Speech Pathology Schools in North Carolina - NC
Educational Requirements for Speech and Language Pathologists in North Carolina
To become a licensed Speech and Language Pathologist, one must complete a graduate program through one of the online or campus based speech pathology schools in North Carolina. Programs will consist of 75 semester hours studying human communication and its development, as well as clinical techniques for evaluation and management of communication disorders. Fifteen of these 75 total semester hours must be received from courses that focus on the normal development and use of speech, language, and hearing. Thirty-six of the 75 semester hours must be from courses on communication disorders and on the evaluation and management of speech, language, and hearing disorders.
Applicants must also submit verified, signed documentation of a minimum of 400 clinical clock hours of supervised, direct clinical experience with clients with a variety of communication disorders. The clinical experience must be obtained while in the graduate program of study, and must focus on one of the following areas: Speech – Adult (200 hours of diagnostic and 200 hours on therapeutic); Speech- Children (200 hours of diagnostic and 200 of therapeutic); or Language – Adult (200 hours diagnostic and 200 hours therapeutic); Language - Children (200 hours diagnostic and 200 hours therapeutic). At least 20 clock hours of the clinical practicum must be completed in each of these eight categories:
- Evaluation: Speech disorders in children
- Evaluation: Speech disorder in adults
- Evaluation: Language disorders in children
- Evaluation: Language disorders in adults
- Treatment: Speech disorders in children
- Treatment: Speech disorders in adults
- Treatment: Language disorders in children
- Treatment: Language disorders in adults
The state and the ASHA both require 30 hours of continuing education every 3 years to maintain one's license and certification.
Through campus or online programs, aspiring Speech Pathologists in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Durham, Winston-Salem, Fayetteville, Cary, High Point and Wilmington, North Carolina may be able to prepare themselves for the possibility of employment in some of the largest hospitals and healthcare facilities in the state including the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Forsyth Medical Center, Rutherford Hospital and Pitt County Memorial Hospital.