How to Apply

On-Campus MS in Communicative Sciences and Disorders

Plan of Study Creation

See the curriculum and degree requirements for the MS in Communicative Sciences and Disorders (CSD).  Our MS in CSD program is 48 credits. Students who do not have a bachelor's degree in CSD or a related field must take additional foundational courses (up to 14 credits) to acquire the necessary base knowledge prior to beginning graduate-level study. Click here for more information related to our foundation courses. The maximum program length would be eight terms (including summers), for a student who needs to complete all foundation courses. All foundation courses are necessary for New York State licensure and ASHA certification.

Students who have previously completed coursework in the field may be eligible to waive some of the foundation courses, though eligibility is not guaranteed. Prior coursework will be reviewed by faculty as part of the waiver consideration process. The department is unable to review course syllabi or transcripts prior to students depositing. This process typically begins in April, following receipt of the enrollment deposit. The full Plan of Study creation process is outlined here. In the meantime, we offer this Foundation Course Equivalent Tool as a resource to determine some of the alternative course titles that we have accepted from outside universities.

Our program offers three available tracks, including:

Standard Track

The Standard Track is the most common program track selected, in which students complete the graduate program in 6-8 terms depending on the number of outstanding foundation courses a student must complete. For students with all foundation courses complete, the standard track is typically 6 terms. Students can opt into the track following the deposit deadline. No action is needed to indicate interest in this track during the application process.

Intensive Track

Students entering the program with all foundation courses waived or completed prior to beginning their first term may be eligible for the Intensive Track. The Intensive Track allows students to complete the graduate program in 5 terms by taking an increased number of credits each term and entering the Practicum sequence in their first term. Students can opt into this track following the deposit deadline. Final acceptance is determined by meeting additional eligibility requirements before the start of the first term.  

Please note: Students who join the Intensive Track are not eligible to enroll into the Bilingual Extension Track as this track is a minimum of 6 terms. Students enrolled in the Intensive Track are also not eligible to study abroad in Sweden due to time and courseload constraints in the Plan of Study.

Bilingual Extension Track

The Bilingual Extension Track (BET) includes coursework and clinical experiences required for NYS Education Department’s Teacher for Students with Speech and Language Disabilities-Bilingual Extension (TSSLD-BE) certification. Similar to the standard track, students in this track will complete the graduate program in 6-8 terms depending on the number of outstanding foundation courses a student must complete. The NYSED TSSLD-BE is designed for bilingual or multilingual students admitted to the MS in CSD program, who intend to work in NYS with linguistically minoritized populations between the ages of 3-21 years. This program has limitations in size, with caps imposed every term. Acceptances are determined on a lottery basis. Completion of the questions in the application, confirms potential interest in the BET and entry into the lottery. You will learn about your status in the BET following the deposit deadline.

Program Length

The following table includes program length estimates based on the track pursued and the number of outstanding foundation courses:

These program lengths are estimates; additional time may be needed depending on the specific foundation courses outstanding. Program length cannot be guaranteed until after your Plan of Study has been created (typically July prior to program start). Students are required to attend 3 terms per year during their enrollment: fall, spring, and summer.

Admissions Requirements

Each year, NYU Steinhardt’s Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders welcomes a cohort of college graduates from a wide variety of academic backgrounds from across the country to join its MS program. Applicants must have a conferred bachelor’s degree prior to their first term of enrollment in order to apply to the MS program.

New York University’s Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders (CSD) does not have a minimum undergraduate GPA requirement, though it is recommended that applicants have at least a 3.0, based on a 4.0 scale. In recent application cycles, the average undergraduate GPA for admitted students was 3.6.

In evaluating applications, we examine prospective students holistically, taking all application components into account.

Priority Deadline Option for Current NYU Undergraduates ONLY

Current NYU Steinhardt undergraduate students who will have completed three or more NYU CSD courses (or their equivalents) by the end of the upcoming Spring term are eligible to apply for early admission into the MS program for the Fall semester. Interested students must apply by November 15 of the prior year. Students choosing to apply for early admission will receive their admission decisions by the end of December and will have until the standard April 15 deadline to submit their tuition deposit. Please note that while admission decisions are released early, full financial aid packages will not be available until mid-March.

For those admitted through the early admission option, and because early acceptance is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of your remaining classes, the Department reserves the right to revoke admission based on the review of your final course grades.

It is important to note that this deadline is entirely optional, and NYU Steinhardt students are welcome to apply during the regular admission cycle by January 4 as well. 

How to Apply

These instructions and requirements are for all applicants. If you are not a citizen or a permanent resident of the United States, please read the special instructions for international applicants and the English Proficiency Exam section in the table below.

Your application in CSDCAS will require the following items: a personal statement and a CV/resume. If you are re-applying, you are also required to include a reapplication essay.

Application Policies

It is your responsibility to ensure that all materials are submitted through CSDCAS by the appropriate deadline, and we reserve the right to return any application that arrives after the deadline. Only applications submitted by Monday, January 4, 2027, and verified by Sunday, January 24, 2027, will be considered. Please check your CSDCAS account to confirm that you have successfully submitted your application and that it is fully verified. We advise you to apply and send your transcripts to CSDCAS early.

Due to the volume of applications and related materials received, the Office of Graduate Admissions will only contact you if your application was successfully submitted but is deemed incomplete because of missing required materials. Otherwise, you will hear from us when the Admissions Committee has made its decision.

Deferral Policy

NYU Steinhardt does not allow deferrals for the on-campus modality of the MS program. Applicants who wish to be considered for a future term must reapply by submitting a new application with all supporting materials, including letters of recommendation, by the application deadline.

Admissions Policy

During the application process, candidates can only have one active application to NYU Steinhardt during each admission cycle. In other words, candidates can either have an on-campus application open or an online application open, but not both.

Admitted and/or enrolled students cannot switch between modalities. Students who wish to switch from one academic modality (online to on-campus or vice versa) must withdraw their application and/or reapply to the other modality. Re-admission is not guaranteed. 

Transfer Credit Policy

Up to two graduate-level courses totaling no more than 8 credits may be transferred from an accredited college or university to be substituted for graduate-level coursework at the discretion of the department. Transfer credits must be taken prior to enrollment in the NYU CSD program in order to be considered. These units must not have been used to fulfill previous degree requirements and must meet a minimum “B” grade requirement. Coursework taken more than three years prior will not be accepted for transfer credit.

Observation Hours Guidelines

Prospective students are strongly encouraged to complete all 25 hours of guided observations prior to entering the Graduate Program. Although not a requirement for acceptance into the program, students must complete these hours before they start Practicum I (Fall 2025 for students who choose the intensive track). A minimum of 13 out of the 25 guided observation hours must be completed outside of our department. Students can only apply a maximum of 12 hours via recorded observations* (e.g., Master Clinician Network or SimuCase observation hours) to their total 25 required observation hours. Licensed and certified speech-language pathologists  (CCC-SLP) must supervise all guided observation hours. The hours can be earned with individuals across the life span in any setting. Completed observation hours from a required course at the undergraduate or post-baccalaureate level may be submitted. All observation hours earned on or after January 1, 2021 must be completed under a CCC-SLP meeting the 2020 ASHA standards; specifically, the supervisory requirement.  It is the student's responsibility to ensure that the SLP they are observing has met the 2020 ASHA standard. 

Prospective students may utilize the  ASHA Certification and Ethics Verification tool to determine that the supervisor is ASHA certified and has met the ASHA supervisory requirements.

*In instances where observation hours were accrued as a required component of an undergraduate course incorporating significant feedback and reflection, the department may approve the full 25 hours to be completed via MCN, Simucase, or other approved pre-recorded sessions.