The San Francisco State Scholars program provides undergraduate students with an accelerated pathway to a graduate degree.  Students in this program pursue a bachelor’s and master’s degree simultaneously. This program allows students to earn graduate credit while in their junior and/or senior year, reducing the number of semesters required for completion of a master’s degree. The San Francisco State University Scholars program offers students additional career prospects, intellectual growth and the opportunity to deepen skills and research competencies. SF State Scholars receive a unique form of mentorship that is not often expected at a large urban university.

See this link for more information:  https://grad.sfsu.edu/content/scholars-4-1-program

SF State Scholars will be able to pursue a clinical specialization in addition to the M.S. degree in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences.  Here is more information about our specializations:  https://slhs.sfsu.edu/specialized-training

• Plan A:  (0 units) SLHS 896EXM Culminating Experience Examination 
• Plan B:  (3 units) SLHS 898 Master's Thesis

• are given online, each fall and spring semester on the second Friday of the semester
• can be taken only three times
• have a required passing grade of 75%
• can be retaken during the same semester if only ONE portion has been failed (otherwise, the student must wait until the following semester for retake)
• may be taken after ALL core courses have been completed with a passing grade of C or better and the student has received approval of the graduate adviser
• require approval of Advancement of Candidacy (ATC) form and Proposal for Culminating Experience (PE) form.  This will allow the student to register for SLHS 896EXM, which is required for graduation.  The forms can be accessed at this link:  https://grad.sfsu.edu/content/grad-forms.  
• sign up for the exam through an online SLHS survey, the link to which is emailed to all eligible students during the third week of each semester. 
• once approved to take the exam, confidential ID number will be distributed prior to the scheduled administration date (Note: If for any reason the student cannot take the exam on the scheduled date, the student must wait until the following semester's scheduled exam.)
• Once the exam is passed, submit a Report of Completion form:  https://grad.sfsu.edu/content/report-completion

• are required to answer three essay questions: one on theory, one on diagnostics, and one on treatment
• select between two questions for each of the three essays (each essay question has five sections)
• are expected to incorporate information from required undergraduate and graduate courses in their essays
• should review the following areas prior to the exam: adult neurogenics, fluency, voice, articulation and phonology, child/adolescent language, AAC, social communication, dysphagia, and speech science

• A 3.0 GPA in all post-baccalaureate course work.
• An approved Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) Form on file with the Division of Graduate Studies. The ATC is used by the Division of Graduate Studies to verify that you’re completing all the requirement for the MS degree. The ATC form needs to be approved by an SLHS advisor and the Department Chair submitted to Graduate Studies no later than the semester prior to enrollment for the final 6 units of graduate work. You can download the ATC form from the Division of Graduate Studies website, Virtual GradStop Student Services.
• You must have an approved Proposal for Culminating Experience Requirement form also on file with the Division of Graduate Studies, Virtual GradStop Student Services. This form is submitted a semester prior to when you will register for your Culminating Experience Course (SLHS 898), in other words, a semester before when you plan to complete your thesis. The Culminating Experience Proposal describes your proposed research. It needs to be signed by a Thesis Committee of at least 2 committee members.

• The chair of the committee and the 2^nd member of the committee must hold tenured/tenure-track faculty appointments in your major department. 
• In circumstances where special expertise is available in another department, the Dean of the Division of Graduate Studies may authorize a designated tenured/tenure-track faculty member from a related department to serve as a 2^nd member of the committee.
• With special permission, some long-term lecturers with terminal degrees in their field or with special expertise may serve as the 2^nd committee member provided that their curriculum vitae (CV) is on file in the Division of Graduate Studies.
• A 3^rd member of the committee may be from outside the department or university. A lecturer may serve as a 3^rd committee member.
• Developing and completing your thesis should be a positive experience for both you and your committee members. Approach faculty members early with whom you’re interested in working to see if they would like to sit on your committee. This gives the faculty members time to consider your request. This also give you time to identify alternate committee members if the faculty is unable to participate in your committee.
• To officially change the composition of your committee, you must submit a Petition for GAP substitution or Committee Revision to GradStop in ADM 250. This is downloadable from the Division of Graduate Studies website, Virtual GradStop Student Services.
• Plan the timeline for your thesis completion carefully with the help of your committee members. Remember that very few faculty members are available to review your thesis drafts during summer semesters or winter sessions. If you’re working with a faculty member who is participating in the early retirement program or an emeritus professor, be sure that your work can be completed during the faculty member’s employment period with the university.

• Any thesis/dissertation/research that involves human or animal subjects must be approved by the Office for the Protection of Human and Animal Subjects (the Institutional Review Board or IRB). Approval must be obtained prior to the initiation of research.
• Once you receive approval from the Division of Graduate Studies to begin your thesis (culminating experience), you may register for SLHS 898.
• If you do not complete your thesis during the semester that you’re registered for SLHS 898, you will receive a grade of RP (Report in Progress) and be given a “grace semester.” When your thesis is complete, your committee members will change the RP grade to CR (Credit).
• Once you enroll in SLHS 898, you are required to maintain continuous enrollment. If you do not complete your thesis within two semesters (the semester of enrollment in SLHS 898 and the grace semester), then you will need to enroll through the College of Extended Learning (under “Culminating Experience Continuous Enrollment”) until you earn your degree.

1. The Culminating Experience Requirement
2. Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) Form (Needs to be submitted a semester before graduation)
3. Award of Graduate Degree form
4. Knowledge and Skills Acquisition form
5. ePortfolio Approval
6. Paperwork for the SLPSC
7. Paperwork for the CCC
8. Paperwork for the California State License (If you intend to practice in CA)
9. The Praxis II Examination

The San Francisco State Scholars program provides undergraduate students with an accelerated pathway to a graduate degree.  Students in this program pursue a bachelor’s and master’s degree simultaneously. This program allows students to earn graduate credit while in their junior and/or senior year, reducing the number of semesters required for completion of a master’s degree. The San Francisco State University Scholars program offers students additional career prospects, intellectual growth and the opportunity to deepen skills and research competencies. SF State Scholars receive a unique form of mentorship that is not often expected at a large urban university.

See this link for more information:  https://grad.sfsu.edu/content/scholars-4-1-program

SF State Scholars will be able to pursue a clinical specialization in addition to the M.S. degree in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences.  Here is more information about our specializations:  https://slhs.sfsu.edu/specialized-training

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