Bilingual Speech-Language Pathology (Z125)
Graduate Certificate Program
College: Behavioral & Social Sciences
ABSTRACT
The University of Maryland Certificate in Bilingual Speech‐Language Pathology will provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to become qualified bilingual speech‐language pathology service providers. This program is intended for students who are enrolled in the Master’s program in Speech‐Language Pathology in Hearing and Speech Sciences (HESP), and who demonstrate native or near native proficiency in a language other than English. The program comprises 12 credit hours of coursework in addition to a supervised clinical practicum experience.
CONTACT
José Ortiz
Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences
0100 Samuel J. LeFrak Hall
7251 Preinkert Dr.
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
Telephone: 301.405.4228
Email: jortiz5@umd.edu
Website: https://hesp.umd.edu/graduate/bilingual-certification-program-speech-language-pathology
Courses: HESP
Those who wish to apply to the Certificate in Bilingual Speech‐Language Pathology should indicate this on their application to the master’s program. Students who have been admitted to the master’s program, but who have not applied to the Certificate in Bilingual Speech‐Language Pathology will have until August 1st before their first semester of graduate study to apply. Applications will be reviewed and a decision will be made before the start of the semester.
Language Proficiency on Admission
Students are required to specify a target language and are required to demonstrate intermediate‐advanced proficiency in this language. On application to the Certificate in Bilingual Speech‐Language Pathology, students must submit proof of language proficiency. This includes any of the following: academic transcripts demonstrating successful completion of advanced foreign language coursework (high school and college), a passing grade on a language proficiency examination, or a written statement of language exposure. Each application will be reviewed and evaluated individually in order certify that each student does demonstrate the required level of proficiency to participate in the Certificate in Bilingual Speech‐Language Pathology.
An important component of this program is the clinical aspect of working in a language other than English, which is achieved through the off‐campus placement (HESP 728). Though the goal is to provide every student with an opportunity to participate in a practicum placement using his or her target language, it is possible that finding local supervision for a given language may prove to be extremely difficult. Other resources may be available to our department in some instances. For example, there are a number of modern language departments at the university, which potentially offer access to speakers of those languages. This provides access to resources for many, but not all, languages in which our student clinicians may wish to practice.
For this reason, acceptance into the program would depend on the student and faculty jointly developing a solution, such as an off‐campus placement in another region or country.