Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions |
| How can I learn more about the program? |
| Go to the Graduate Program page to learn more. |
| What degree is offered after completion of the program? |
| A master of science in speech-language pathology. |
| How long is the program? |
| For individuals who have an undergraduate degree in communicative disorders or speech-language pathology OR have a bachelor's degree in another field AND have taken the following courses from a CAA-accredited program in Speech-Language Pathology: Speech and Language Development; Phonetics; Audiology; Articulation & Phonology (or Speech Sound Disorders); Anatomy & Physiology of Speech; Language Disorders; Speech & Hearing Science, the program is 15 months in length. For individuals who have degrees outside of speech-language pathology, the program is 24 months in length. |
Cost and Financial Aid |
| How much does it cost to attend Pacific's SLP program? |
| Go to Tuition and Fees to see current costs. |
| What kind of financial aid is available? |
| Financial aid packages at Pacific are tailored to each individual's qualifications and program of study. Therefore, no specific information can be given regarding financial aid until a student has been admitted to a program and has accepted admission to a program. For answers to specific financial aid questions, applicants can contact the Office of Financial Aid department at 209.946.2421 or financialaid@pacific.edu. |
| Do you offer teaching assistantships or graduate assistantships? |
| At the present time the department does not offer teaching/graduate assistantships. |
General Application |
| How many students apply and how many do you accept? |
| During the 2019 admissions cycle, 192 individuals applied to Pacific's SLP program. For our 15 month program, 24 individuals were admitted. For our 24 month program, 8 individuals were admitted. Our graduate level class size is typically 28-32 students. |
| What is required to apply to the program? |
| Go to Graduate Admissions Process for a detailed list of the items required to apply. |
| Is it possible for me to come and see the campus and talk with an advisor? |
| Our department offers information sessions throughout the year to help answer prospective student questions and tour our department/clinic. Go to Events for upcoming information session. Due to the large number of requests received each year, no individual appointments for graduate tours will be made. |
| Do you offer admission in the spring semester? |
| No. Due to the prescriptive nature of our program, we only admit students to begin the program in the fall. |
| Do I need to submit official transcripts to CSDCAS and Pacific when I apply? |
| During the application process, you only need to submit official transcripts to CSDCAS. If you are admitted to Pacific, we will contact you to request official transcripts. |
| Which prerequisite courses are necessary? |
There are no prerequisite courses required to apply to our program (regardless of your prior major), however, you must have a bachelor's degree before you can enter our graduate program. The following courses ARE NOT prerequisites but need to be completed before you graduate from our program (these are often part of your general education requirements and must be completed with a grade of "C" or better):
|
| Can online courses satisfy the undergraduate foundation course requirements to make me eligible for the 15-month program? |
| If you successfully complete an online speech-language pathology or communicative disorders program, you may be considered for the 15-month program. Your program MUST include the following 7 courses to be eligible for the 15-month program: Speech and Language Development; Phonetics; Audiology; Articulation and Phonology (or Speech Sound Disorders); Anatomy & Physiology of Speech; Language Disorders; Speech & Hearing Science. |
CSDCAS |
| Where do I go to access the CSDCAS application? |
| The CSDCAS application can be accessed at csdcas.liaisoncas.com |
| What if my recommender DOES NOT want to fill out his/her letter of recommendation online? |
| CSDCAS requires that all letters of recommendation be completed online. If your recommender does not want to complete the recommendation online, unfortunately you will need to find another recommender. DO NOT use the recommendation forms that can be found on the university's webpage. The university recommendation forms WILL NOT be accepted by CSDCAS or the department. |
| Can I submit more than the three required letters of recommendation? |
| Due to the volume of applications we will be reviewing, we will only read three letters. |
| What is the prompt and length requirement for the personal statement? |
| There is no assigned prompt for the essay, however; your personal essay should describe your motivation, skills and abilities that will contribute to your academic and clinical success in our program. |
| My application status still says "RECEIVED." Did I make the deadline? |
| In order to meet our application deadline, your CSDCAS application needs to have a status of "COMPLETE" or "VERIFIED." NOTE, your application must be submitted to CSDCAS by 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on the application deadline date in order to be considered "on-time". If you check on your application and you are at an "On Hold" or "Undelivered" status, please contact CSDCAS regarding the status of your application at 617.612.2030. |
GPA |
| What if my test scores, transcripts, letters, etc. aren't received by CSDCAS by the January 15th deadline? |
| CSDCAS requires that your application, letters of recommendation, test scores and transcripts are received by them for your application to be considered "COMPLETE." All items must be received by CSDCAS by January 15th to meet our application deadline. |
| What is the minimum GPA required to apply to Pacific's SLP program? |
| The minimum GPA required to apply is 3.0. As a point of reference, the average GPA for the last 60 units of study of the students admitted for the Fall 2019 cycle was a 3.67. |
| My GPA is low but I really want to be a speech-language pathologist. What do you recommend? |
| A couple of things: Try to do well on your GREs. Visit the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) website for more information about minimum requirements for different program. |
| I have a graduate degree. When I calculate my GPA for the last 60 units, should I include my graduate course grades? |
| Yes. The Department of Speech-Language Pathology will be looking at your last 60 units of study. This would include all post-baccalaureate coursework, if applicable. |
Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Exam |
| When should I take the GRE exam? |
| We recommend that the GRE be taken by November 30th to ensure that your scores are received by CSDCAS by the January 15th application deadline. GRE scores can take 6-8 weeks to be received by CSDCAS. |
| What is the code I need to use to have my GRE scores reported to CSDCAS? |
| The University of the Pacific's CSDCAS code is: 0773 |
| What GRE score should I be aiming for? |
| As a point of reference the average GRE scores of the students admitted for the fall 2019 cycle were: GRE-Verbal: 153 GRE-Quantitative: 149 GRE-Written: 4.0 |
| My GRE exam scores are low and I am going to take it again, how do you assess multiple GRE exam scores? |
| We will use the highest score achieved for each subsection across test administrations. |
| Are my GRE scores too old? |
| If you have taken the GRE within the past 5 years, your scores are still considered current. If you took the GRE more than 5 years ago, you will need to retake the exam and submit your new scores. |
Admissions Process |
| When will I find out if I was admitted? |
| All applicants will receive an admission decision, sent via email, from the Graduate Admission Office by the end of March. |
| If admitted to the program, when will I need to make my decision? |
| Student decisions (to accept or decline our offer) will be due by April 15th. |
| What happens if I'm placed on the waiting list? |
| If you are placed on the waiting list, you will be asked to let our department know whether or not you want to remain on the waiting list - pacificslp@pacific.edu. After April 15th, the admissions committee will meet and review those who remain on the waiting list. The Graduate Admission Office will begin notifying students on the waiting list, if spaces become available. NOTE: Student rankings WILL NOT be disclosed to those on the waiting list, even after it has been ranked due to its ever-changing nature (e.g. applicants accepting positions elsewhere). All applicants who are placed on the waiting list will be notified when the class has been filled and the waiting list has been closed. |
Other Questions |
| When do classes begin? |
| Classes begin the last Monday in August. |
| Can general education courses (needed to complete the program) be taken, pass/fail? |
| All GE courses must be taken for a grade and students must earn a "C" or better in order to meet the course requirement. |
| If I am applying to the 24-month program and I've taken some of the SLP foundation courses for your program at my undergraduate institution. Do I need to retake them? |
| Yes. Accepting admission to our program means that you will complete all SLP foundation courses required for the program, here at Pacific. |
| Is it possible for me to work a full-time job while in your program? |
| No. The program requires students to be available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (this includes time spent in class, clinic and at off-site school/medical sites). |