How to Become a Speech Therapist in Georgia

For most people, their first encounter with a speech therapist comes in grade school. For many, that’s the only one they will ever have, after being evaluated and examined.

In Georgia, though, that early screening need together with increasing demand for treatment has been fueling a real jump in demand for experienced SLPs (Speech-Language Pathologists).

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Since 2000, Georgia has played host to a growing community of SLPs working in schools around the state. The Georgia Organization of School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists was founded in 2000 after a survey indicated that parents felt there was a need for better access to SLP services in the state’s public schools.

Since the founding of the organization, over 600 SLPs have begun work in schools around Georgia. The organization also works to increase public awareness of speech disorders and provides professional support for SLPs working in the Georgia public school system.

The success of the organization and the treatment its members provide reflects the growing need for skilled SLPs. The number of jobs for SLPs in Georgia’s schools, hospitals and clinics is expected to grow by 42% over the ten-year period leading up to 2030. That’s the second-highest rate of any state in the nation!

You can help fill these positions by becoming a speech therapist and earning your SLP license in Georgie. Licenses are issued through the Georgia Board of Speech Language Pathology & Audiology and require completing these five steps.

 

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

 

 

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

Georgia has two paths to earning an SLP license. Both of them require that you complete accredited graduate-level studies to get there.

The Georgia Board of Speech and Language Pathology & Audiology requires you to hold a master’s or higher degree from a CAA (the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s [ASHA] Council on Academic Accreditation) accredited program with a focus in speech-language pathology.

If one of the SLP programs offered by Georgia universities don’t quite fit your needs, accredited online programs provide a flexible option for professionals looking to earn a graduate degree while working or attending to other obligations.

To meet Board requirements, you must show evidence of having completed a total of 75 credit hours of speech and language coursework, 36 of which must be in graduate level classes.

Foundational Undergraduate Courses

Why only 36 graduate course hours? Well, many speech-language pathologists hold bachelor’s degrees in Communicative Sciences and Disorders, which can account for the other coursework. This isn’t an absolute requirement to be accepted into an SLP graduate program, however.

If you do hold a different undergraduate major, though, you’ll probably need to take additional foundational coursework through the school to meet prerequisite requirements before transitioning to graduate-level coursework. Many SLP master’s programs come with this option, however.

Graduate Courses and Clinical Practicum

Those lower-level courses set the stage for more advanced studies when you get to your master’s coursework.

Some of the topics studied at the graduate level include:

  • Speech and Swallowing Disorders
  • Alternative and Augmentative Communication Methods
  • Language Development and Disorders in Children
  • Dysphagia in Children and Adults
  • Phonological Analysis of Normal and Disordered Speech
  • Multi-cultural Issues in Communication Sciences and Disorders

Your master’s program will include a clinical practicum that aligns with state licensing requirements. The State of Georgia requires 400 hours of experience in a clinical practicum, broken down as follows:

  • 375 hours must be directly supervised
  • 25 hours must be spent observing a wide variety of cases, ages, and disorders
  • At least 325 hours must be gained at the graduate level

 

 

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

In addition to your master’s program, you need to complete 1,080 hours of Required Professional Experience (RPE) to meet state licensing requirements in Georgia.

RPE hours are completed under the supervision of a speech-language pathologist who is already licensed through the Georgia Board of Speech and Language Pathology & Audiology.

Before you begin your work, you will need to obtain a Paid Clinical Experience temporary permit from the Board. This is a kind of provisional license that is active for up to 24 months to allow you to legally practice under supervision. It requires that you have met the academic and practicum requirements for SLP licensure, but not yet completed a clinical fellowship. The PCE application costs $30.

You can complete your hours at a full time rate or part time according to these scheduling models:

  • 30 hours a week for 36 weeks
  • 25-29 hours a week for 48 weeks
  • 20-24 hours a week for 60 weeks
  • 15-19 hours a week for 72 weeks

You cannot work for less than 15 hours a week and have the hours count towards your RPE total.

The skills you develop during your RPE will carry over to your professional career. Your time working with a licensed SLP will teach you the practical application of many SLP skills as described in the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) SLP Scope of Practice. This includes:

  • Collaboration
  • Counseling
  • Education on speech and swallowing disorders
  • Assessment and Treatment
  • Prevention and Wellness

As you learn these skills and work with patients, you and your supervisor will regularly discuss your progress and cases in your care. It’s a critical piece of your development as a professional SLP and the documentation of these hours will be needed when you eventually apply for a full license.

 

 

Step 3. Pass the National Examination and Apply for Your Georgia SLP License

There’s only one test to worry about on your way to SLP licensure in Georgia whether you are applying by certification or by examination: the ETS Praxis Speech-Language Pathology exam.

The test is 150 minutes long and has 132 multiple-choice questions. Here is how the exam topics break down:

  • Foundations and Professional Practice – 1/3 of the exam
    • Development and Performance
    • Wellness and Prevention
    • Culturally appropriate service delivery
    • Documentation
    • Ethics
  • Screening, Assessment, Evaluation, and Diagnosis – 1/3 of the exam
    • Communication disorders
    • Case Histories
    • Voice, resonance, and motor speech
    • Social aspects of communication
    • Genetics
  • Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation of Treatment – 1/3 of the exam
    • Factors that can affect treatment
    • Treatment principles and procedures
    • Follow-up on post-treatment recommendations
    • Speech sound production and fluency
    • Swallowing and feeding

You need to pass the exam with a score of 162, both to qualify for the CCC-SLP and to be eligible for the Georgia SLP license.

Earning The Optional CCC-SLP Certification

Passing the exam, along with meeting the other educational and fellowship requirements outlined so far, allows you to apply for the CCC-SLP (Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology), an optional certification offered through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

Although it’s not required, if you do hold the CCC-SLP, you can apply for licensure in Georgia on that basis. You’ll need ASHA to provide verification of both your CCC-SLP. If you already hold a license in another state, that will also have to be verified. You can learn more about the CCC-SLP credential here.

Applying for Licensure in Georgia

After being notified that you passed the exam, you can apply for your Georgia SLP license. The license costs $120. You’ll need to submit your test scores, experience verification forms, and a background check consent form along with the application.

It’s also possible to apply for licensure by endorsement if you already hold a license in another state as an SLP. You’ll need your current license board to provide proof that you hold that in good standing, with no disciplinary or other issues at the time of application.

Your license will be granted only after a full review of your qualifications and approval through the Georgia Board of Speech Language Pathology & Audiology.

It will take the board about 30 days to issue your license if your application packet is complete and includes all the required supporting documents.

 

 

Step 4. Begin Your Career as a Speech-Language Pathologist in Georgia

After earning your Georgia SLP license, you are free to begin working as a professional speech-language pathologist. You have a lot of options moving forward, including the ability to earn specialty qualifications.

  • Start an Independent Practice – After earning your SLP license, you have the choice of starting your own independent practice. If there is demand for a SLP clinic in your local community, this can be a rewarding experience. Running your own practice will allow you to craft a positive speech and language therapy experience for your clients, supervise students completing their master’s programs and RPE requirements, and hire a highly specialized team of qualified speech and language professionals.
  • Pursue Job Openings – If you aren’t interested in starting your own practice right after earning your license, you can pursue job openings with other organizations. This often means being hired on with the clinic through which you completed your RPE. In Georgia, there is always a demand for SLPs in the public school systems, as well. Additionally, the Georgia Speech-Language-Hearing Association has a list of job openings on their site, which is updated frequently.
  • Earn Specialty Certifications – You are also now in a position to pursue specialty certifications through ASHA indicating your exceptional skills in different areas of communication disorder studies. ASHA currently recognizes and offers specialty certification in the following specialties:

 

 

Step 5. Maintain SLP Licensure and Complete Continuing Education Requirements

Once you earn your Georgia SLP license, you need to keep it up to date by satisfying continuing education requirements.

Your SLP license needs to be renewed every odd-numbered year by March 31. You can complete your renewal online on the Georgia Online Licensing site. It will cost you only $60 to renew.

During each two-year period, you need to complete 20 continuing education hours. Hours do not carry over from one two-year licensing cycle to another.

You can take continuing education courses through the Georgia Speech-Language-Hearing Association. They frequently host education courses that count towards the 20 required hours.

 

 

Speech-Language Pathology Salary in Georgia

Georgia pays a higher average SLP salary than four of its five neighboring states. This works out to $89,170 annually, or $42.87 per hour.

SLPs towards the high end of the salary spectrum in Georgia earn at least $120,160 annually, or $57.77 hourly. You’re most likely to get to this point after several years of practice, and possible after stacking on some specialty certifications along the way.

The top-10 Georgia cities offering the highest average annual speech-language pathologist salaries are:

  • Brunswick: $96,680
  • Metro Atlanta: $92,840
  • Rome: $92,710
  • Athens: $91,650
  • Macon: $89,870
  • Savannah: $87,140
  • Albany: $85,690
  • Columbus: $84,780
  • Gainesville: $83,470
  • Augusta: $82,870

High Rates of Job Growth for Georgia’s Speech-Language Pathologists

The profession of speech-language pathology ranked as one of “Georgia’s Hot Careers to 2030” based on these criteria:

  • Fast job growth
  • Above average wages
  • At least 100 expected annual openings a year

In fact, the projected rate of job growth for SLPs in the state is more than double the national average!

On average there will be 400 SLP job openings every year over the decade leading up to 2030. That’s quadruple the minimum necessary to hit the hot careers list.

The Atlanta is home to an unusually large number of speech-language pathologists at 1,890 professionals. That’s far higher than any other city in Georgia, with the next-closest runner up being Augusta with 230 SLP professionals.

Salaries for Speech-Language Pathologists in Georgia’s Major Cities

While Georgia is generally high up in the SLP pay scales, like everywhere, you’ll notice local differences based on things like demand and cost-of-living. As you’re settling on an area to start your practice, these are important factors to consider.

Here’s the range of SLP salaries throughout Georgia’s main cities (10th to 90th percentile):

Albany:

  • Annual: $61,980 – $106,810
  • Hourly: $29.80 – $51.35

Athens:

  • Annual: $59,170 – $113,810
  • Hourly: $28.45 – $54.72

Metro Atlanta:

  • Annual: $59,869 – $120,770
  • Hourly: $28.78 – $58.06

Augusta:

  • Annual: $56,680 – $106,780
  • Hourly: $27.25 – $51.34

Brunswick:

  • Annual: $63,710 – $126,690
  • Hourly: $30.63 – $60.91

Metro Chattanooga

  • Annual: $51,700 – $111,090
  • Hourly: $24.86 – $53.41

Columbus:

  • Annual: $53,450 – $118,400
  • Hourly: $25.70 – $56.92

Gainesville:

  • Annual: $60,150 – $119,280
  • Hourly: $28.92 – $57.35

Macon:

  • Annual: $58,990 – $109,140
  • Hourly: $28.36 – $52.47

Rome:

  • Annual: $58,510 – $114,400
  • Hourly: $28.13 – $55.00

Savannah:

  • Annual: $60,510 – $112,790
  • Hourly: $29.09 – $54.22

Valdosta:

  • Annual: $51,690 – $100,430
  • Hourly: $24.86 – $48.29

Warner Robins:

  • Annual: $54,250 – $113,500
  • Hourly: $26.08 – $54.57

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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