Admissions and Aid

(1) A careful review of the applicant’s past academic performance, which involves not only consideration of grade-point-average, but also of the pattern of grades in various subject areas.

(2) The nature of previous undergraduate and/or graduate work and the school at which it was taken.

(3) Scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) in the case of international students.

(4) Letters of recommendation (ate least two), most appropriately from professors familiar with the student’s work who can testify to the applicant’s potential to complete the program.

(5) A personal statement written by the applicant reviewing reasons for applying to the program, career objectives and relevant background information. Applicants should include their intended academic emphasis in order to identify potential faculty mentors.

(6) Candidates should meet with potential faculty mentors to aid in the committee’s decision.

Each student will be billed for a Graduate School student activities fee, a University student senate fee, a University consolidated services fee and a technology fee. These fees are not refundable.

Baila (Tropper) Epstein

Jim Tsiamtsiouris

Miwako Hisagi

Yes. With few exceptions, all students accepted to the GC Ph.D. Program in Speech-Language-
Hearing Sciences will receive a tuition fellowship which covers the cost of in-state tuition for
five years of study. There are additional fellowships that may be offered. Additional funds are
available for support of research activities of matriculated students.

To apply, students will need to submit the Online Application Form found on the Graduate
Center’s webpage linked here. In addition, students will need to submit three (3) letters of
recommendation, a written statement, an unofficial transcript (official transcripts are due after a student accepts an admission offer), and to pay the application fee ($75). All documents must be
submitted by the deadline of January 1.

No. The deadline for applying for the SLHS program is January 1. Students may reach out to the program’s Executive Officer regarding extenuating circumstances but it is very rare for any student to be granted an extension.

The Ph.D. Program in SLHS no longer requires the GRE.

This will ultimately depend on the student. The program estimates that it will take 6 years for the
average student to complete their degree. A sample of the path to the degree can be found in the
program’s handbook linked here. Once a student reaches Level III they will automatically
receive an MPhil degree.

Earning a Ph.D. in the SLHS program is quite rigorous, to ensure that those who graduate are
well prepared to be independent scholars. Our faculty are highly renowned in their fields and are
dedicated to student success. Students will be guided through the process from their very first
day until they graduate.

No. The Ph.D. Program in SLHS is a research-based program; there is no clinical certification
associated with it.

That is completely fine. The Ph.D. Program in SLHS has 6 research laboratories at the GC and
many affiliated faculty. Students will have the chance to get familiar with faculty’s research and
to join one or more research labs before deciding what is the best fit for them and their research
interests.

Students who are accepted to the program are expected to be full-time students to be able to take
the required courses, work in the research labs, and meet the expectations of the program. In
general, the program discourages students from working full-time while completing their degree.

Graduates from the SLHS program at CUNY’s Graduate Center have above a 90% job
placement rate. Additionally, most students will have the opportunity to teach at one of CUNY’s
11 senior colleges while they are studying in the Ph.D. program, if they choose to do so.

Every applicant to The Graduate Center’s doctoral programs will automatically be considered for five-year institutional funding packages. The aid we offer — including fellowships, tuition awards, and assistantships — is based on merit. 

Learn more about institutional aid for doctoral students »

Federal aid for doctoral students includes:

• Need-based Federal Aid
• Federal Work-Study
• Non-need-based Federal Direct Loans.

New York State also provides the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) for eligible graduate students who are New York State residents.

Additional funding may be available to incoming students from underrepresented populations through offerings from the Office of Educational Opportunity and Diversity, including several fellowships and the CUNY Pipeline Program for undergraduate CUNY students.

Learn more about funding opportunities from OEOD »