edX Online

About the program

  • Scholarships available:

    Eligible students may qualify for scholarships. Connect with your admissions counselor to explore scholarship opportunities.

  • Two track options available:

    Complete the program in as few as 20 months through a 5-term track, or in as many as 36 months through a 9-term track.

  • No GRE required:

    Don't worry about standardized test scores. Emerson values your commitment to making an impact in your community more. 

Curriculum: foundational courses

The 54-credit online Master of Sciences (MS) in Communication Disorders curriculum is grounded in evidence-based research, and will prepare you to assess and treat a variety of communicative challenges — from aphasia to motor-speech disorders — experienced by people across their lifespan. The program’s live class sessions, on-campus immersions, and in-person clinical training will help you graduate empowered to serve clients in any setting. If you do not have a background in speech-language pathology, you may have to take up to 18 credits of foundational coursework.

  • Foundational courses include:

    • Structures and functions for speech, hearing, and swallowing

    • Language development

    • Survey of communication disorders across the lifespan

    • Clinical observations and foundations 

    • Foundations of audiology

    • Speech sounds: Phonetics and acoustics

Ready to advance your career?

Immersion and clinical placements

Real-world, hands-on experience is essential to developing as a skilled SLP. For this reason, you will participate in an immersion and complete clinical hours to prepare for national certification and licensure as a speech-language pathologist.

  • Immersion — You will attend one weekend-long immersion on-campus. During this immersion, you will receive clinical instruction from immersion facilitators and engage in reflective practice.  

  • Clinical placements — You will complete 400 hours of supervised clinical practice in one virtual placement and four community placements. Clinical placements allow you to work directly with clients of all ages who struggle with different communication disorders.  

Emerson’s team of dedicated placement specialists will help you find nearby sites within its national partner network.