U.S. News & World Report unveiled its 2021 rankings of the nation’s best graduate schools and programs, in which the speech-language pathology program in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (COMD) rose to 55th in the nation. In earning this ranking, the program gained 14 spots over its 2020 position and entered the top 25% of comparable graduate programs nationwide.
“The speech-language pathology program’s rise in the national rankings increases its competitiveness and helps draw greater attention to the excellent work of our faculty and students,” said Antonio D. Tillis, dean of the UH College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS). “The fact that so many of our students graduate on time and find employment in their field speaks volumes about their motivation and ability. It is also a testament to our faculty’s instructional talent and commitment to addressing the critical shortage of speech pathologists on the local, state, and national levels.”
Students in the speech-language pathology graduate program benefit from a low student-to-faculty ratio, with an emphasis on service-learning opportunities. The faculty includes 14 full-time professors with specialized interests in voice disorders, adult language disorders, child language, literacy, bilingualism, and multiculturalism. The program helps to increase access to speech and hearing services in schools, hospitals, and communities throughout the United States.
The graduate program’s improved placement in the annual rankings comes as recognition of a highly successful 2018-19 academic year. Students in the 2018-19 graduating class achieved a 100 percent program completion rate, a 91 percent job-placement rate within nine months of graduation, and a 100 percent pass rate on the national Praxis examination in speech-language pathology.