Moody College of Communication students, known for their passion and individuality, foster an environment that encourages the creative growth and shared learning needed for post-graduate success. For students in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences (SLHS), the undergraduate curriculum serves as a direct foundation for higher education and eventual certification in speech-language pathology or audiology, a more specific post-graduate track than most Moody majors. 

Given this unique position within Moody, SLHS students are encouraged to actively seek assistance and resources from faculty, professors and peers when exploring graduate programs and career options. While there is no centralized resource for this within Moody, students should attend info sessions and seek faculty advice early, said Roberto Moya, the SLHS senior academic program coordinator and graduate coordinator for master’s and doctoral programs in audiology. 

“You don’t know what you don’t know. I think that was the best advice that I got once I started undergrad,” Moya said. “If you think you know everything … what may not be important to you or on your mind … may be somebody else’s stressor (and) is not even on your radar.”

SLHS students must understand the complexities of applying to speech-language pathology and audiology graduate programs by maintaining awareness for the constantly evolving graduate application processes across programs. Within Moody, Director of Undergraduate Advising Teresa Thomas said SLHS majors pursuing higher education must take an independent approach to graduate school preparation 12 and career exploration, so it is important that students understand where to seek support. 

“A student should be their own best advocate and make sure they are asking about [graduate school planning and prerequisites],” Thomas said. “Our focus is on getting the student graduated, versus getting the student into a grad program.”

The University of Texas at Austin’s chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) plays a vital role in connecting students with professionals and opportunities that will assist them in the graduate school application process. Madelyn Mandel, co-president of NSSLHA for a second year, said it is important to learn from practicing professionals.

The group has “a lot of guest speakers come, whether that’s professors talking about their labs, parents of children who’ve received services or local volunteering options for our members to be involved in,” Mandel said. “So it’s really nice to just hear about the Austin [volunteer] opportunities and how you can learn from people in our career who are actually practicing.”

While connecting with professionals offers important insight, students should also rely on professors. Faculty emphasizes the importance of building these relationships for letters of recommendation, but they also can serve as a valuable resource throughout the application process. Clinical Assistant Professor Susan Sneed shared some resources she often gives students.

Resources

Asha EdFind: Lists accredited graudate programs in audiology and speech pathology, allowing students to filter by location and specializations

CIDCAS: A centralized application service for programs in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology

She also suggests using the Texas Career Success Office and Moody College’s Writing Support Program for additional resources. 

Mandel said this information can be overwhelming to hear all at once and noted info sessions can sometimes be primarily focused on graduate programs, rather than all the options available to SLHS majors. 

“Not everyone wants to go to grad school, so they can teach you about being an SLPA (speech-language pathology assistant),” Mandel said. “I feel like that would be a great thing for them to do, if they could make a one-hour Zoom webinar for all the people interested in higher education in the SLP area.”

Sneed emphasized the importance of encouraging students to broaden their perspectives. Although the post-graduate path for SLHS majors is specifically laid out, she said being in Moody provides a unique perspective for students in SLHS who may be interested in exploring options other than graduate school and higher education. 

“There is not one path. The traditional path would be you go to undergrad, you go to graduate school,” Sneed said. “However, I think we’re doing a better job of showing students that’s not the only path... You are majoring in a communication-based undergraduate degree, showing that you have skills in communication, which many, many jobs are looking for."