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FAQ – Graduate Program

Which term do you accept applications?

We are on the quarter system, and only accept for the Fall quarter.

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When is your application due?

You will need to apply to both the university and the department.
The university application due dates are posted at http://www20.csueastbay.edu/prospective/how-to-apply/application-and-document-deadlines/index.html
The university application is at www.csumentor.edu

The department accepts applications postmarked from January 1 through Feb. 15.
The department application is posted at http://www20.csueastbay.edu/class/departments/commsci/prospective/how-to-apply.html starting in October.

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How much does it cost to attend CSUEB?

Tuition fee information is at http://www20.csueastbay.edu/prospective/cost-and-financial-aid/index.html

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Do you require the GRE or other test as part of the application process?

No, the GRE or other test is not required.

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My degree is not in communication disorders; can I still apply to your graduate program?

Yes. You would apply to our graduate program in “conditionally classified” status. This means that though you are admitted to our graduate program, you first must complete the undergraduate degree equivalency, or prerequisite courses, before moving on to the actual graduate program.

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How many people apply to your program?

For those with a degree in communication disorders, we usually have 150-200 apply. For those without, between 100 and 150.

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How many people do you accept to your program?

For those with a degree in communication disorders, we generally accept between 10 and 15 applicants. For those without, between 20 and 23.

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What is the average GPA of those you accept?

We can't be very specific about an average GPA, since this can change from year to year depending on the strength of the pool of applicants. The university’s official GPA requirement is 2.5, and we do not admit students under a 3.0.  In recent years, due to the number of well qualified applicants we've had, the GPA has been much higher than 3.0.

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How long is your graduate program?

With a degree in communication disorders, about 2 years. Without a degree in communication disorders, it will take you 3 1/2 to 4 years to complete the program.

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Can I complete the program on a part-time basis?

Our graduate program, including the prerequisite courses, is not designed for part-time enrollment.  Nearly all courses are offered once per year, and if a student attending part-time skips an offered class, s/he could be forced to wait one year before progressing due to prerequisite requirements. All units required for the degree must be earned within the five calendar years immediately preceding the receipt of your degree.

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When are your courses offered?

The prerequisite courses are generally offered during the week Monday through Thursday, though not every day. Usually they are on a once-a-week, or twice-a-week schedule. Sometimes courses are offered on Fridays, or in a hybrid format (partially on-line). Graduate courses are usually offered in the evening and occasionally on a Friday to allow students’ daytime placement in their clinical experiences, in which therapy is provided to clients under licensed supervision.

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Where are your courses offered?

The department courses are only offered on the Hayward campus. For those who need to complete the prerequisite courses, some requirements offered outside of our department may be offered at the Concord campus.

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Do you have a distance learning, or on-line, program?

Not at this time.

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If my degree is in another field but I have taken some of the non-SPPA (non-communicative disorders) prerequisite courses before, will I have to take them again?

If you have taken any non-SPPA prerequisite course(s) in your previous studies, you will not have to retake them here unless you took the course(s) more than 7 years ago. If this is your scenario, these can all be retaken after you are admitted to our graduate program in “conditionally classified” status.

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How can I be sure those classes will transfer in?

If you took them at a California college or university, you can use www.assist.org to research courses that would transfer in to CSUEB.

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I can’t tell for sure which classes I have taken that will transfer in. Can you meet with me to go over transcripts?

No, unfortunately we do not have staffing to do any type of transfer/transcript evaluations for students not admitted to our program. You can use the prerequisite or undergraduate course lists posted at our website, the CSUEB university catalog course descriptions, and the catalog course descriptions from the university you attended to self-advise.

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Can I start taking the prerequisite classes now to prepare to apply for the next cycle?

You can certainly take the lower division non-SPPA courses at a junior college. The lower division courses on the prerequisite list start with a 1xxx or a 2xxx. You can use www.assist.org to select the right courses to take. Note that if Human Anatomy and Physiology is offered as two separate courses elsewhere, you only need to take the Anatomy course. The upper division courses at CSUEB start with a 3xxx or a 4xxx, and cannot be taken at a junior college.

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I would like to start the prerequisite classes at CSUEB though I’m not admitted to the graduate program. Will the department let me?

Only if CSUEB is accepting post-baccalaureate applications, which it currently is not.  If this policy were to change, more information would be accessible through the CSUEB application deadlines webpage: http://www20.csueastbay.edu/prospective/how-to-apply/application-and-document-deadlines/index.html  If the university is accepting student applications in this status, you should apply as a second baccalaureate student in speech pathology using the Graduate application at www.csumentor.edu if you would like to take the department’s prerequisite classes, since we currently do not allow unclassified post-bacc. students in our classes. You should apply for the Fall quarter, since that is when our course sequence begins. 

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Can I take classes through Open University as a non-admitted student?

Department policy regarding course registration through Open University changes from year to year. If you are interested in taking the department's prerequisite coursework, which sequence starts in the Fall, please contact the department in early September at 510.885.3233 to find out what the current policy is.  For more information about how Open University works, click here.

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Can I visit your department and meet with someone individually?

The department only has staffing to schedule group visits, and does not schedule individual appointments.  We schedule 10:00 a.m. Friday facilities tours, usually from August to January, on an intermittent basis. We also schedule Open Houses about our graduate program, usually from October to January, on an intermittent basis. Click on "Department Visits" at the left navigation pane for more information. 

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Can I sit in on any classes?

No, we do not allow non-admitted students to observe classes.

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If you have further questions, feel free to email csd@csueastbay.edu or call 510.885.3233.


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