Speech-Language Pathologists - The Process
Here is how the process works:
- Master’s Degree – Five or more years of university education.
- Experience as a Speech-Language Pathologist – Preference is given to graduates of internationally respected institutions and candidates with work experience.
- Fluency in English – Employment requirements necessitate that recruits speak fluent English. Ultimately, prospective recruits will need to successfully complete the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and the TSE (Test of Spoken English), or the TOEFL iBT in order to demonstrate fluency in the English language, available at www.ets.org/toefl.
- Graduates of health professional programs in Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, the U.K., and the United States are exempt from this requirement.
- Graduates from programs accredited by the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) are exempt from this requirement.
We will begin a process to evaluate your credentials in the United States, apply for your license to practice Speech-Language Pathology, and apply for your visa or green card. The following procedures regarding each aspect of obtaining employment will occur simultaneously.
- In order to be eligible for certification with ASHA, a Speech-Language Pathologist educated outside the U.S. must submit their transcript to a credential evaluating agency in order to determine its equivalency to a U.S. degree. If you are a foreign graduate of Canada, the U.K., or Australia, please scroll down as your standards for credentialing differ.
- ASHA will then review the material from the evaluating agency to ensure that the applicant has completed a course load that is equivalent to the courses in its requirements. ASHA has the following standards:
- An applicant must have completed a minimum of 75 semester credit hours (at least 36 hours at the graduate level) and must have taken courses in each of the following areas – biological science, physical science, mathematics, and behavioral/social sciences.
- An applicant must have undergone 400 hours of clinical experience as part of their education.
- The applicant must have the director of his/her graduate program complete the “2005 Application for Certification,” available at http://www.asha.org.
- Applicant must then pass the Praxis Examination in Speech-Language Pathology with a minimum score of 600. The test is administered worldwide by ETS, please follow this link to see if there is a test center near your location, http://www.ets.org.
- Applicant must then successfully complete a Speech-Language Pathology Clinical Fellowship (SLPCF). The SLPCF will consist of the equivalent of 36 weeks of full-time clinical practice.
If you are certified with the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists, The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (U.K.), or The Speech Pathology Association of Australia, you only need to fulfill the following requirements for ASHA certification.
- CASLPA Applicants
- completion of the Speech-Language Pathology Clinical Fellowship or equivalent.
- RCSLT Applicants
- passage of the Praxis II Examination with a minimum score of 600.
- SPAA Applicants
- completion of the Speech-Language Pathology Clinical Fellowship or equivalent.
- passage of the Praxis II Examination with a minimum score of 600.
InterFysio will sponsor qualified SLPs for employment in the U.S.
Depending on the most appropriate circumstances at the time, Interfysio will either sponsor you for a green card or work visa. Our aim is to obtain ability for you to work in the U.S. in the most efficient manner.
