Students without a BA/BS in COMD

Not all students who are interested in pursuing a MA in speech-language pathology have a BA/BS in Communication Disorders. We are delighted to accept these students into our MA program if their academic history, personal statement, and letters of recommendation are strong. Nevertheless, for students interested in this route to the MA degree, there are undergraduate prerequisites that will need to be completed. Below we list these courses and offer options that students should consider while at LSU.

Prerequisites for students who enter the MA program without a BA/BS in Communication Disorders

The following list of courses in the field of speech-language pathology is required by the American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association. They are listed by the semester that they are taught at LSU. Students can also take these courses at any BA program that is nationally accredited in Speech-Language Pathology. Students interested in pursuing a MA program in Communication Disorders at LSU have two options for completing these courses.

Option 1

Students can take these courses as MA students in Communication Disorders at LSU. Students who select this option typically need three years of full-time enrollment in the MA program (including summers) to finish all of the prerequisites and MA requirements.

Option 2

Students can take these courses prior to being admitted into the MA program. This option allows students to have a bit more flexibility in when and where they take the courses.

Students are also encouraged to browse the website of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association for a full list of BA/MA course requirements. ASHA also requires students to have taken one course in each of the four following areas: 1) statistics; 2) biological sciences; 3) social sciences; and 4) either physics or chemistry.

 

BA Courses that Serve as Prerequisites for Graduate Courses in Communication Sciences and Disorders

Fall Semester at LSU

COMD 3150 Phonetics
COMD 4250 Anatomy
COMD 4380 Language Development in Children
COMD 4383 Fluency Disorders (COMD 4381 is a prerequisite to this class)
COMD 4590 Aural Rehabilitation (COMD 4190 is a prerequisite to this class)

 

Spring Semester at LSU

COMD 4153 Acoustics of Speech and Hearing
COMD 4190 Introduction to Audiology
COMD 4381 Speech Sound Disorders
COMD 4382 Language Disorders

 

The fall classes are designed as prerequisites for the spring courses, but if you are looking for spring courses and have yet to take the fall courses, we recommend COMD 4153 and COMD 4190 to be taken together OR COMD 4153 only. These two together can be taken prior to the fall courses.