The Certificate in Communication Sciences and Disorders is a pre-professional program offering students the prerequisite knowledge that is required for education leading to a career as a Speech-Language Pathologist. Topics include speech and language development and disorders, relevant anatomy and physiology, audiology and audiometry, phonetic transcription of typical and disordered speech, and other topics as required by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the Commission on Teacher Credentialing in California. Students will be prepared to enter MA/MS programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders or to partially meet state licensure requirements to become a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant.

Características

The Certificate in Communication Sciences and Disorders offers classes that meet only in the evening and on Saturdays, which allows students to work full or part-time and complete the prerequisite courses required for admission into a graduate program. The program affords students the opportunity to observe certificated, licensed, and credentialed speech and language pathologists in clinical and school settings in the geographic area surrounding the university. The times that courses are offered accommodate students who live outside the immediate geographic area of CSUDH. Students are trained within a cohort model and are mentored throughout the certificate program.

Career Possibilities

Speech-Language Pathologists and Speech-Language Pathology Assistants work in a variety of settings that offer year-round, 10-month, full-time, part-time, and/or per diem employment. Therapists work in public and nonpublic schools, preschools, community colleges, colleges and universities. They also work in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health care, rehabilitation hospitals, individual and family services, outpatient care centers, and child care centers. Others choose to work for corporations, in the offices of physicians or other allied health practitioners, or own a private practice. Many speech and language pathology practitioners opt to work in more than one setting. These sites employ both Speech-Language Pathologists and Speech-Language Pathology Assistants.