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Downloadable MHS in Communication Disorders Fact Sheet (PDF)

Program Outcomes for the Master of Health Science in Communication Disorders

Employment Rates

Employment rates of the program’s graduates are high. During the past three academic years (2009-2010 through 2011-2012), 98.2 percent of our graduates were employed in the profession of speech-language pathology within one year of graduation. In fact, many graduate students typically find employment within the profession prior to graduation. It should be noted that one graduate during Academic Year 2009-2010 decided to pursue employment in a profession other than communication disorders.

Examination Pass Rate

Requirements for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) and the State of Illinois license in speech-language pathology include successful completion of the Praxis national examination in speech-language pathology. The pass rate for our students is very high. During the past three academic years (2009-2010 through 2011-2012), the program's average pass rate was over ninety-six percent (96.3%). The pass rate for the most recently completed academic year (2011-2012) was over ninety-seven percent (97.3%). This pass rate exceeds the national pass rate for the examination. 

Graduation Rates

Graduation rates are very high. The graduate program in Communication Disorders has one of the highest retention rates in the university. The program occasionally will have graduate students who do not complete the program for a variety of reasons (academic and non-academic). Since Fall 2007, the percentage of graduate students who were admitted to the program during a particular academic year and who completed the graduate program (or are in the process of completing the graduate program) ranged from about ninety-seven percent (97.0%) (cohort admitted in Fall 2008) to one-hundred percent (100%) in other years. Of those students admitted to our graduate program since Fall 2007, only two students did not complete the program.

NOTE: 

The above data represent the number of students who graduated in a specified academic year and the proportion of them who graduated within five years of entering the program. On average, part-time students take six graduate credit hours (i.e., two academic courses) per term and complete the program in about three years (i.e., 9 terms). Full-time students take nine graduate credits (i.e., three academic courses) per term and complete the program in about 2-1/3rd years (i.e., 7 terms). It is difficult to group students within cohorts because students can attend either full-time or part-time. In addition, there is considerable variability regarding the time frame for each student’s program. There is a program expectation, however, that all students will complete degree requirements within five years of admission.