CSD GRADUATE ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The College of Health Professions’ Master of Science (M.S.) Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, housed in the Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) Program at Pace University, is a 60-credit 2-year and 1-summer program. Entrants will start their coursework in the 1st Fall semester, continue in the 1st Spring semester, the Summer semester,  2nd Fall semester and complete the program at the end of  2nd Spring semester if all requirements are successfully met.


The program is designed for full-time students and combines a full academic course load as well as on-site and off-site clinical placements. This program will prepare graduates to sit for the PRAXIS examination in speech-language pathology.


Applications must be submitted through the Communication Sciences and Disorders Centralized Application System (CSDCAS) via the weblink below. The entire application will be reviewed for eligibility and include GRE scores, letters of recommendation, submitted essay, transcripts, and all required application materials following instructions on the CSDCAS portal. An interview of potential applicants with CSD faculty may also be required. To apply, please follow this link: https://csdcas.liaisoncas.com/applicant-ux/#/login.

Requirements to admission to the Graduate Program in CSD includes:

  • A bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited institution (official transcripts documenting degree must be submitted).
  • Submission and review of official transcripts from ALL institutions attended.
  • A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above. (Upon the recommendation of the Dean, Graduate Faculty Admissions Committee, or the Director of Student Support Services or Program Coordinators, candidates whose GPA is less than 3.0 may be admitted on a conditional/provisional basis, provided that it is determined the candidate has the necessary knowledge and skills to complete the program successfully.)
  • Due to the conditions surrounding the Coronavirus and the limited access to the GRE, the Communication Sciences and Disorders faculty will accept and review applications without the GRE score report for Fall 2021 applicants. Otherwise, a general GRE score, no more than five years old, is required.
  • Three (3) letters of recommendation; 2 must be from professors/instructors.
  • A personal statement.
  • If selected to be interviewed, completion of a writing sample to be administered.
  • Students admitted to the Graduate Program in CSD with no background in the discipline will be required to take prerequisite courses before beginning the graduate course of study; a minimum of a 3.0 is required for each prerequisite course. The following prerequisite courses are required for admission to the Graduate Program in CSD: 

-      Psycholinguistics (3 credits)

-      Phonetics (3 credits)

-      Anatomy and Physiology of Speech/Hearing Mechanism (3 credits)

-      Introduction to Communication Disorders (3 credits)

-      Introduction to Audiology (3 credits)

-      Early Language Development (3 credits)

-      Speech Science (3 credits)

-      Biology (3 credits)

-      Physical Science (e.g. chemistry, physics) (3 credits)

-      Statistics (3 credits)

-      Social/ Behavioral Science (e.g. sociology, anthropology, psychology) (6 credits)

If incoming students have not taken the above courses at Pace or another accredited institution, they are required to take them and register as non-matriculated prior to admission to the Graduate Program in CSD. 

  • Courses in Progress or Planned: All prerequisites must be completed at the time of application to CSDCAS

Performance on the GRE will not outweigh the other required criteria in your application.

International students who earned a bachelor's degree in a country where English is not the official language and for whom English is not their first language must submit scores from the TOEFL, or International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or Pearson PTE exam that are no more than two years old. The College of Health Professions requires:

  • TOEFL scores of 100 (Internet-based version);
  • IELTS score of 7.5; or
  • Pearson PTE score of 68.

In addition, all accepted students must meet the Graduate Admissions Criteria listed above and are required to take University Placement Exams prior to registration. Students may be restricted to intensive English coursework for at least one semester, which may extend the length of time and cost of completing a degree.

The Admissions Committee may require additional testing if there are concerns about your ability to read, write, and speak English sufficiently to meet the demands of your intended curriculum, based on the materials you submitted as part of your application or on written or verbal communications with you after you submitted your application. Please refer to https://catalog.pace.edu/graduate/.