The Minor

What is Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences?

Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences (SLHS) coursework prepares students for careers in speech-language pathology or audiology. Speech-language pathologists are medical and educational professionals who work with people of all ages who have difficulty with speech production, language use and comprehension, and/or swallowing. Audiologists are medical professionals who work with people of all ages who encounter difficulties hearing or with balance. Both fields require a graduate-level degree to enter the profession.

Who should consider a minor?

Most students who complete the minor in SLHS will be considering a career in speech-language pathology or audiology but will have chosen a different primary major. Some students will complete the minor because they are interested in services for people with disabilities but have no intent to enter the careers of speech-language pathology or audiology, e.g., those interested in special education, psychology, social work, etc.

Requirements

The coursework of the minor will introduce you to the field of SLHS. Most graduate programs in speech-language pathology and audiology will require these courses as prerequisites for admission, but students should consult with programs they are interested in to determine if additional coursework will be required. All courses listed are 3 credits except SLHS 100, which is 4 credits with SB-DU designation.

Students must take all of the courses on this list

SLHS 211: Anatomy and Physiology of the Speech and Hearing Mechanism (SB DU)

SLHS 213: Phonetics [1]

SLHS 301: Speech and Language Development [2]

SLHS 313: Introduction to Audiology

Students must choose

one of these SLHS 214 Hearing Science SLHS 312: Speech Science [3]

AND one of these SLHS100: Intro to Comm-Dis SLHS 316: Aural Rehabilitation SLHS 415: Speech & Lang Disorders

Successful completion of the 18 or 19 credits listed above with a minimum GPA of 2.0 will be required for students to complete the minor.

[1] LINGUIST 370: The Sounds of Englishes or LINGUIST 402 Speech Sound and Structure can replace Phonetics.
[2] LINGUIST 411: Introduction to Language Acquisition can replace Speech and Language Development
[3] LINGUIST 414: Introduction to Phonetics for Linguists can replace Speech Science.

Special Situations that will apply to Linguistics and Linguistics Interdisciplinary Majors

The University of Massachusetts Amherst does not allow a student to apply more than two courses to multiple credentials. For example, a student cannot apply LINGUIST 370, 411, and 414 to a Linguistics/Linguistics Interdisciplinary major and an SLHS minor, they can apply only two of the three. In addition, no course may fulfil the requirements of more than two credentials. For example, LINGUIST 370 cannot be applied to DU SB general education, a major in Linguistics, and a minor in SLHS.

Applying to graduate study in Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology with the minor

Students who are completing the minor in order to apply to graduate programs in the careers should be aware that different programs require different prerequisites. It would be prudent to investigate graduate programs of interest to determine what their prerequisites are rather than to rely on the minor meeting all requirements, for example, some programs require an introductory linguistics or language science course, and students applying to those programs might take SLHS 215: Language Science even though it is not a requirement of the minor. It is recommended that students minoring in SLHS speak to someone in SLHS advising about their career plans. The department will be happy to provide assistance in choosing courses, preparing graduate school applications, and learning about career options.

Note: Students who are interested in graduate school preparation might apply to programs that require entering students to have earned up to 25 hours of observation meeting standards of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association. The only way to earn observations that meet these requirements at UMass is to enroll in SLHS 420: Clinical Observations in addition to the courses listed above.

Massachusetts Licensure as a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant or Audiology Assistant

Students who wish to apply for licensure as a SLP or AuD assistant in Massachusetts can do so with the minor and 20 hours of observation of speech-language pathologists and/or audiologists who are licensed in Massachusetts. Students can enroll in SLHS 420: Clinical Observations in order to meet the observation requirement if they are not able to complete the hours in the field. Please make an appointment with departmental advising if you have questions.

How to Declare

Students should make an appointment with SLHS undergraduate advising to complete the minor declaration process. Students can declare the minor in any semester of their program, however, we recommend that you declare as soon as you are certain that you want to complete the minor.