Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences

MHS clinical practicum opportunities

SLHS student and child play with some toys in the Combs Language Preschool
A student interacts with a child at the Robert G. Combs Language Preschool. Students participate as clinicians-in-training in a clinical program serving children with speech and language difficulties under the direct supervision of clinical faculty with certification and state licensure in speech-language pathology.

Your first year

You’ll begin your clinical experiences during your first fall semester in the program at our in-house clinic. The MU Speech and Hearing Clinic serves individuals with a wide variety of disorders across the lifespan. Our department also houses the Robert G. Combs Language Preschool and Toddler groups and the Accent Modification and Pronunciation Program. Clinical opportunities are also available at various community sites (e.g., private schools, Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, and Parents as Teachers) for additional therapy and screening experiences. Students remain within these supportive environments gaining a wide range of pediatric and adult experiences throughout their first year in the program.

Your second year

An SLHS student interacts with a pediatric patient.
Second-year students may be placed at the MU Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, one of dozens of outplacement opportunities across the nation.

Beginning in your second year, we supplement your training with a broad range of outplacement experiences. During the fall semester of that second year, you’ll complete a mini-outplacement in a local medical or school setting while continuing to work with clients in-house. Finally, during the spring semester of your second year, you will complete two full-time, eight-week outplacement in two distinctly different clinical settings, typically one working with children and the other with adults. While we have plenty of outplacement opportunities locally, these outplacements may be completed nearly anywhere within the nation. Below are examples of some of our most recent outplacement sites.

  • Baylor Rehabilitation System (Dallas, TX)
  • Boone Hospital Center (Columbia, MO)
  • Capital Region Medical Center (Jefferson City, MO)
  • Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital (St. Louis, MO)
  • Central Texas Veterans Health Care (Austin, TX)
  • Children’s Hospital Therapy Center (Columbia, MO)
  • Children’s Mercy Hospital (Kansas City, MO)
  • Columbia Public Schools (plus many other local and distant school districts)
  • Greek American Rehabilitation & Care Center (Wheeling, IL)
  • Hannibal Regional Hospital (Hannibal, MO)
  • Harry S. Truman VA Hospital (Columbia, MO)
  • HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital (Sarasota, FL)
  • Med Speech Voice & Swallow Center (Palm Beach Gardens, FL)
  • Missouri Baptist Medical Center (St. Louis, MO)
  • MU Voice, Swallow and Airway Center (Columbia, MO)
  • MU Women’s and Children’s Hospital (Columbia, MO)
  • Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center (Poplar Bluff, MO)
  • Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital (St. Louis, MO)
  • Rehabilitative Institute of St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)
  • Research Medical Center (Kansas City, MO)
  • Rusk Rehabilitation Center (Columbia, MO)
  • Special Learning Center (Jefferson City, MO)
  • SSM St. Joseph Hospital West (St. Joseph, MO)
  • SSM St. Mary’s Health Center (Jefferson City, MO)
  • St. Louis Children’s Hospital (St. Louis, MO)
  • St. Mary’s Hospital (Blue Springs, MO)
  • University Hospital (Columbia, MO)
  • University of Missouri Therapy Services (Columbia, MO)