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Prerequisites

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Please refer to the MHSc FAQ page for an example of how to read the prerequisite charts. Questions regarding prerequisites should be directed to: rss.slpstudents@utoronto.ca

Overview of Prerequisites

Applicants must complete the following undergraduate-level courses with a minimum grade of B+ in each course to be considered for the MHSc program. Prerequisite courses should be completed within the last 10 years:

  • Child Development (0.5 full course equivalents)
  • Elementary Statistics (0.5 full course equivalents)
  • General Linguistics (0.5 full course equivalents)
  • Human Physiology (1.0 full course equivalents)
  • Phonetics (0.5 full course equivalents)
  • Research Methods (0.5 full course equivalents)

Description of Prerequisite Courses

Child Development (0.5 FCE)

  • Typically offered through psychology departments (developmental psychology or child development)
  • Must cover a broad range of developmental stages (0–18/21 years)
  • Courses limited to language development or language disorders are not accepted

Elementary Statistics (0.5 FCE)

Must include:

  • Descriptive statistics
  • Probability and distributions
  • Hypothesis testing
  • Analysis of variance

General Linguistics (0.5 FCE)

  • Must cover formal linguistics: semantics, pragmatics, syntax, phonology
  • Courses on language development, language disorders, psychology of language, or sociolinguistics are not accepted

Human Physiology (1.0 FCE)

  • Must include general human physiology
  • If only one half-course is available in anatomy, neuro-anatomy, neurophysiology, or speech-related physiology, it may count for 0.5 credit
  • In this case, an additional half-course in general physiology is required

Phonetics (0.5 FCE)

  • Must be fully dedicated to phonetics (including transcription of normal speech)
  • Courses with only a phonetics component or those focused on speech disorders are not accepted
  • Phonology courses are not accepted

Research Methods (0.5 FCE)

Must include:

  • Quantitative data analysis
  • Qualitative courses are not accepted
  • Scientific method
  • Experimental and non-experimental methods
  • Validity, bias, limitations
  • Ethical issues in research

How to Verify Prerequisites

  • The department has reviewed and pre-approved courses from various institutions across Canada
  • To view approved courses, visit the Approved Prerequisites webpage and select your institution
    • e.g. Clicking University of Alberta will display accepted courses from that institution

Important: Course offerings may change; please confirm availability directly with the institution.

If your course is not listed, you must:

NOTE: Check course content carefully against the criteria above before requesting verification.

Courses taken outside Canada must meet the same criteria—no exceptions!