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Kean University

What You Learn

You learn how to identify, assess and enhance the communication skills of people of all ages.

  • Understand language disorders in children and how they impact the school setting
  • Understand language disorders in adults and how they impact individual functioning
  • Identify, assess and treat a wide range of communication disorders in individuals of all ages
  • Complete observation and practice hours in clinical settings, working directly with patients
  • Work on interprofessional projects with physical therapy, occupational therapy and health sciences graduate students
  • Build your professional network through internships

We also offer a pre-professional program that provides foundational preparation for students who have an academic and/or professional background in a field other than speech-language-hearing sciences and disorders who intend to apply for entrance into a graduate program in speech-language pathology or audiology.

Please note: Applicants may only submit one application per year. We are not able to review an application for both the summer and fall entry terms during a given academic year.

Application Deadlines:

Summer: January 15
Fall: February 15
Spring: No Spring admission

Admission Requirements and Additional Resources

If you have admissions questions, contact Graduate Admissions at gradadmissions@kean.edu or (908) 737-4723.

Faculty

Shivani Raina, SLPD, Assistant Professor
Joanne Cascia, Ed.D., Associate Professor
Mahchid Namazi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Sarah Patten, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Alan Gertner, Ph.D., Professor
Iyad Ghanim, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Karen Villanueva, Lecturer

Clinical Staff

Ellen Hedden, MSPA, Clinical Development Manager
Darya Hinman, SLPD, Externship Manager
Susan Mandel, Ed.D., Clinic Director

M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology

This six-semester, full-time program includes fall, spring and summer semester and is completed in 2 years. It is designed to prepare students for professional positions as Speech-Language Pathologists in medical and educational settings.

Program Coordinators:

JoAnne Cascia, Ed.D.
East Campus EC104J; (908) 737-5822
gradcoordinatorcdd@kean.edu

Speech-Language Pathology Pre-Professional Program

This program offers foundational course work to individuals with a bachelor's degree in another field who seek admission to a graduate SLP program. Please note that this program does not meet the requirements for Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA).

Program Coordinator:
Pre-professional Program and Minor
Shivani Raina, SLP.D.
Email: rainas@kean.edu

Adjunct Faculty

Emily Root CCC-SLP
Shelley Zakim, CCC-SLP
Megan McGrath CCC-SLP
Jessica Breidbord CCC-SLP
Sarah Jarocki CCC-SLP
Ursula Glackin, SLPD, CCC-SLP
Judith Koebli Ph.D. CCC-SLP
Tennille Miller SLPD, CCC-SLP
Keisha Stokes SLPD, CCC-SLP
Jill Michael CCC-SLP
Dana Loria CCC-SLP
Jean Tighe SLPD, CCC-SLP

21%

Projected job growth for speech-language pathologists by 2031, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Kean provided me the opportunity to learn from faculty who recognized my passion to learn and nourished that need by providing me with opportunities to further my growth as a clinician and researcher."

Anastasia Johnson
Speech-Language Pathologist at Comprehensive Inpatient Rehabilitation, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
Speech-Language Pathologist

Cougars Climb Higher

At Kean we believe learning and job growth extends far beyond the walls of our classrooms. That's why we encourage you to take advantage of a variety of research opportunities available to you, study abroad and pursue internships that will advance your career or set the stage for another advanced degree.

Center for Communication Disorders

The nonprofit University teaching clinic provides assessment and intervention for children and adults with communication disorders.

Speech-Language Pathology
Center for Communication Disorders

Graduate Assistantships

Through this program, a select number of graduate students have their tuition and fees waived in exchange for working 15 – 20 hours per week on campus.

Kean's Occupational Therapy master's program prepares students for success.
Graduate Assistantships

Research

Kean students have the chance to conduct research with world-class faculty and present their findings at the annual Kean Research Days event.

Research days students at poster presentations. School and Clinical Psychology, LPC Qualification, Medical Technology
Research

Student Achievement Data

About 52% of speech-language pathologists work in the schools with about 39% working in all health care facilities combined.

ON-TIME PROGRAM COMPLETION RATES

Period

# Completed within Expected Time Frame

% Completed within Expected Time Frame

Recent Year (2023)

46

96

1 Year Prior (2022)

44

95

2 Years Prior (2021)

48

97

 

PRAXIS PASS RATES

Reporting Period

# Taking the Exam

# Passed Exam

% Passed Exam Rate

Recent Year (2023)

41

34

82.93

1 Year Prior (2022)

32

31

96.88

2 Years Prior (2021)

32

30

93.75

Note: The Praxis examination reporting period is the testing year or examination cycle, not the year of graduation for the test-takers. The data for each reporting period may include test-takers who graduated from the program within the prior 3 years.

Mission Statement

To educate future clinicians and scholars from diverse backgrounds based on our commitment to excellence, cultural humility, social accountability and lifelong learning, together with the pursuit of translational research, interprofessional education, and clinical innovation that improves and addresses the cognitive, communication, and social-emotional health and wellness of differently abled individuals across the lifespan.

Strategic Plan Executive Summary

The School of Communication Disorders and Deafness has, at its heart, a commitment to excellence, cultural humility, social accountability, and lifelong learning. These values are pursued by faculty and imbued in our students with the intent of fostering, through interprofessional education, interprofessional practice, translational research, and clinical training the development of professionals who will enhance and focus on cognitive, communication, and social-emotional health of differently abled individuals across the lifespan. At the heart of our program are the values of equity, inclusion, and social justice.

Our strategic plan targets four main areas of improvement: academic/curriculum goals, research goals, clinical goals, and faculty/student development and training.

Academic/curriculum goals focus on increasing interprofessional education and interprofessional practice by having students participate in more IPE activities. We want to translate academic content to clinical practice by having graduate courses increase simulated clinical activities. In addition to our autism and bilingual specialties, we will expand our departmental specialty programs. We will also assure that our curricula is updated and approved by the University Curricular Committee.

Our research goals target faculty and students as well as the departmental trends and needs. We will add graduate research assistants to our graduate assistant requests to facilitate faculty in developing and generating their research agendas and to involve more students with hands on research experience. We will increase the number of graduate courses that have research writing assignments infused into their coursework.  Faculty will generate more grant applications and will reach out to and include more undergraduate students in their research endeavors. Faculty will also change and improve our admissions process, student advisement, and student retention through data-driven research initiatives.

Clinical goals address engagement in more clinical experiences and, as tied to our academic/curriculum goal of translating academic content to clinical practice, a clinical goal encompasses participation of diverse clinical experiences that are embedded within academic courses. To enhance clinical experiences, another clinical goal is to establish pediatric and adult medical and educational partnerships with community-based medical centers and school districts.

Faculty/student development and training goals incorporate our mission and values of equity, inclusion, and social justice. Faculty and staff will participate in diversity, equity, and inclusion training programs to develop best practices and implementation to equity in admissions, student success, and clinical expectations. Exposure to best practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion will be embedded throughout our academic and clinical curriculum. A professionalism and ethics training program will be instituted for all students prior to their clinical experiences.  

Our CDD strategic plan was developed and created over several months through a joint faculty/staff exercise. During our process we met regularly as a department and in small breakout groups to identify program areas that would benefit from targeted goals of improvement. Once our objectives were identified, we collectively developed, wrote, and edited these targeted goals.   

Objectives of our strategic plan will be monitored and reviewed by designated department committees and personnel on a regular basis. At the conclusion of our strategic plan time period or when our goals have been achieved, new objectives will be formulated as part of our ongoing continuous improvement strategy.

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