Online Speech Language Pathology Graduate Programs in New Mexico

New Mexico is where you’ll find superb opportunities for speech-language pathologists. These professionals provide patients with life-changing, evidence-based treatments aimed at improving articulation, expressive language, speech, receptive language, social communication, literacy, swallowing, and feeding.

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.
Pepperdine University - Embark on a transformative professional and personal journey in the online Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology program from Pepperdine University. Our program brings together rigorous academics, research-driven faculty teaching, and robust clinical experiences, all wrapped within our Christian mission to serve our communities and improve the lives of others.

For example, the UNM Health Systems Department of Speech-Language Pathology in Albuquerque provides SLP services to all populations ranging from infants to seniors. Their inpatient and outpatient SLP services are aimed at a number of conditions that affect speech and language, such as head and neck cancer; pediatric cleft lip or palate; tracheostomy; lockjaw; and velopharyngeal incompetence/insufficiency. They also provide neurological rehabilitation services for those with aphasia, apraxia, dysarthria, swallowing disorders, cognitive impairment, and developmental speech and language problems.

If you want to enter this rewarding field and become a speech-language pathologist, you’ll need to become licensed through the New Mexico Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology, and Hearing Aid Dispensers Practices Board.

To earn licensure as an SLP in New Mexico, follow the steps below:

	Earn a Speech Therapy Degree: Complete an Accredited Graduate Program in Speech-Language Pathology
	Pass the National SLP Exam
	Complete a Clinical Fellowship Year
	Apply for Full Licensure and Begin Practicing as a Speech-Language Pathologist
	Renew Your License Every Annually and Complete Continuing Education Requirements

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

The first step to becoming a speech-language pathologist in New Mexico involves earning a master’s degree or higher that’s been accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA), part of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

New Mexico is home to three CAA-accredited programs. You may also choose to earn your degree through a CAA-accredited online master’s degree. Online programs offer unparalleled flexibility and convenience and are often the right choice for busy, working professionals.

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 such as:

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 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

Program electives 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, the practicum is where you’ll shadow a licensed SLP in a clinic or hospital setting and learn how to complete clinical and diagnostic procedures.

Step 2. Pass the National SLP Exam

You must pass the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA) National Examination in Speech Language Pathology either prior to or during your first year of clinical fellowship year (CFY) licensure.

This exam is administered by Praxis. You’ll register online for this exam.

You can take this exam at a Praxis testing center near you. In New Mexico, there are Praxis testing centers located in:

Albuquerque
Farmington
Las Cruces
Roswell
Santa Fe

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

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.

Step 3. Complete a Clinical Fellowship Year

You’ll now enter into a transitional period known as your clinical fellowship year (CFY). To become a clinical fellow, you’ll need to apply online through the New Mexico Professional Licensing User System and pay the $50 fee. (Note: Paper applications are no longer accepted.)

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.

Along with the application, you’ll also need to submit and upload a Clinical Fellow Year Supervisor Plan that details plans for your clinical fellowship and your supervisor. You may work up to 32 hours per week over nine months to complete your fellowship. However, you may also choose to complete your fellowship on a part-time basis over the course of 12-18 months.

Your CFY must be completed within 36 months.

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 CFY, you must complete and upload the Statement of Verification of Postgraduate Supervised Hours through the New Mexico Professional Licensing User System.

Consider Earning the CCC-SLP Credential

Once you’ve passed the exam and completed your CFY, you have the option of earning the CCC-SLP credential by applying directly with 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 Full Licensure and Begin Practicing as a Speech-Language Pathologist

Now it’s time to apply for full licensure through the New Mexico Professional Licensing User System and pay the $100 licensure fee.

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

There’s 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. The cost of renewal is $200. Learn more about continuing education requirements here.

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

The number of SLP jobs in New Mexico is projected to increase by 30% in the decade leading up to 2030 —that’s far above the national average growth rate of 19% during this time. During this period, New Mexico should see 90 annual SLP job openings due to a blend of new job creation, retirements, and natural job turnover.

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: