Speech pathology and audiology programs at Lamar University offers supervised clinical experiences on-campus and off-campus that provides opportunities to integrate academic knowledge with clinical application.
During the five semesters of the Master of Science in speech-language pathology program, graduate students complete clinical training in the speech-language pathology scope of practice via five consecutive supervised and hands-on clinical application opportunities.
During semesters one, two and three, graduate students complete applied clinical training under the supervision of Lamar University faculty in our speech-language pathology clinic or at one of our local contract sites.
During semesters four and five graduate students complete applied clinical training as interns at an off-campus facility such as a school or hospital.
During these off-campus internships, students receive feedback, training and guidance from a state-licensed and nationally certified speech-language pathologist within the parameters of the Lamar University speech-language pathology program guidelines.
During the first year of the audiology doctoral program, students are placed in-house under the supervision of Lamar University faculty and staff in our audiology clinic. The clinic offers services to individuals of all ages including infants, toddlers, school age children, young adults, middle-aged adults and geriatric patients. Individuals may be self-referred or referred by family, friends, medical practitioners or other health service providers.
The primary focus of our services is to identify, describe and ameliorate the functional impact of hearing and balance problems on our patients’ lives. The primary focus of this on-campus training is to give the student basic audiological knowledge and skills and to prepare the student to go off-site.
During the second and third years of the program, students are placed at contracted clinical sites locally, regionally, and in the Houston area. These sites include:
During summer sessions, students have the flexibility to look for clinic placements anywhere nationally or internationally as long as it is within the parameters put in place by the Lamar University Audiology program guidelines.
Students who have successfully completed the academic and clinical requirements for the first three years of study must complete a 12-month supervised externship consisting of full-time employment.
ASHA (2012) requires that the student extern must complete 52 weeks of experience.
The externship is primarily sought out by the student and with the guidance of the clinical director. The externship must be within the parameters of the Lamar University audiology program guidelines.