Combined M.A.-Ph.D. Program
This program is for students who are certain they wish to pursue a Ph.D. and receive a M.A.
degree along the way. Upon completion of the program, the student will have completed a
master’s degree in speech-language pathology and a doctorate of philosophy in speech language
science. This allows for maximum efficiency overall, and permits the student to pursue research
and clinical training simultaneously, rather than sequentially. The purpose of this program is to
nurture and guide students with excellent potential while integrating master’s and doctoral
coursework, research, and clinical experiences.
The Combined M.A.-Ph.D. program is designed to be a five- or six-year program (see sample
program that follows). During the first three years, the program includes an integration of M.A.
and Ph.D. coursework, research, and clinical experiences. Following year 3, the student will
concentrate on Ph.D. coursework and research. Special features of this program include
immersion into the culture of the Ph.D. program through research experiences, directed studies,
and enrollment in Ph.D. seminars during year 1 of the program. In addition, there is the
possibility of an integrated clinical fellowship experience.
At the end of year 3, the student is required to meet the following criteria in order to continue
with the Ph.D. program: a) cumulative GPA of at least 3.0; b) completion and presentation of a
M.A. research project; c) completion of pre-candidacy research project (or substantial progress
made); d) acceptable research performance through work in the primary mentor’s laboratory; and
e) a continued interest in pursuing the Ph.D. at Ohio University. The student also must complete
an official application to the Ph.D. program during the fall semester of year 3.
Years 5 and 6 of this program allow for flexibility in completing requirements. Students may
choose to have an integrated part-time supervised clinical experience (SPE)/Clinical Fellowship
(CF) during year 5 or to finish the SPE/CF in year 6 while working on satisfying Ph.D.
requirements. Students paid for this work by an employer will not receive funding from CSD.
However, students have the option of completing the SPE/CF without payment from an
employer. In this scenario, students will have the opportunity to receive financial assistance from
CSD that will aid with tuition and fees during year 5. Alternatively, students may choose to wait
to complete the SPE/CF until after completion of the Ph.D. program. In this scenario, students
will receive a stipend from CSD that will assist them with tuition and fees during year 5 while
working on the Ph.D. requirements. Funding is not guaranteed by the program in year 6;
students are encouraged to seek funding through extramural grants and fellowships, as well as
teaching opportunities and/or graduate appointments outside of CSD.
Each student enrolled in the combined M.A.- Ph.D. program will work closely with an academic
guidance committee to design an individualized program of study. Performance will be evaluated
on a yearly basis. Students in this program will follow the guidelines for both the M.A. and Ph.D.
degrees with respect to Academic Guidance and Degree Requirements.
Interested students should apply to the M.A. program. Admission to the program is contingent
upon satisfactory completion of the following core undergraduate classes:
Introduction to Communication Disorders
Stand-alone course in Statistics
Anatomy/Physiology of Speech & Hearing
Hearing Science
Speech Science
Basic Audiology
Aural Rehabilitation
Phonetics
Language Development
American Sign Language
Physical Science
Biological Science