How to Become a Speech Therapist in Washington, DC

The number of jobs for speech-language pathologists is increasing rapidly throughout the country, and Washington DC is no exception.

In the lead-up to 2030, The District is projected to see an average of 70 SLP job openings every single year. If DC were a state, that kind of growth rate would place it second in the nation.

As of 2023 a total of 420 SLPs work in DC.

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), most DC SLPs work in education facilities, followed by health care facilities.

Because the District is compact, it’s not tough to make connections with other SLPs. At the center of this community is the District of Columbia Speech-Language-Hearing Association (DCSHA), which holds an annual conference that in the past has included keynote speakers delivering talks on pediatric dysphasia, transgender voice therapy, and vernacular vocal features among African Americans.

To earn your SLP license and become a speech therapist in DC, you’ll need to complete a few steps as you apply for licensing through the DC Board of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology.

Follow the steps in the guide below to begin your career as an SLP in DC:

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

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

SLP licensure through the DC Board requires a master’s or doctoral degree in speech-language pathology from a program that has been accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA).

While conventional campus-based programs are available in the greater DC area, CAA-accredited online programs offer an unmatched level of flexibility and convenience. The practicum component of online programs will allow you to gain experience in assessing and treating patients in a clinical setting close to home, even while your coursework is completed online and at your convenience.

Admissions and Undergraduate Requirements

Though it is helpful to have a bachelor’s degree in communicative sciences and disorders, you can also apply to most programs even if you have an unrelated bachelor’s degree.

If you don’t have a speech-language pathology undergraduate degree, you’ll be given an opportunity to complete foundational courses through your school before beginning the graduate program.

Standard prerequisite courses include:

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

Admissions departments also look for undergraduate GPAs of 3.5 and above and high GRE scores.

Graduate Curriculum

A master’s degree in communicative sciences and disorders will involve studying linguistics, psychology, physiology, and physical science. The curriculum also involves supervised clinical experiences through a practicum, 400 hours of on-the-ground diagnostic and treatment experience.

Core courses in SLP grad programs typically include:

• Language Development and Disorders
• Clinical Statistics
• Voice and Resonance Disorders
• Language Development and Disorders
• Hearing Assistive and AAC Technologies
• Swallowing Disorders
• Stuttering
• Neurogenic Speech and Language Disorders

As a way to build deeper or broader expertise in the field, you’ll also find elective options that may include:

• Augmentative and Alternative Communication
• Interdisciplinary Case-Based Dysphasia Management
• Approaches to Natural Language
• Craniofacial Anomalies
• Neurogenic Speech Disorders in Children
• Language and Communication in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Communicative Science and Disorders Research Colloquium

In DC, earning the CCC-SLP (Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology) certification through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is optional. However, programs that meet the DC standards for licensure, namely by holding the necessary CAA accreditation, will also put you on a path to CCC-SLP certification.

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

The DC board requires you to complete a nine-month clinical fellowship.

A fellowship is required professional experience that puts you into an active speech therapy setting, mentored by a currently-licensed professional SLP. You see real patients, make real diagnoses, and deliver real treatment. Along the way, you are both being evaluated by your mentor and guided, taking your classroom knowledge and turning into real-world expertise.

There are two options for completing your clinical fellowship:

• Full-time option involves nine months of at least 30 hours of work per week that must be completed within 2 years of earning your graduate degree
• Part-time equivalent must be completed within 3.5 years of earning your graduate degree

Fellowship placements are the responsibility of each individual. You can often find them in ordinary lists of open SLP positions, however. Your school and professional contacts you have made through your practicum experiences can also help you along the way.

Although it’s not required in terms of obtaining a DC license, the Board may also accept a CCC-SLP credential as evidence you have met your clinical fellowship requirements. That’s because the ASHA standards are substantially similar to those used by the DC Board; this is a good option if you are coming from another state but have not yet obtained a full SLP license.

Step 3. Pass the National SLP Praxis Examination

To become licensed in DC, you’ll need to pass the National Speech and Pathology Exam. You can register online through Praxis.

The test is scored on a 100-200 score scale, and you must score at least a 162 to pass. For more test information, you may review the Praxis Information Bulletin. Specific preparation can be found in the company’s Speech-Language Pathology Study Companion.

The computer-based speech-language pathology test has 132 questions that are to be completed over 150 minutes. The questions fall into the following categories:

• Foundation and professional practice—44 questions
• Screening, assessment, evaluation, and diagnosis—44 questions
• Planning, implementation, and evaluation of treatment—44 questions

The questions will cover feeding and swallowing, augmentative and alternative communicative, social and cognitive aspects of communicative, receptive and expressive language, and topics of voice, resonance, fluency, and speech production.

You may take the National exam at any one of the many Praxis test centers in the greater DC area. With the use of remote proctors, it’s also becoming more common to take the test online at your own home.

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

Once you’ve passed the national exam, you can make your DC license application online with the Board of Health.

You’ll also need to include:

• An application fee of $210
• Results of a criminal background check
• Your official graduate transcript

The Board may also issue a license by endorsement if you currently hold an SLP license in good standing in another state. This can be important in DC because it’s so close to so many other states with active SLP communities. The Board must agree that the jurisdiction where you are licensed has substantially similar requirements, and you’ll need your current Board to verify your license and that no disciplinary actions are outstanding.

Getting Your SLP Career Off The Ground in The Nation’s Capital

Now that you’re a licensed SLP in DC, there are three traditional ways to start your career:

Join the Clinic Where You Performed Your Clinical Fellowship

If you enjoyed your clinical fellowship and worked well with your CF supervisor, you may choose to stay on with the clinic. Many clinics prefer to hire SLPs who have completed a CF with them.

Chances are, you and your supervisor will already be on the same page about this long before you complete the fellowship, so this is in some senses the easiest path to employment. But there are others!

Start an Independent Practice or Partnership

Some licensed SLPs choose to start their own, independent practices, while others go into business with a partner.

As an independent practitioner, you may set your own workflow, take on as many clients as you wish, or advertise to specific patient populations. But you’ll also be on the hook for complying with local business rules and regulations, keeping your taxes paid, managing staff, and performing marketing and other general business tasks. It can be a lot, but the independence is completely worth it for many practitioners.

Pursue Job Openings

You might also consider hundreds of other SLP employers around the DC area: hospitals, clinics, and school systems. Of course, the patchwork of services in the region make licensing considerations important. You’ll have to either get licensed in multiple states to expand your search or restrict your potential employers to those actually physically located in the District.

Once you’re licensed as an SLP, you can also gain specialty certifications through ASHA. SLPs who wish to serve a specific patient population often pursue specialty certification to become more prepared… as well as demonstrating their qualifications to employers who serve those populations.

Step 5. Maintain SLP Licensure and Complete Continuing Education Requirements

To maintain your SLP licensure, you’ll need to renew your license every two years and submit proof of completion of 20 hours of continuing education during that time.

One hour of the continuing education must be in ethics and two need to be in LGBTQ topics. At least 10 percent of your total CE hours have to be in a set of subjects determined by the Director of Public Health as priorities in the District, a revolving list updated every five years or as needed.

Approved CE providers include:

• The District of Columbia Speech-Language-Hearing Association or a similar speech-language hearing association of another state
• The American Academy of Audiology
• The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) or its approved continuing education providers
• An accredited provider of The Accreditation Council on Continuing Medical Education of the American Medical Association
• The International Association of Continuing Education and Training (IACET) or its authorized providers
• A health care organization accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)

DC renewals are handled entirely online these days.

Speech-Language Pathology Salary in the District of Columbia

Salary isn’t everything for SLPs, but it’s still important. That’s particularly true when you’re located in a region with a high cost of living, like the DC area.

Fortunately, the District of Columbia ranks 10th out of all cities in the nation for having the highest average speech-language pathologist (SLP) salary, coming in at $111,110 annually or $53.42 per hour.

This lucrative and rewarding field is expected to see a job growth rate of 42% in DC over the ten-year period leading up to 2030.

A High-Paying Career that Provides Job Satisfaction

In addition to earning high salaries, speech-language pathologists evince a high degree of job satisfaction according to two recent studies. The compensation specialist company PayScale surveyed more than 2 million workers to see if they thought their work made the world a better place. Based on the results of this survey, the profession of speech-language pathology ranked among the 15 most meaningful jobs that pay well.

US News & World Report conducted an analysis and ranked SLP as the 3rd-best job to have in the healthcare field.

In addition to employment options in schools and academic centers, Washington, DC is home to a number of private clinics that focus primarily on speech-language pathology.

DC is also home to one of the two offices for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

Salaries of Speech-Language Pathologists in DC

In DC proper SLP salaries break down as follows:

• 10th percentile: $78,900 annually, $37.93 hourly
• 50th percentile (median): $112,620 annually, $54.14 hourly
• 75th percentile: $133,580 annually, $64.22 hourly
• 90th percentile: $146,590 annually, $70.48 hourly

In the greater DC metro area there are a total of 2,370 working SLPs who earn an average salary of $104,320 annually, or $50.16 hourly. The 10th to 90th percentile salary range for this area is:

• Annual: $66,940 – $146,590
• Hourly: $32.18 – $70.48

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.

Back to Top