In addition to online graduate programs in communicative sciences and disorders now widely available, schools in Arizona’s university system are making important contributions to the field, expanding the options available to students interested in both clinical practice and research.
- 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.
Arizona is home to innovative SLP clinics and dedicated practitioners making contributions to the field through research, building awareness, and developing new methods of treatment. To showcase their work, the Arizona Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ArSHA) holds an annual convention where SLPs share developments related to split brain research, social learning strategies, assistive technology, behavioral challenges, embedded coaching, student health outreach, and health literacy for the homeless.
Follow the steps below to learn how to become a speech therapist by earning your SLP license through the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS):
Step 1. Earn a Speech Therapist Degree: Complete a Qualifying Master’s Degree Program in Speech-Language Pathology
In order to apply to a graduate program in speech-language pathology, you’ll need to have a bachelor’s degree in communicative sciences and disorders. If your bachelor’s degree is in a different field, you’ll need to complete required prerequisites that are fundamental to the practice of SLP.
Standard prerequisite courses include:
- Physiology of Communication
- Phonetics and Phonemics
- Introduction to Audiology
- Speech and Language Development
- Anatomy and Physiology of Speech and Hearing Mechanisms
- Science of Language
If you don’t have a bachelor’s degree in communicative sciences and disorders, be sure to prepare for your graduate program by securing excellent academic references, a high undergraduate GPA, and an excellent GRE scores. SLP graduate programs tend to be competitive, so you’ll need to present an excellent academic portfolio in order to be admitted to a program, even if you do have a bachelor’s degree in communicative sciences and disorders.
ASHA’s Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology accredits four universities with graduate SLP programs in Arizona. You may choose to enroll in a traditional program or pursue a wider variety of ASHA accredited online programs that are hosted by universities nationwide.
Core courses include:
- Phonological Development & Disorders
- Voice & Resonance Assessment & Treatment
- Neurobiology
- Fluency: Diagnosis and Treatment
- Augmentative & Alternative Communication for SLPs
- Motor-Speech Disorders
- Aphasia and Right Hemisphere Damage
- Assessment and Evaluation
- Clinical and Educational Methods in SLP
- Swallowing Disorders: Evaluation and Treatment
- Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in SLP
Electives may include:
- Augmentative and Alternative Communication
- Therapeutic Procedures in Speech Pathology: Voice Disorders
- Craniofacial Anomalies
- Voices and Listeners
- Interdisciplinary Case-Based Dysphagia Management
- Natural Language
- Communicative Science and Disorders Research
- Neurogenic Speech Disorders
- Language and Communication in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Your graduate program will also include a clinical practicum. The practicum must be a minimum of 400 clock hours of supervised clinical experience.
Twenty-five hours of your practicum must be spent in clinical observation, and 375 hours must be spent in direct client/patient contact.
Your practicum must include experience with client/patient populations across the life span and from culturally/linguistically diverse backgrounds. It also must include experience with client/patient populations with various types and severities of communication and/or related disorders, differences, and disabilities.
Step 2. Gain Required Professional Experience (RPE) Through a Clinical Fellowship Program
The AZDHS requires that you complete a 36-week clinical fellowship before becoming licensed. You may seek a sponsor or available clinical fellowships here.
The Arizona board requires that you complete 300 clock hours that include at least 20 clock hours in audiology as well as clock hours as indicated for the following categories:
Evaluation of:
- Speech and language disorders in children (40 hours)
- Speech and language disorders in adults (40 hours)
Treatment of:
- Speech and language disorders in children (40 hours)
- Speech and language disorders in adults (40 hours)
Step 3. Pass the SLP Praxis Exam
At any time during your clinical practicum, you will need to register for and pass the Speech-Language Pathology Exam offered through Praxis.
When registering online, you’ll be instructed to send:
- An official graduate transcript from your SLP program
- Proof of completion of a clinical fellowship
The required minimum score on the exam is 162.
You may choose to prepare with practice questions or review additional details in the information bulletin.
The test covers foundational practice, assessment and diagnosis, and implementing and evaluating treatment of patients. In addition, you’ll be tested on your knowledge of speech and hearing processes, voice and resonance disorders, variances of language, social and cognitive aspects of communication, and feeding and swallowing.
In Arizona, you may take the exam at a Praxis test center in one of the following cities:
- Casa Grande
- Flagstaff
- Goodyear
- Phoenix
- Tempe
- Tucson
- Yuma
Optional Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP)
You may elect to pursue the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) credential once you’ve passed the national exam. Offered through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the CCC-SLP is not required for licensure in Arizona, but is a highly respected credential in the SLP professional community.
You would apply for the CCC-SLP directly through ASHA, providing proof that you completed a graduate program and clinical fellowship and achieved passing scores on the national examination.
Step 4. Become Licensed and Begin Your Career as a Speech-Language Pathologist
Once you’ve passed the national exam, you’re eligible to apply for licensure through the AZDHS.
SLPs who work in the public school setting must also obtain an Arizona Department of Education Speech-Language Pathologist, Pre-kindergarten-12 Certificate. The Arizona Department of Education certificate may be renewed with completion of 60 clock hours of professional development in the field of speech-language pathology, or professional development in the areas of articulation, voice, fluency, language, low incidence disabilities, curriculum and instruction, professional issues and ethics, or service delivery models.
You can fill out the application here.
To pursue AZDHS licensure, you’ll need to fill out the application and include:
- The official transcript from your graduate program
- Proof of completion of a clinical fellowship
As a newly-licensed SLP, you may begin your career in one of three ways:
Join the Clinic that Provided RPE
Many newly-licensed SLPs choose to continue working for the employer who provided their clinical fellowship. This is an ideal situation because you’ll already have built relationships with clients and staff, and clinics feel more comfortable hiring someone with whom they’ve had direct experience.
Some clinics even advertise clinical fellowship-to-full time position opportunities to encourage SLPs to stay on with the clinic. To pursue an opportunity like this, contact your clinical fellowship provider to inquire about job opportunities.
Start an Independent Practice or Partnership
Once licensed as an SLP in Arizona, you’ll be able to start your own independent practice or partnership. Benefits include:
- Setting your own wage
- Setting your own schedule
- Taking on as many patients as you feel comfortable with
- Pursuing specific patient populations
Pursue Job Openings
If you don’t wish to work under your RPE provider or start your own practice, there are still plenty of options for you in Arizona. From clinics to hospitals to rehab centers, there are hundreds of employers in the state who hire SLPs to treat patients. A few of these employers include:
- Alliant Personnel Resources
- ACCEL Therapy
- Child & Family Resources, Inc.
- Therapy Management Corporation
- Reliant Rehabilitation
- Aegis Therapies
- Therapy Tree
- BAYADA Home Health Care
- Pediatric Speech and Language Specialists
- E.E.K. Arizona
Depending on your career goals, you may also choose to seek specialty certifications through ASHA. If you want to serve a specific patient population, specialty certifications are a good way to build credibility and become more prepared.
Step 5. Maintain SLP Licensure and Complete Continuing Education Requirements
In order to maintain SLP licensure, speech-language pathologists are required to obtain 30 contact hours of professional development over a 3-year period.
CEUs may be earned through group activities (e.g., workshops, conferences), independent study (e.g., course development, research projects, internships, attendance at educational programs, and self-study (e.g., videotapes, audiotapes, journals), provided that the CEs are gained from ASHA approved providers.
You’ll need to renew your license every three years with a $200 license fee. You can renew online through the Arizona DHS.
Speech-Language Pathology Salary in Arizona
Arizona’s SLP salaries are eye-catching from a statewide perspective. The average salary is $97,510 annually. Experienced SLPs at the top of the field earn a yearly salary that starts at $132,680.
Arizona ranks first in the nation for its projected job growth rate for speech language pathologists over the decade leading up to 2030. At 55%, this growth rate is even more impressive considering it’s 13 points ahead of the closest runner-up!
The Speech-Language Pathology Profession Offers Rewarding Careers
In addition to earning high salaries, SLP has been documented to be a rewarding profession. In fact, speech-language pathology made the list of the 15 most meaningful jobs that pay well prepared from a survey of more than two million workers by the compensation specialist company PayScale.
In addition to academic SLP centers and schools that offer a broad array of therapy options, Arizona offers a number of private clinics that specialize in speech-language pathology:
Phoenix:
- A World with Words Speech & Language Therapy
- Bilingual Speech Language Pathology Services
- Kid Talk & Play
- SLP Services, Inc.
- Sonia S. Ackerman
Mesa:
- Darrell L. Jensen, MS
- E.E.K. Arizona
- Teal Door Speech Therapy
Scottsdale:
- Eat, Talk, and Play Therapy LLC
- Foundations Developmental House
Tucson:
- Jenny’s Speech & Learning Clinic
- MICELI Speech Therapy & Stuttering SolutionsTM
- Saguaro Speech & Language
- Speech Center—Southern Arizona
- Therapy Group of Tucson, PLLC
Gilbert:
- Advanced Therapy Solutions
- North Scottsdale Speech
- Suttering and Speech Therapy of Arizona
Chandler:
- Pediatric Speech & Language
- Ridge Zeller Therapy
Tempe:
- Arizona Speech Pathology
Salaries of Speech-Language Pathologists Throughout Arizona
Nationally, Arizona ranks 11th among the highest average annual salaries for speech-language pathologists. Statewide, salaries range from $65,490 to 132,680 annually, or $31.49 to $63.79 hourly (10th to 90th percentile). The local breakdown of salaries is as follows:
Flagstaff:
- Annual: $69,910 – $166,400
- Hourly: $33.61 – $80.00
Metro Lake Havasu City:
- Annual: $44,290 – $122,470
- Hourly: $21.29 – $58.88
Metro Phoenix:
- Annual: $65,580 – $132,710
- Hourly: $31.53 – $63.80
Prescott:
- Annual: $63,500 – $127,130
- Hourly: $30.53 – $61.12
Tucson:
- Annual: $61,640 – $123,590
- Hourly: $29.63 – $59.42
Yuma:
- Annual: $43,710 – $127,360
- Hourly: $21.01 – $61.23
2023 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures shown here for Speech-Language Pathologists. Job growth projections are from the US Department of Labor-sponsored resource, CareerOneStop. Figures are based on state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed September 2024.