The Bilingual English-Spanish Specialization Certificate (BESSC) allows students pursuing a M.S. in Speech Language Pathology at DePaul to complete specialized coursework and clinical practica underscoring a thorough level of competence across scientific, theoretical, and clinical knowledge and skills in order to equitably serve the needs of primarily Spanish speaking individuals with communicative disabilities. In accordance with an additive cultural and linguistic competence curricula, student recruitment of advanced-low proficient per the American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages (ACTFL) speakers of the Spanish language will be emphasized.
Course List | Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
| SLP 460 | RESEARCH TO PRACTICE IN BILINGUAL SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY | 1 |
| SLP 461 | PROFESSIONALISM AND ADVOCACY IN BILINGUAL SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY | 1 |
| SLP 462 | ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION OF YOUNG BILINGUAL CHILDREN WITH COMMUNICATION DISORDERS | 2 |
| SLP 464 | ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION OF BILINGUAL ADULTS WITH COMMUNICATION DISORDERS | 2 |
| SLP 465 | CULTURAL RESPONSIVENESS IN BILINGUAL SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY | 1 |
| SLP 466 | BILINGUAL SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY SERVICE PROVISION ACROSS SETTINGS | 1 |
| BBE 550 | SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY AND THE BILINGUAL LEARNER EXPERIENCE | 2 |
The admission process for the bilingual certificate will uphold a holistic review of applicants. Student admission requirement include: a) earning acceptance to the MS Speech Language Pathology Program; b) indicating interest on the MS Speech-Language Pathology Program at DePaul University graduate application; c) submitting a supplemental application for the Bilingual English-Spanish Specialization Certificate which includes completion of an essay question and self-evaluation of Spanish language skills; d) attaining a rating of at least “Advanced Low” from the standardized Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) of the American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages (ACTFL) https://www.languagetesting.com/; and e) completing a brief interview, in Spanish, with the Director of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Programs in SLP.
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More about BESSC
BESSC is designed to be completed inline with the 21-month Speech Language Pathology (MS) degree program as shown in the course sequencing table. Students are required to complete ten (10) additional quarter hours in BESSC courses and accrue at least 140 supervised clinical clock hours with bilingual clients in the
DePaul Speech and Language Clinic and their externships. Opportunities for global academic and clinical experiences are available.
For questions about BESSC or our other bilingual speech language pathology programming, contact our Director of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Programs Elia Olivares, Ph.D., CCC-SLP.