Prerequisite Coursework

For application to the MClSc Program in Speech-Language Pathology

This page provides further details regarding the prerequisites for the MClSc Program in speech-language pathology. A list of acceptable courses from Canadian universities is included to help potential applicants determine whether their courses meet the prerequisite requirements. Potential applicants should review this information to determine whether their coursework satisfies the prerequisite requirements at Western University.

COURSE EQUIVALENCIES BY INSTITUTION (PDF)

Expected Course Content

Developmental Psychology¹
Introduction to all (or most of) of the following areas of infant and child development: sensorimotor, perceptual, cognitive, language, social and emotional.
Introduction to Linguistics^1,2
Introduction to all (or most of) of the following areas: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and language acquisition.
Statistics
Introduction to all (or most of) of the following areas: statistical inference, experimental design, sampling design, confidence intervals and hypothesis tests for means and proportions, regression and correlation.
Human Anatomy/Human Physiology³
Introduction to the structure and/or physiological principles of human neural, muscular and respiratory systems.
Life/Biomedical/General Sciences
Examples of acceptable courses include Human Anatomy, Neuroscience, Human Physiology, Physics, Biology, Pharmacology, Physiological Psychology, Brain & Behaviour, and Neuropsychology. Courses must cover basic human processes important for communication sciences and communication disorders.
Social Science/Psychology/Linguistics
Examples of acceptable courses include Perception, Learning, Memory, Normal Lifespan Development, Cognition, Social Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Language Acquisition, Phonetics, Phonology, Semantics, Syntax, Pragmatics, Introduction to Speech and Language Disorders, Language Acquisition/Development. Courses must cover basic human processes important for communication sciences and communication disorders.

¹At least one of these courses must include a section on normal language acquisition/development. Students who did not receive an introductory instruction in language acquisition in either their Developmental Psychology or Introduction to Linguistics course are expected to have completed a separate language acquisition/development course and list this course under prerequisite #6.

²Must include a section on phonetics. Students who did not receive introductory instruction in phonetics in their Introduction to Linguistics course are expected to have completed a separate phonetics course and list this course under prerequisite #6.

³Applicants cannot use a single human anatomy or human physiology course as credit toward both prerequisite 4 and prerequisite 5 unless it was a full year (two semester) course.

The COURSE EQUIVALENCIES BY INSTITUTION link (above) provides a list of courses that Western will accept as satisfying each of the prerequisites #1-4. Specific courses are not listed for prerequisites #5 and #6. Applicants should follow steps #2-3 below for determining the eligibility of specific courses for these two prerequisites.

Students wishing to determine whether a course not listed in the COURSE EQUIVALENCIES BY INSTITUTION link will satisfy a prerequisite requirement should follow these steps:

Consult the current academic calendar from the university at which the course was taken. If the course is listed as an antirequisite to a course listed in the COURSE EQUIVALENCIES BY INSTITUTION chart, then it will satisfy the prerequisite requirement.
Compare the course content to the description provided above (Expected Course Content). If the course does not closely match this description, it is not likely to satisfy the requirement.
Contact the Graduate Affairs Assistant. Please include a course summary, outline or syllabus that provides detailed information about course content so that its suitability can be properly evaluated.