Applications to the Graduate Program in Communication Disorders are considered to be selective admissions. Your application consists of ALL the steps below and ALL materials must be received by the deadline specified. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all materials are received by the Department of Communication Disorders and the Office of Graduate Studies and Research prior to the deadline for application. Failure to do so will result in not being considered for admission to the program.

PLEASE NOTE: We are no longer accepting applications to begin the program in 2012.

Minimum GPA and GRE Requirements of Applicants:

• 3.5 GPA for the last 60 credit hours of college coursework (There must be a minimum of 60 credit hours with a letter grade. Only courses with a letter grade will be used. Pass/Fail grades are not included.)
• 350 on the old scale scoring system or 143 on the new scoring system for the Verbal portion of the GRE (GRE must have been taken within 5 years of application date).
• 3.5 score on the Writing portion of the GRE (GRE must have been taken within 5 years of application date)

*If an applicant does not meet ALL 3 of the above minimum requirements the application will not be considered for admission to the program.

THE ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE WILL BE EVALUATING APPLICANTS UTILIZING THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

• Transcripts will be evaluated to determine the GPA for the most recent 60 hours of completed coursework (for details on calculation click here) which will then be utilized in determining admission.
• The verbal and writing scores from the GRE will be analyzed.
• Essay will be analyzed for compliance with instructions, content, grammar, and spelling.
• Transcripts and Prerequisite Coursework Worksheet will be evaluated to make certain that all prerequisite courses have/will be completed prior to the semester in which you are applying to begin the graduate program - The prerequisite worksheet can be found within the Departmental Application in Part 2 below.
• References may be contacted for further information – do not send letters of recommendation. Letters will not be considered or kept on file by the department.  Click here for reference form.  

The Department reserves the right to admit students from locations where it is confident that students will have access to externship placements where sufficient and diverse clinical populations are available. Explore the Clinical Experience tab at the top of this page for specific clinical requirements. You can search on the ASHA website for ASHA certified SLPs in your area.

DEADLINES FOR APPLICATION:

There are 4 cohorts available for our graduate program. An applicant must choose only ONE to apply to and must specify which cohort applying to. If you are unsure of which cohort fits you best please review the graduate program information and all four options by clicking here.

Please note ALL application materials must be received by the date listed:

• On-Campus (beginning in summer 2012) –February 15, 2012
• Distance Learning – Worldwide (beginning in fall 2012) – February 15, 2012
• Distance Learning – UFT/New York City (beginning in fall 2012) – March 15, 2012 – if after reviewing all information regarding the graduate program information and you are still  uncertain as to whether you qualify for this specific cohort please email Janice.sandidge@wku.edu to find out
• Distance Learning - West Virginia (beginning summer 2013) - October 1, 2012 - contact janice.sandidge@wku.edu for information - applicant must be working as a SLP-A in the public schools in West Virginia to be eligible to apply

HOW TO APPLY:

It is recommended that you print this page and use it as a checklist as you complete each step. A complete application will include all documents presented on this page. It is solely the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all steps are completed accurately, that all documents are received by the university, and to send any additional information requested by the department or Office of Graduate Studies and Research upon request prior to the deadline specified above.

Your application will not be reviewed by the Department of Communication Disorders until the application is complete. Applications that are not completed by the deadline will not be considered for admission.

 

APPLICATION MATERIALS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED AS FOLLOWS (NOTE THIS IS A TWO-STEP PROCESS):

PART 1 – Apply to WKU Graduate Studies (all information in Part 1 is to be submitted to the graduate studies office, NOT the Communication Disorders Department. Once all of the application materials listed in Part 1 have been submitted to the graduate studies office they will forward to the CD Department for consideration for admission):

• APPLICATION TO GRADUATE STUDIES - Complete the Online Application for Graduate Studies. Click here to access application. When completing this application it is extremely important that you complete it in its entirety including submitting the application fee. Make certain to choose the cohort for which you are applying to so that your application is considered in the correct applicant pool along with the correct term (Fall for distance learning or Summer for on-campus and West Virginia). If either of these is incorrect it may cause your application to not be considered for acceptance. Applicants to the UFT/New York City cohort choose "Comm Disorders- NY on line."  Applicant to the West Virginia Cohort choose "West Virginia DOE/NASDSE."
• OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS - Submit ALL official transcripts from all postsecondary institutions you have attended. This includes those courses that show as transfer credit on another transcript. You must send all transcripts from the institutions where you completed the coursework regardless of whether it appears on another transcript as transfer credit. Failure to do so will result in a delay in your application being complete and possibly not being considered for acceptance if all transcripts are not received by the deadline. Some institutions will take longer than others to issue transcripts, be sure to request them well before the deadline. If you have a transcript that is not in English you will need to have an official evaluation completed and sent to WKU.
• GRE SCORES - submit an official GRE score report taken within the last 5 years.
• ESSAY – Submit a written essay describing why you want to be a speech-language pathologist using the following guidelines. The essay should be in 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and should not be longer than 1 page.  The essay should have your full name and date at the top of each page.
• REFERENCES - List of 3 references and contact information. Click here for form to use.

Mail items to:

Graduate Studies and Research

Western Kentucky University

1906 College Heights Blvd #11010

Bowling Green, KY 42101-1010

Phone (270) 745-2446

PART 2 – Apply to the Department of Communication Disorders

• WEST VIRGINIA Cohort applicants should CLICK HERE to complete the department application and prerequisite worksheet.  All other cohort applicants  Click here to complete the departmental application and prerequisite worksheet. For a listing of course descriptions for the prerequisites coursework please click here. Fill out the Prerequisite Coursework Worksheet COMPLETELY to the best of your knowledge and we will contact you if we need further information. DO NOT leave any areas blank. Please do not contact the department to find out how your courses match up, we will contact you if it is not correct.

Mail to:

Department of Communication Disorders

Western Kentucky University

1906 College Heights Blvd #41030

Bowling Green, KY 42101-1030

ATTN: Richard Dressler (for On-Campus applicants)

OR Jan Sandidge for Distance Learning applicants

WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE APPLIED TO THE PROGRAM IN THE PAST:

If you applied to the program in past years then you will need to complete all of the above steps except for submitting transcripts and GRE scores. The graduate studies office will have any transcripts and GRE score reports submitted previously on file (however, it is always best to double check with their office to be certain they do have them). You must apply again to both the Office of Graduate Studies and Research and the Communication Disorders Department but you will not be required to pay the application fee again. Our admission requirements have changed this year so be certain you review and submit all of the above information.