Admission Requirements

The College of Health Professions’ Master of Science (MS) degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders housed in the Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) program at Pace University, is a 60-credit 2-year (5 semester) program. Entrants will start their coursework in the first fall semester, continue in the first spring semester, the summer semester, second fall semester and complete the program at the end of second spring semester if all requirements are successfully met.

The program is designed for full-time students and combines a full academic course load as well as on-site and off-site clinical placements. This program will prepare graduates to sit for the PRAXIS examination in speech-language pathology.

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted through the Communication Sciences and Disorders Centralized Application System (CSDCAS) via the weblink below. The entire application will be reviewed for eligibility and include letters of recommendation, submitted essay, transcripts, and all required application materials following instructions on the CSDCAS portal. An interview of potential applicants with CSD faculty may also be required.

Apply now

Justin R. McManus
Associate Director of Graduate Admission
Phone: (914) 773-3649
Email: jmcmanus@pace.edu

Admission Requirements

Requirements for admission to the Graduate Program in CSD include:

• A bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited institution (official transcripts documenting degree must be submitted).
• Submission and review of official transcripts from ALL institutions attended.
• A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above.
• Three (3) letters of recommendation; 2 must be from professors/instructors.
• A personal statement.
• If selected to be interviewed, completion of a writing sample to be administered.
• Students admitted to the CSD program with no background in the discipline will be required to take and pass prerequisite courses before beginning the graduate course of study; a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 is required (across CSD-based prerequisite courses). The following prerequisite courses are required prior to entry into the CSD program with a minimum aggregate GPA of 3.0:
  • Phonetics (known as The Science of Speech Sounds at Pace; 3 credits)
  • Introduction to Communication Disorders (3 credits)
  • Early Language Development (3 credits)
  • Speech Science (3 credits)
• Additionally, the following prerequisite courses are required prior to entry into the CSD program with a passing grade:
  • Biology (3 credits)
  • Physical Science (e.g., chemistry, physics; 3 credits)
  • Statistics (3 credits)
  • Social/Behavioral Science (e.g., sociology, anthropology, psychology; 6 credits)
• The following course is highly recommended, but not required:
  • Psycholinguistics (known as The Psychology of Language at Pace; 3 credits)

***Badging: Students will receive a badge upon completion of the required prerequisite courses (Introduction to Communication Disorders, The Science of Speech Sounds, Early Language Development, and Speech Science) as well as The Psychology of Language. More information can be found on the Badges website.

***In rare cases, if a student is deficient in meeting admissions requirements, the student could be accepted if approved by the department chair in consultation with the department faculty. The student will remain on probation or limited matriculation status (as appropriate) for one semester and must meet all requirements and standards prior to proceeding in the program.

If incoming students have not taken the above courses at Pace or another accredited institution, they are required to take them and register as non-matriculated prior to admission to the CSD graduate program.

Courses in Progress or Planned: All prerequisites must be completed prior to attending Pace.

International Students

International students who earned a bachelor's degree in a country where English is not the official language and for whom English is not their first language must submit scores from the TOEFL, or International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or Pearson PTE exam that are no more than two years old. The College of Health Professions requires:

• TOEFL scores of 100 (Internet-based version);
• IELTS score of 7.5; or
• Pearson PTE score of 68.

In addition, all accepted students must meet the Graduate Admissions Criteria listed above and are required to take University Placement Exams prior to registration. Students may be restricted to intensive English coursework for at least one semester, which may extend the length of time and cost of completing a degree.

The Admissions Committee may require additional testing if there are concerns about your ability to read, write, and speak English sufficiently to meet the demands of your intended curriculum, based on the materials you submitted as part of your application or on written or verbal communications with you after you submitted your application.