Post-baccalaureate
About the Post-Baccalaureate Program
The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders offers a post-baccalaureate program designed to prepare students for graduate level study in the fields of speech pathology or audiology. This program is intended for students who already have a bachelor (or a master degree) in an area other than communication disorders.
This is a “lockstep” program, meaning that the series of pre-requisite courses must be taken in the specific sequence as listed. The post-baccalaureate program consists of 50 credits spread over 4 successive quarters (fall through summer).
Is the Communication Sciences and Disorders program right for me?
A B.A. or B.S. degree in Linguistics or Speech Sciences can offer you a wonderful background, but it is not a substitute for a bachelor's degree in CSD/speech pathology/audiology for the purposes of prerequisite information. You are still required to complete the post-baccalaureate program.
Not everyone is suited to work with clients in the clinical fields of speech-language pathology and audiology even though the student may maintain a satisfactory academic record. The faculty and staff of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders thus reserve the right to counsel students with this in mind, and to recommend a change of academic focus for the student who appears to have personality traits that would prevent the student from being successful in the discipline.
The program is administered by Western's Outreach and Continuing Education program. It is important to note that acceptance into this post-baccalaureate program does not guarantee acceptance into the graduate program. These are two separate programs, and you will need to apply to the graduate program the following year. If you are interested in applying to the post-baccalaureate program, please contact Jenny Hebert by phone 360-650-7780, or email jenny.hebert@wwu.edu for an application form.
Additional Information
Information sessions and site tours are available after classes begin from October through May or upon prior arrangement.
Scheduled Information Sessions:
Wednesday, December 13, 2023 | 6:00 – 7:00pm
Wednesday, January 10, 2024 | 6:00 – 7:00pm
Wednesday, February 7, 2024 | 6:00 – 7:00pm
Contact Information
Application and General Questions
General Inquiries
CSDPB@wwu.edu
Jenny Hebert
Outreach and Continuing Education
hebert@wwu.edu
(360) 650-7780
Advising
Jennifer Thistle
Associate Professor and Post-Baccalaureate Program Coordinator
thistlj@wwu.edu
(360) 650-3157
International Student Services
Richard Bruce, Director
International Student & Scholar Services
brucer2@wwu.edu
(360) 650-6517
Current Western Washington University policies and procedures apply to all students registering for any class and are contained within the University’s General Bulletin available online at www.wwu.edu. To request disability accommodation or assistance in the application process, please contact Jenny Hebert at (360) 650-7780.