To be an SLP, a professional must graduate from an accredited master of science in speech language pathology program. Students must also pass an ASHA certification exam, the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP). The average length of this master\u2019s program is two years. As with most degrees, there is also the option of speech therapy master\u2019s programs online. This option is especially nice for those who may already have found work as an SLP assistant, as the online schedule often allows students to continue working.<\/p>\n

ASHA<\/a> identifies the three different tracks a student has once they\u2019ve completed an undergraduate education in CSD. Note that a PhD is not required for practice, though many students choose to continue on to achieve one.<\/p>\n

Master\u2019s in Speech Language Pathology<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Accreditation<\/em><\/p>\n

As with a bachelor\u2019s program, ensure that the schools you are applying to are accredited and certified by ASHA. The best accreditation comes from The Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA). Programs with this accreditation are going to best prepare you for the CCC-SLP exam and SLP practice. The CAA accredits both brick and mortar programs and online programs.<\/p>\n

Admissions Process<\/em><\/p>\n

While specific speech pathology graduate school acceptance rates are difficult to find (unless you are looking at a particular school), multiple sources report that admissions for SLP master\u2019s programs are extremely competitive.<\/p>\n

Typical requirements for admission include:<\/p>\n