How to Become a Speech Therapist in Arkansas

The field of speech-language pathology (SLP) is growing rapidly in Arkansas. It’s a critical need for hundreds of individuals, young and old, suffering from disorders as mundane as lisping or a significant as dysarthria. The state ranks among the top-five nationally for having the highest projected job growth rate for SLPs over the decade leading up to 2030 —an impressive 38%, exactly double the national rate of growth.

And the only path to practice SLP diagnosis and treatment in Arkansas requires an official license. Without enough individuals stepping up to fill those jobs, many in the state in need of speech therapy will go without.

That SLP license will be issued by the Arkansas Board of Examiners of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology (ABESPA). To work your way towards becoming a speech therapist in Arkansas, follow the steps in the guide below:

	Earn a Speech Therapist Degree: Complete a Qualifying Master’s Degree Program in Speech-Language Pathology
	Gain Required Professional Experience (RPE) Through a Clinical Fellowship Program
	Pass the National Examination in Speech-Language Pathology
	Become Licensed and Begin Your Career as a Speech-Language Pathologist
	Maintain SLP Licensure and Complete Continuing Education Requirements

Step 1. Earn a Speech Therapy Degree: Complete a Qualifying Master’s Degree Program in Speech-Language Pathology

Your first step to SLP licensure is to earn a qualifying graduate degree. With online programs that are fully accredited by ASHA’s CAA (the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Council on Academic Accreditation) widely available, and five on-campus university programs located in the state, Arkansas is an excellent place to pursue an advanced degree.

The clearest path to acceptance into a master’s program in speech-language pathology is bachelor’s degree in communicative sciences and disorders.

Not everyone recognizes the appeal of being an SLP during their undergraduate years, however. And that’s fine. If you don’t have a bachelor’s in speech-language pathology, you’ll simply need to complete the following prerequisites:

• Introduction to Audiology
• Speech and Language Development in Children
• Science of Language
• Neuroanatomy and Physiology of Communication
• Phonetics and Phonemics of American English
• Anatomy and Physiology of Speech and Hearing Mechanism
• Audiology Intervention Strategies

To apply to a graduate program, you’ll typically need to submit:

• A resume/CV of your experience
• A statement of purpose explaining your goals
• Two letters of recommendation written by academic references
• An official transcript from your undergraduate program
• GRE scores

Whether online or traditional, a graduate SLP program will involve a combination of linguistics, psychology, physiology, and physical science.

The core coursework you will cover in your graduate degree program will be the foundations for your career in speech therapy. Those courses typically include topics like:

• Voice & Resonance Disorders
• Fluency Disorders
• Motor Speech Disorders
• Feeding & Swallowing Disorders
• Critical Evaluation of Research Communicative Sciences and Disorders
• Phonological Analysis of Normal and Disordered Speech
• Multi-Cultural and Professional Issues in Communicative Sciences and Disorders

Electives can broaden your skills or focus your expertise in speech and language disorders. For example, you may want to specialize in helping children or adults who stutter. An elective in stuttering and cluttering can be your ticket to that goal. Some of the more common electives available include:

• Aural Rehabilitation
• E-stim Therapies
• Research and Evidence-Based Practice
• Language Literacy

Near the end of the program, you will be required to complete a practicum. That’s a for-credit class which is primarily conducted on-site, working with actual patients and handling real voice disorders. During this time you will complete 400 hours of supervised clinical experience at an approved clinic. It’s a sort of preview for your next step into the wider world of speech therapy.

Step 2. Gain Required Professional Experience (RPE) Through a Clinical Fellowship Program

ABESPA requires that graduates of SLP master’s programs complete thirty-six weeks of supervised, full-time, paid professional experience on the job (or an hour equivalent in part-time experience). This is referred to as a clinical fellowship.

While schools will assist in lining up fellowship placements, it’s ultimately your responsibility to land one with a willing mentor to oversee your work. Fortunately, fellowships are commonly listed in regular SLP job boards.

In order to begin a clinical fellowship, you’ll need to apply for a provisional license, first. You’ll need to mail the following documents to the ABESPA:

• A completed application
• A clinical fellowship year plan outlining your fellowship plans
• $100.00 application fee (temporarily reduced to $5 through mid-2025)
• Official graduate transcript
• Proof of clinical practicum hours, signed by your university supervisor

After reviewing all the information, the board will issue a provisional license after about two months. Considering the lag, you don’t want to waste any time between graduation and application for this important permit.

Similarly, on the other side of completing a clinical fellowship, you must submit proof of completion to the ABESPA within thirty days to gain your SLP license.

During the clinical fellowship, you’ll gain experience assessing and diagnosing patients, performing administrative work related to clients, and meeting with clients’ family to discuss progress. You’ll also meet with your supervisor for performance feedback. The idea is to take your core education from the classroom and turn it into practical, consistent diagnostic and treatment expertise.

Step 3. Pass the National Examination in Speech-Language Pathology

The final test of your knowledge and skills will come through the Praxis for the Speech-Language Pathology Exam. The test is scored on a 100-200 scale, and the required minimum score for licensure in Arkansas (or for getting your CCC-SLP) is 162.

When registering for the national exam, you’ll be required to send an official graduate transcript and provide proof of having completed a clinical fellowship.

You can review other details for testing processes by exploring the Praxis information bulletin, including finding fee and registration information. Praxis also puts out a study guide that is freely available to help you prepare for the exam.

The test can be taken at any Praxis location in Arkansas, or you may opt for an online option that involves remote monitoring by a test proctor as you take the exam on your computer at home.

Step 4. Become Licensed and Begin Your Career as a Speech-Language Pathologist

Once you have passed the national exam, you’ll need to apply for licensure through the ABESPA. You’ll need to mail or email your:

• Completed application
• $100.00 fee
• Official undergraduate and graduate transcripts
• Proof of clinical practicum hours, signed by the university director
• Proof of completion of nine months of a clinical fellowship
• National Exam score

You can actually begin the application prior to passing the exam, but the license won’t be issued until ABESPA gets the scores.

You’ll also be eligible to apply for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) credential offered by ASHA. Although it is not a requirement for state licensure, you can use certification to bypass submission of your transcripts, clinical hours, or Praxis score during the application process. It’s also the case that many employers prefer to hire SLPs who hold the certification.

There are several ways to begin your career as an SLP:

Join the Clinic Where You Completed Your Fellowship

In many cases, SLPs are hired on with the employer who provided their required professional experience through a clinical fellowship. You’ll have already built relationships with clients and coworkers, and you have good sense of what the position entails.

This is also a good way to build credibility and references for the future if you decide to start your own clinic or work for another entity.

You’ll probably already have a good idea by the time you complete your fellowship whether or not there is mutual interest in extending your position at your RPE provider.

Start an Independent Practice or Partnership

As a licensed SLP, you are eligible to start your own independent practice or partnership in Arkansas. Independent SLPs report benefits such as choosing their own schedule, taking on as many clients as they feel comfortable with, and serving a specific patient population.

On the other hand, they also report headaches like meeting small business tax reporting requirements, managing subordinates, and finding new business. Only you can decide if the extra challenges of running a small business are worth the freedom and opportunity it can offer.

Pursue Job Openings in Other Organizations

As with most states, Arkansas is full of SLP opportunities dealing with many different populations and in many different settings. Those can include hospitals or other major healthcare providers.

Because screening and treating kids remains an important part of SLP responsibilities in every state, you may also work for employers in Arkansas such as public or private schools. Additionally, anywhere that people need to deal with rehabilitation or therapy for speech or language issues is a potential employer.

Step 5. Maintain SLP Licensure and Complete Continuing Education Requirements

You’ll need to renew your license yearly. In Arkansas, this can be completed online or by mailing in a paper form. Notices are sent out mid-April and you can begin the process May 1, with license expiration occurring on June 30th.

Each renewal period (except the first, during which you are exempted from CE requirements), you’ll need to complete at least ten hours of continuing education. You’ll need to provide proof by completing the report of continuing professional education hours through the online renewal application each renewal period.

At least five of these hours must deal with the following:

• Anatomic and physiologic bases for the normal development and use of speech, language, communication, swallowing, and hearing and balance
• Physical bases and processes of the production and perception of speech, language, communication, swallowing, and hearing and balance
• Linguistic and psycho-linguistic variables related to normal development and use of speech, language and hearing
• Technological, biomedical, engineering and instrumentation information related to basic communication processes and swallowing
• Various types of disorders of communication, their manifestations, classification and cause
• Evaluation skills, including procedures, techniques, and instrumentation for assessment
• Principles and procedures in habilitation and rehabilitation of communication disorders and swallowing
• Principles in diagnosis and rehabilitation/treatment of balance, vestibular disorders, and cerumen

You can complete continuing education hours through ASHA. The CCC-SLP renewal requirements roughly align with the Arkansas state license requirements, except your certificate lasts for three years. However, with 30 total CEUs needed, you’ll be right on track if you have kept up with your state CE.

The Arkansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ArkSHA) is an important member of the professional community in Arkansas, presenting annual awards to  SLPs who have made notable contributions to the field. ArkSHA holds an annual convention for SLPs to network and share new research findings and innovative strategies. That conference is one path to building your CE hours. You may also find additional training opportunities that interest you through your involvement as an ArkSHA member.

Speech-Language Pathology Salary in Arkansas

The average SLP salary in Arkansas is $84,060 annually, a pretty robust piece of compensation for Arkansas. As your experience and expertise in the industry builds, that shoots up to a figure starting at $124,280 for SLPs in the top 10%.

Arkansas can also boast of having the second-highest concentration of SLP jobs of all states in the nation, and it offers a higher average SLP salary than five of its six neighboring states.

In fact, a study published by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association on the ratio of SLPs to population indicated that Arkansas had the highest ratio in the country.

Even so, the need for speech-language pathologists continues to grow. The US Department of Labor projects that every year there will be an average of 220 SLP job openings statewide between 2020 and 2030.

Speech-Language Pathology Salaries Throughout Arkansas

Naturally, SLPs tend to be concentrated where most patients are. That means in the cities. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a detailed analysis of the salaries for speech-language pathologists in urban parts of Arkansas as of 2023 (10th to 90th percentiles):

Metro Fayetteville:

• Annual: $54,070 – $122,700
• Hourly: $26.00 – $58.99

Fort Smith:

• Annual: $58,100 – $119,580
• Hourly: $27.93 – $57.49

Hot Springs:

• Annual: $56,310 – $128,020
• Hourly: $27.07 – $61.55

Jonesboro:

• Annual: $53,000 – $122,840
• Hourly: $25.48 – $59.06

Metro Little Rock:

• Annual: $60,270 – $124,800
• Hourly: $28.98 – $60.00

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 March 2025.

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