Introduction

Welcome!

Let’s begin with why you are here: college can be a difficult and scary process. The world of communication sciences and disorders may have piqued your interest, but how do you know if this is truly the right career path for you? If you are anything like me, I like to feel as prepared as possible for what the future awaits me, but it can be difficult to consolidate the information on “all things speech-language pathology” as an undergrad, especially in a university that does not offer an SLP major option. Luckily, you have arrived at the perfect place to start.

This handbook is a cumulative resource guide for undergraduate students that want to pursue a career in speech-language pathology, most geared towards the students at USC. For students that do not enter academia regarding the profession through majoring in Speech-Language and Hearing Sciences (SLHS) or Communication and Language Disorders (CLD), it can be hard to navigate the college undergraduate process, complete necessary prerequisites, find helpful volunteer opportunities, prepare for graduate school in speech-language pathology, or even simply find clarity in knowing if this is the correct career path to pursue.

As the first student at USC to declare the OHNS minor and to soon be graduating and pursuing postgraduate studies to prepare for Master’s level studies in speech pathology, it has been quite a journey navigating this process without much guidance from previous students to refer to for questions or advice. I would like to leave this handbook to you, as a gift of guidance and genuine encouragement for future students like myself to enter this field as aspiring speech-language pathologists who will hopefully feel more prepared in knowing the steps to achieve this goal after your undergraduate studies. Good luck, I believe in you, and I wish you all the best!

Always,

Regina Alexandra San Andres

USC Class of 2022