The Early Admission option provides qualified students with an opportunity to begin their graduate studies in Speech-Language Pathology during their senior year while simultaneously completing their undergraduate B.A. degree. Students accepted into this early admission option in their junior year will take five graduate classes (15 credits) during their 2nd junior semester and senior year, as part of their free electives, that will be counted towards both the B.A. and M.A. degrees. These courses are:

  • SPE 700 Introduction to Research Methods
  • SPE 721 Early Childhood Language Disorders
  • SPE 718 Phonology & Articulation Disorders
  • SPE 722 Language Disorders in School Age
  • SPE 725 Diagnostic and Clinical Methods

Undergraduate tuition fees and financial aid apply to those five graduate classes. The requirements for the undergraduate major in Speech Pathology and Audiology are the same whether or not students apply for the early admission pathway. The requirements for the M.A. degree in Speech-Language Pathology are the same whether students enter the graduate program through the early admission pathway or first complete a B.A. before applying to the M.A. program.

Application for early admission is done in the first semester of your junior year.

Completion of the following non-major courses by the end of the first semester of your junior year:

  • Statistics: MATH 132: Introduction to Statistics
  • Social Sciences: PSY 166: General Psychology or SOC 166: Fundamentals of Sociology
  • Biological Sciences: BIO 166: Principles of Biology or BIO 183: Human Biology
  • Physical Sciences: PHY 140: The Physics of Sound

Completion of six of the eight major courses in Speech Pathology and Audiology:

  • SPV/LNG 245 Articulatory Phonetics
  • SPV/LNG 247 Anatomy and Physiology of the Speech Mechanism
  • SPV 246 Speech & Hearing Science
  • SPV 228 Introduction to Audiology
  • SPV 321 Language Acquisition
  • SPV 326 Speech Pathology I or 327 Speech Pathology II

Additional Requirements

  • Minimum overall GPA of 3.5
  • Minimum GPA of 3.75 in courses in the major of Speech Pathology and Audiology
  • Approval from the Speech Pathology and Audiology undergraduate academic advisor and undergraduate program director
  • Letter of recommendation from a Speech Pathology and Audiology faculty member from one of the six prerequisite courses
  • Minimum of one semester volunteer or research activity in the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences or elsewhere.
  • Resume
  • Personal statement

Upon review of all submitted applications for early admission, eligible applicants will be invited to meet with faculty for an interview. Final decisions regarding admission will be made following the interview.

A satisfactory command of the English language is necessary for student success in academic and clinical coursework in the graduate program in Speech-Language Pathology. Proficiency in spoken and written English is required for admission to the graduate program for all students. During the admissions interview, students must demonstrate English oral skills that are adequate for student success in graduate academic coursework and clinical practica.


In addition, applicants to the Lehman College graduate program in Speech-Language Pathology who are international students from non-English-speaking countries and who have not completed an undergraduate or graduate degree from an accredited college or university where English is the primary language of instruction, may be required to submit additional written and/or verbal evidence of proficiency in English.

Students interested in the early admission option must submit their application approximately four weeks prior to the end of the first semester of their junior year. The application due date is December 1st.

If you have additional questions, please contact Dr. Liat Seiger-Gardner
Undergraduate Program Director
Liat.seiger@lehman.cuny.edu