I have an undergraduate degree in another field and was wondering if the Master of Arts program requires a degree in Speech-Language Pathology for admission?

We require students who have bachelor's degrees in other fields to first complete a series of leveling, or pre-requisite, courses prior to entering our graduate program. Please see the Admission Standards page of our website. Information on our post-baccalaureate program and the courses we offer here at UA is listed on our website under Post Baccalaureate Requirements. For additional information regarding our post baccalaureate series for the campus-based or distance-learning program, please email Marci Tomajko at marci5@uakron.edu.

I am interested in receiving more detailed information regarding admission requirements and tuition.

See the Graduate Speech-Language Pathology Program page and the Graduate Tuition and Fees page.

How many students do you accept each year? How many have applied this year?

For the past several years, we have had up to 150 applicants. We will admit approximately 22-25 students into our traditional (on-campus) graduate SLP program.

Do you have rolling admission or do you only accept people in the fall?

Our "traditional" on-campus program admits for Fall semester only; we also offer a distance-learning MA program, which admits for Spring semester. See the Collaborative Distance Learning Graduate Program section of our website for additional information about this option. Specific questions can be directed to Mrs. Steffany Wechter at swechter@uakron.edu.

What are the requirements in terms of GPA to get into the graduate program? What is the average GPAs for those students who were admitted into the graduate program?

• Students with a minimum overall and in-field GPA of 3.0 or higher will be considered for the speech-language pathology program. Admission is competitive. The average overall and infield GPAs for students admitted into our programs can be found here: Admission Standards

Do I have to complete the post-baccalaureate (post-bacc) classes before applying to the graduate program?

We require that you have completed, and submit transcripts for, at least one semester of post-bacc coursework at the time of your application, so that we can see your academic potential in SLP courses. All post-bacc courses need to be completed by the time you begin the graduate program.

When is your graduate school admission application deadline? If I should miss the deadline, can I apply as a non-matriculate student?

Applications must be VERIFIED by CSDCAS by December 15th for admission to the program the following fall. Please see the Admission Procedures section of the website.

Students cannot apply as non-matriculate students to the graduate SLP program. If you miss the deadline, you can apply for the following year.
 

I completed my application via CSDCAS by the deadline for the graduate program. It will take 4-6 weeks to verify my application. If my CSDCAS application has not been verified but it is complete, would my application be considered late?

Yes - we require that your application be "verified" by CSDCAS by the deadline. We recommend that you submit your CSDCAS application well in advance of our deadline, in order to insure timely delivery of your application materials to us. Please refer to the Admission Procedures.

Is it still a requirement to apply through the university website AND through CSDCAS for this year?

No! Students only need to complete the CSDCAS application. Full information and instructions are posted on the Admission Procedures section of our website.

Is there a topic or prompt for the essay portion of the CSDCAS application?

In CSDCAS, your essay should respond to the following prompt:

1) DESCRIBE YOUR BACKGROUND, 2) YOUR IN-FIELD EXPERIENCES, 3) LIFE EXPERIENCES, AND 4) YOUR ASPIRATIONS AS AN SLP.

Keep the following in mind:

• At a minimum, the essay should address the four above noted items in the prompt
• Essay should be well-written, without grammatical or spelling errors
• Essay should be directed specifically to The University of Akron
• Recommended length: 1-2 typed pages, double spaced, and in 12 point font
• In addition, the essay may also highlight any unique, clinical, and/or leadership experiences and factors that make you a good fit for our program

I had a few questions regarding the recommendation form. Does this form supplement a recommendation letter? Or do they only fill out this form as the recommendation?

As part of the CSDCAS application, you  will enter your references' information and a link will be emailed to them to submit their letters of recommendation electronically.  The recommendation includes a short questionnaire/form for the recommender to complete, and an option to upload (or attach, if using hard-copy) a letter if they choose to do so. Please note that your recommenders should only be completing the CSDCAS forms - NOT the general University of Akron forms!

Do the people who are writing my letters need to submit a hard copy or upload them to the online component for the University of Akron's online application?

All letters of recommendation must be submitted electronically through CSDCAS. No letters of recommendation should be sent directly to The University of Akron.

What kind of letters of recommendation does your university look for?

In the Application and Admission Procedures section of our website you will find the information about how many letters we require, and from whom recommendation letters are acceptable. One letter of recommendation should be from an in-field course instructor, but not a teaching/graduate assistant. The in-field instructor should be either a speech-language pathologist or audiologist and be the student's course instructor. 

I sent my transcripts to CSDCAS - is this enough or do you also need a copy sent directly to the school?

The Graduate School at the University of Akron does not need a separate transcript - the one we receive as part of your CSDCAS application will be sufficient.

Do I need to complete the coursework section on the CSDCAS application, since I will already be sending my transcript to your school?

YES!!! You must fill out the coursework/transcript section of the CSDCAS application! They will not process your application, or forward it to us, without that section. Please refer to CSDCAS' instructions and FAQ section for detailed information about your transcripts. They must also receive an official transcript from EACH institution you have attended, in order to verify all of your coursework.

Please do not wait until the end of fall semester to submit your transcripts to CSDCAS. Additionally, do not ask your university to hold your transcript request until your fall transcripts are posted. In either case, your application will not be verified on time, and it will not be considered by the Application Committee. In order for your application to be processed and verified by the deadline (12/15), you should send CSDCAS your Fall transcripts through an Academic Update.

Again, your application will not be processed or sent to us without this step being completed. You do not need to send a transcript directly to The University of Akron.

I received an email stating that I needed to send transcripts in order for my application to be processed. Are the transcripts via CSDCAS sufficient?

Yes - our Graduate School will accept the transcripts which are part of the CSDCAS application as "official transcripts," since they have been verified by CSDCAS. You do not need to send additional transcripts. Once the Graduate School receives a copy of your CSDCAS application, they will process your UA application.

I am planning to reapply to The University of Akron this year - does your department still have my GRE test scores and other materials, or do I need to resend them?

Please refer to the FAQ section of the CSDCAS website  (https://portal.csdcas.org/csdcasHelpPages)for detailed information. Some information can be carried over from your previous application. Please also note our program's re-application policy. ("For Prospective Students"). You must submit a new UA Graduate School application.

How will I know if the University of Akron has received all of my application materials?

The Admissions Coordinator of the Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Program will send you email notifications via CSDCAS, as each portion of your application is received by our program. If you need to check on something that was submitted to The University of Akron's Graduate School ( UA application, fee), you may contact our Graduate School directly. Their email address is gradsch@uakron.edu and their phone number is (330) 972-7663.

NOTE: please be sure that your email address on your CSDCAS application is correct and complete - as this is the only means by which we will contact you during the application process!