Open the Door to New Possibilities
Cal State East Bay’s Speech-Language Pathology Assistant program is specially designed for those who currently hold a bachelor’s degree in speech language pathology and want to expand their professional options. With tailored curriculum to meet the requirements of the California Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology & Hearing Aid Dispensers Board, you’ll receive the additional coursework and practicum experiences needed to obtain a license as a speech language pathology assistant.
Best in the West
Selected as a "Best in the West" college by The Princeton Review
Faculty Excellence
Taught by educational leaders in CSUEB’s Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
One-of-a-Kind Training
Learn from a combination of both lecture and fieldwork
Unique Training that Puts You on the Fast Track to Success
With the program’s convenient hybrid format, you can look forward to both online and hands-on components while completing your certificate in as little as four to six months.
Make a Positive Impact in the Community
As a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant, you’ll conduct speech and language intervention programs under the supervision of a licensed speech-language pathologist. You’ll also have the opportunity to work in both educational and medical settings where you can assist a licensed speech-language pathologist in a variety of ways, including clerical duties, treatment plans, informal documentation, collecting data for monitoring quality improvement, and more.
Occupational Outlook
High Demand
According to The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, more service providers are needed to serve a growing and more diverse client base and an expanding scope of practice.
11.5% Growth
Employment of healthcare support workers is projected to grow 11.5 percent from 2022 to 2032.
—Labor Market Analytics – Lightcast
Growing Employment Opportunities
42 percent of school-based SLPs and 32 percent of health-care based SLPs reported that there was one or more SLP support personnel employed at their facility.
—The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
Expand Your Professional Reach
After completing the Speech-Language Pathology Assistant program, you’ll be able to combine your academic knowledge and practical training to become a licensed Speech-Language Pathology Assistant and increase your diversity of employment options.
You can look forward to joining the list of successful graduates who are making a positive difference in the health field and work in a variety of settings, including educational services, offices of physical, occupational and speech therapists, and audiologists, and more.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of the program, you’ll have the skills to:
- Discuss ASHA standards/guidelines and the Code of Ethics
- Implement various clinical approaches/procedures
- Gather objective data about client behaviors
- Learn professional report writing
- Summarize client information and present case
- Discuss multicultural considerations
- Develop skills in professional conduct and collaboration
- Discuss professional conduct required of a SLPA and identify scope of practice
Program Format
The Speech-Language Pathology Assistant program is conveniently offered in a hybrid format. The program includes one online lecture course and fieldwork.
Certificate Requirements
To earn your certificate, you must complete the following courses:
EXTX 650 Clinical Methods and Professional Ethics
This course will provide students with foundational knowledge in providing intervention to clients with disabilities/disorders under the supervision of a certified speech-language pathologist. Students will learn specific and professionally accepted methods for collecting data and writing progress reports and will learn general treatment methods to treat typical disorders, special populations, groups, and behaviorally challenged clients. Overview of multicultural and ethical considerations will be presented. An overview of scope of practice and professional ethics as guided by the American Speech-Language- Hearing Association’s Code of Ethics will be discussed.
EXTX 651 Fieldwork Experience
Pre-requisite: EXTX 650 Clinical Methods and Professional Ethics
This course will provide supervised clinical practice experience with children and adolescents with a variety of communicative disorders in an educational setting. It will provide opportunities for clinical application of principles learned from coursework and for carrying out speech- language pathology assistant responsibilities of observation, implementation of screening procedures, administration of treatment protocols, maintenance of clinical documentation, and computation of clinical data under the supervision of a licensed and/or credentialed speech-language pathologist.
Our Fieldwork program includes rolling start dates from mid-Fall into Spring semester, and while our goal is to have Fieldwork Placements completed within 3-4 months, applicants are advised that a significant extension of this time may be needed.
Featured Faculty
Shubha Kashinath
Dr. Shubha Kashinath is an Associate Professor of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, and the Department’s Continuing Education Administrator. She received an MS in Speech and Hearing Sciences from the University of Arizona and a PhD in Communicative Sciences and Disorders from Florida State University. Dr. Kashinath’s research is focused on efficacy of communication interventions for individuals with autism, family-centered practices for children with disabilities, and development of innovative personnel preparation programs in speech language pathology. She has over 20 years of clinical experience serving families of young children with disabilities in Florida and California.
Anna Krajcin
Anna Krajcin received both her bachelor’s degree and MS in Communication Disorders from Missouri State University. She has extensive experience providing pediatric speech and language therapy to children with a variety of disorders, including Autism Spectrum Disorder. Krajcin has provided hundreds of instructional workshops to professionals and families throughout the U.S and in Eastern Europe, where she has established three preschools in Bosnia that continue to provide speech, language, and behavior intervention to children. In 2016, she became a dually certified Board Certified Behavior Analyst.
Jenny Rosenquist
Jenny Rosenquist joined Cal State East Bay in 2007 as a full-time Clinical Supervisor and intermittent lecturer. She received her BA and MA degrees in Communication Disorders from San Diego State University. After seven years of working with adults in various levels of rehabilitation, including outpatient, acute care, and skilled nursing, she spent the next nine years working with infants and toddlers with developmental delays and Autism Spectrum Disorders. During this time, she worked extensively with families and caregivers in the home environment and frequently supervised interns and clinical fellows in both the home and classroom. Her areas of interest include clinical supervision, Autism Spectrum Disorders, early childhood language, and family centered therapy, and she continues to provide speech therapy to both pediatric and adult clients in their homes.
Admission Requirements
Qualified applicants must possess a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher education in Communication Disorders or Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, or an equivalent program.
How to Apply
To apply to the program, please complete an online certificate application, as well as submit the following documents:
- Two (2) letters of recommendation
- Official transcript(s) that indicate your degree awarded*
- Mail official transcript(s) to:
Jenny Rosenquist
SLP-A Program Coordinator
Cal State East Bay
25800 Carlos Bee Blvd, MB 1088
Hayward, CA 94542
- Mail official transcript(s) to:
- GPA calculator for CD coursework (emailed to jenny.rosenquist@csueastbay.edu)
Given the high volume of SLPA Certificate Program applicants, priority consideration will be given to applicants who identify a speech language pathologist with current ASHA CCC's and CA license to supervise their fieldwork experience.
*Please note: if you completed your degree from Cal State East Bay, you do not need to provide official transcripts.
SLP Supervisor requirements
In seeking a SLP to supervise your SLPA Fieldwork experience, please be sure to convey these primary requirements and ensure the SLP is willing to comply with Supervisory guidelines.
The SLPA Internship Supervisor must:
- be licensed by the State of CA and have ASHA CCCs
- have at least 2 years of professional SLP experience
- have (or be willing to acquire before the completion of the internship) at least 6 hours of supervisory training/continuing education, as required by SLPAHB and ASHA
- provide a minimum of 100 hours of supervised SLPA fieldwork experience: a minimum of 90 of these hours must be in direct client contact and 10 hours in indirect/supportive activities
- provide a minimum of 10 weeks of supervised fieldwork experience to the SLPA Intern
- remain on site for all direct contact provided by the SLPA Intern
- directly supervise at least 50% of all direct client contact hours
- supervise no more than 2 SLP or SLPA students at one time
- be flexible in potential start dates throughout the academic year
Admission Deadlines
| Semester | Application Filing Period | Transcripts & Other Docs Due By |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2024 | May 1-July 1, 2024 | July 15 |
Still have some unanswered questions? Visit the Support section for additional program information. »
At Cal State East Bay, we pride ourselves on putting students first, from the moment you inquire until you graduate. We hope you've found answers to your questions in this support center, but if not, please get in touch.