Online Speech Language Pathology Graduate Programs in New Mexico

New Mexico offers no shortage of opportunities for speech-language pathologists to serve patients with communication and swallowing disorders. Those opportunities exist whether you’re interested in working in the schools or prefer the idea of clinical practice.

And when it comes to compensation, you’ll be glad to know that New Mexico is one of only seven states in the nation to offer an average annual SLP salary that’s in the six-figure range.

Featured Programs:

Emerson College - Master's in Speech-Language Pathology online - Prepare to become an SLP in as few as 20 months. No GRE required. Scholarships available.
Arizona State University - Online - Online Bachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science - Designed to prepare graduates to work in behavioral health settings or transition to graduate programs in speech-language pathology and audiology.
NYU Steinhardt - NYU Steinhardt's Master of Science in Communicative Sciences and Disorders online - ASHA-accredited. Bachelor's degree required. Graduate prepared to pursue licensure.
Calvin University - Calvin University's Online Speech and Hearing Foundations Certificate - Helps You Gain a Strong Foundation for Your Speech-Language Pathology Career.
George Mason University - George Mason University's Graduate Programs in Special Education, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Applied Behavior Analysis. - Prepares you for a rewarding career as a Speech and Language Pathologist.

In order to become a speech therapist by earning your SLP license through the New Mexico Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology, and Hearing Aid Dispensers Practices Board, follow the steps below:

	Earn a Speech Therapist Degree: Complete an Accredited Graduate Program in Speech-Language Pathology
	Begin a Clinical Fellowship Program
	Pass the National SLP Exam and Consider Earning the CCC-SLP Credential
	Apply for Licensing and Begin Practicing as a Speech-Language Pathologist
	Renew Your License Every Two Years and Complete Continuing Education Requirements

Step 1. Earn a Speech Therapy Degree: Complete an Accredited Graduate Program in Speech-Language Pathology

You’ll need to earn your master’s degree or higher before becoming licensed as a speech-language pathologist. To apply to a master’s program, you’ll need:

GRE scores
A 3.0 or higher GPA
At least two academic references

If you don’t have a background in communicative sciences and disorders, you may need more references and volunteer experience to be accepted to a graduate program, and you’ll need to complete prerequisites.

Prerequisites usually include:

English Phonetics
Anatomy and Physiology of Human Communication
Intro to Audiology
Intro to Communication Sciences
Aural Rehabilitation Methods
Neural Basis of Communication
Pre-Clinical Training

If you have already completed a bachelor’s degree in communicative sciences and disorders, chances are that you’ve taken all the required prerequisites during your undergraduate study. You’ll be able to start taking your core courses, which will likely include:

Clinical Practice
Research Reading and Writing
Adult Neurogenic Communicative Disorders
Dysphagia Management and Treatment
Voice Disorders
Motor Speech Disorders
Augmentative Communication
Assessing language in children
Intervention: Child Language Disorders

Electives will focus on specific patient populations, current trends in speech-language pathology, awareness of legislative issues, or other specialized topics. They might include:

Multi-Cultural Considerations in Communication Disorders
Medical Speech-Language Pathology
Fluency Disorders
Cleft Palate Disorders
Craniofacial Disorders

You’ll also need to complete a practicum during your graduate program. Usually completed within your last year, you’ll shadow a licensed SLP in a clinic or hospital setting and learn how to complete clinical and diagnostic procedures.

Step 2. Begin a Clinical Fellowship Program

You’ll now enter into a transitional period known as a clinical fellowship. To become a clinical fellow, you’ll need to apply with the New Mexico board. The application will require you to complete a jurisprudence examination that consists of true/false questions about the rules and regulations that govern New Mexico SLPs.

If you need to prepare for the jurisprudence examination, you may review New Mexico’s rules and regulations which govern SLPs.

Along with the application, you’ll also need to submit:

$60 fee
Official transcripts
Clinical fellow plan completed by your clinical fellowship supervisor

Once you’re licensed, you may begin the clinical fellowship. You’ll generally fulfill this requirement by working 30 or more hours a week for nine months, but you might also choose to work part-time for as long as 12 months, as long as you work 15 hours or more a week.

You’ll need to complete certain activities, including assessing, monitoring, evaluating, diagnosing, and treating patients. You’ll work with your supervisor to develop a plan for your clinical fellowship time and the skills you’ll need to learn.

You’ll need to be monitored in at least 36 different occasions, including working with patients, providing consultations to patients’ families, and providing evaluation of documentation such as case histories and treatment reports.

Once you’ve completed your clinical fellowship, you’ll be able to register for the National Examination in Speech-Language Pathology.

Step 3. Pass the National SLP Exam and Consider Earning the CCC-SLP Credential

You’ll need to pass the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA) National Examination in Speech Language Pathology, hosted through Praxis, in order to become licensed.

You can register online for the exam.

The exam is made up of 132 questions and is computer-based. You’ll need to score at least a 162 out of 200 possible points in order to pass.

There are several Praxis test centers in New Mexico, located in:

Albuquerque
Farmington
Las Cruces
Roswell
Santa Fe

The test is split into three sections with 44 questions each. The sections are:

Foundations and Professional Practice
Screening, Assessment, Evaluation, and Diagnosis
Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation of Treatment

You’ll need to have a thorough knowledge of the following topics, which will be covered on the exam:

Wellness and prevention
Counseling, collaboration, and teaming in professional practice
Ethical practice
Legislation and client advocacy
Research methodology
Feeding and swallowing disorders
Voice, resonance and motor speech
Receptive and expressive language
Social aspects of communication
Hearing
Genetic and developmental factors
Neurological issues
Auditory problems
Structural and functional handicaps

If you need extra preparation for the test, you might choose to review practice questions in the Praxis SLP Study Companion.

Once you’ve passed the exam, you have the choice to apply for the CCC-SLP credential by submitting an application directly to ASHA. You won’t need to earn the CCC-SLP credential to become licensed in New Mexico, but it may be helpful to you as you start your career, especially if you plan to practice independently.

Step 4. Apply for Licensing and Begin Practicing as a Speech-Language Pathologist

At this point, you may apply for licensure through the New Mexico SLP board.

You’ll need to print and fill out the application and submit it to the board with:

Official graduate transcript
Clinical Fellowship Rating and Report Form
Passing scores on the Praxis exam
Licensure and application fee of $110.00

Please allow one-two weeks to hear back from the board. Once you’ve received your license, you may start your career in one of several ways:

Work Under Your Clinical Fellowship Supervisor

You may choose to pursue a job at the clinic where you completed your clinical fellowship. If you enjoyed working with the clinic’s staff and patients, contact your clinical fellowship supervisor to inquire about opportunities for a full-time position.

Open an Independent Practice or Partnership

You also may open an independent practice or start a partnership with another licensed SLP. An independent practice may be the right choice for you if you want to specialize in a specific patient population or if you wish to treat clients in their homes.

Pursue Job Openings in New Mexico

You’ll have no shortage of job opportunities in New Mexico. SLPs are needed in the school system, in hospitals, in clinics, and in home health care services all across the state. A few examples of potential employers include:

Children’s Medical Center
Cooperative Educational Services
Department of Veterans Affairs
Presbyterian Medical Services
Mimbres Memorial Hospital
Rio Rancho Public Schools
Reliant Rehabilitation
Christus Health
VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region
Santa Fe Public Schools
New Vistas
Gentiva Health Services
Rio Rancho Center
MECA Therapies

Step 5. Renew Your License Annually and Complete Continuing Education Requirements

You’ll need to renew your license every year, and you’ll need to complete 20 continuing education credits every two years. You may also choose to complete all twenty continuing education hours in one year.

You’ll be able to renew your license online, and you’ll receive a mailed renewal notice at least 30 days before the renewal date, which is January 30^th of each year.

Approved CE hours come from the New Mexico Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NMSHA) and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), though you may appeal to the board if you feel that another provider is appropriate. You’ll need to mail a continuing education appeal form to the board if you’d like to pursue a continuing education course from a provider other than the NMSHA or the ASHA.

Your appeal form will explain who the provider is, give the provider’s resume and credentials, and include the date and time of the course offering.

Speech-Language Pathology Salary in New Mexico

Offering the seventh-highest average SLP salary in the nation, New Mexico doesn’t hold back in its commitment to attracting and retaining quality speech-language pathologists. At $100,470 annually this works out to an impressive $48.30 an hour.

Not to be outdone, Northern and Eastern New Mexico rank third and fourth, respectively, among all rural areas in the nation for in terms of average SLP salaries.

Salaries for Speech-Language Pathologists in New Mexico’s Major Cities

You can compare the following areas throughout New Mexico, ranked here according to highest average SLP salary. The range between entry-level (10^th percentile) and high-end (90^th percentile) SLP salaries is also included:

Santa Fe:

Average: $109,810 annually, $52.79 hourly
Entry-level to high-end range: $79,500 – $159,420 annually, $38.22 – $76.65 hourly

Rural Northern New Mexico:

Average: $107,390 annually, $51.63 hourly
$71,990 – $141,380 annually, $34.61 – $67.97 hourly

Rural Eastern New Mexico:

Average: $105,100 annually, $50.53 hourly
$64,980 – $149,480 annually, $31.24 – $71.87 hourly

Albuquerque:

Average: $99,170 annually, $47.68 hourly
$64,210 – $129,340 annually, $30.87 – $62.18 hourly

Las Cruces:

Average: $98,700 annually, $47.45 hourly
$68,270 – $128,870 annually, $32.82 – $61.96 hourly

Farmington:

Average: $90,910 annually, $43.71 hourly
$71,290 – $123,030 annually, $34.27 – $59.15 hourly

Promising Career Opportunities and Job Growth for SLPs in New Jersey

Over the decade leading up to 2030 the number of SLP jobs in New Mexico is projected to increase by 30%, a figure that’s far above the national average of 19%. That means that on average, New Mexico should see 90 SLP job openings every year over that period.

A total of 1,060 SLPs work throughout New Mexico. Of these:

Half work in Albuquerque
Las Cruces and rural Eastern New Mexico are each home to 170 SLPs
70 SLPs work in Farmington
60 SLPs work in rural Northern New Mexico
50 SLPs work in Santa Fe

While schools are major employers of speech-language pathologists, outpatient clinics offer numerous opportunities. New Mexico contains a number of clinics that utilize SLPs: