The Master of Arts (M.A.) program in Communicative Sciences and Disorders is designed to prepare students to meet the academic and practicum requirements for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology awarded through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Teacher certification is awarded through Virginia's Department of Education and state licensure is awarded through the Virginia Board of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. Small classes facilitate individual instruction and attention for all students. Students are provided the opportunity to develop their research skills through the required completion of a pilot research project.