What to Expect in Clinical Practicum

Practicum is an essential part of the curriculum. Before students are placed in external settings with a specific clinical population, they must complete coursework that prepares them for that experience. As they learn more, they are provided with opportunities that foster progressively higher levels of performance and independence.

To ensure all students have an opportunity to meet the skill competencies required for the Certificate of Clinical Competence, the Director of Clinical Education and clinical faculty will coordinate student placements at clinical sites. Students may not contact sites and arrange their own practicum; however, students will have the opportunity to provide input regarding their preferences for clinical placements.

Graduate students enroll in at least four credits of clinical education each semester of the clinical program and are assigned to a clinical practicum setting or settings each semester once they have cleared a background check. Please review the department Background Check requirements for clinical placement. Students can expect to spend 12 to 40 hours per week at each setting, depending on how the practical training is structured, the program’s goals and the students’ needs.

Students in the Sacred Heart University’s Master's in Speech-Language Pathology learn to put their skills to practice in many different clinical sites that serve individuals with speech-language and swallowing needs. These include:

• Schools
• Birth-to-three agencies
• Private practices
• Medical facilities (including hospitals and nursing centers)

Year One

Students spend two to three half-days a week at educational and rehabilitative settings, gaining hands-on knowledge about speech, language, swallowing and hearing screenings and evaluations.

Late Spring, Summer Semester A&B

Students engage in (one of three options):

• Four- to six-week extended school-year placements
• 10- to 12-week adult or child externships in medical, early intervention or private practice settings
• 10-week on-campus pediatric and adult clinical experiences, including interprofessional opportunities

Year Two

Program participants begin student teaching in public school districts or are given external placements in medical or specialty pediatric/educational settings.

Clinical competencies, clock hours and client demographics will be tracked electronically using the CALIPSO documentation system.

Each practicum assignment will be accompanied by a clinical seminar, in which students practice clinical skills, discuss cases and engage in clinical learning activities.