Education · 1 of 5

The path

Six years of university, and the master's is the hard door to get through.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 11 and 12

   Grade 12 English, biology and a math. French is a real advantage later.

2. 2

   Undergraduate degree

   4 years

   Any major works, but linguistics, psychology and health sciences are common. You need specific prerequisite courses: linguistics, phonetics, statistics, anatomy and child development. Keep your average high.

3. 3

   Master's in speech-language pathology

   2 years

   An MSc (Master of Science) or similar, at roughly a dozen Canadian universities. Coursework plus hundreds of supervised clinical hours. Admission is very competitive.

4. 4

   Register with your provincial regulator

   A few weeks

   In Ontario that is CASLPO (the College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario). Some provinces add a short test on the rules of practice.