What Marquette’s Bilingual SLP Program Means for Your Career

A specialized track or a general master's degree: for prospective SLPs hoping to serve Spanish-speaking clients, choosing an SLP graduate program shapes the clinical skills you graduate with. In August 2026, Marquette University's Bilingual English-Spanish specialization marked 25 years of bilingual SLP training, a milestone for one of the Midwest's first graduate programs designed specifically to train bilingual English-Spanish speech-language pathologists. The program launched in 2001 and has since become a template for culturally competent clinical education.

The need remains stark. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, only 8.5 percent of speech pathologists and audiologists self-identify as bilingual, a figure that has barely moved in years. That shortfall means millions of Spanish-speaking families still struggle to find clinicians who can assess and treat communication disorders in their home language.

What Marquette's Bilingual English-Spanish Specialization Actually Involves

Marquette's Bilingual English-Spanish (BIES) specialization is an add-on track within the university's 52-credit Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology, not a standalone degree. Students complete the full two-year clinical master's program while layering on coursework and supervised practice specifically designed for serving Spanish-speaking clients.

Coursework Structure

The BIES curriculum requires four courses that address both linguistic foundations and clinical competencies:

• SPAN 4120/5120 Spanish Phonetics and Applied Linguistics: Builds technical knowledge of Spanish sound systems and language structure.
• SPPA 4610/5610 Multicultural Issues: Explores cultural factors that shape communication and therapy relationships.
• SPPA 6620 Assessment in Bilingual Populations: Focuses on evaluation methods appropriate for Spanish-English speakers.
• SPPA 6630 Intervention in Bilingual Populations: Covers treatment strategies tailored to bilingual clients.

Some of these courses can be taken at the undergraduate level, giving students flexibility in their planning. The graduate-level assessment and intervention courses typically count toward elective requirements in the M.S. program.

Clinical Training and Guaranteed Placements

Students must complete a minimum of 50 clinical hours working with Spanish-speaking or bilingual clients under supervision from a bilingual SLP. These hours apply toward ASHA certification, state licensure, and the M.S. degree requirements. Practica take place through the Marquette Speech and Hearing Clinic and community sites across the Milwaukee area.

What sets this program apart is its guarantee of clinical placements with Spanish-speaking practitioners, a commitment that removes the uncertainty many bilingual-track students face when searching for appropriate supervision.

Family-Centered Philosophy

The Marquette Speech and Hearing Clinic operates with a philosophy of deep family involvement, allowing parents to participate in their child's therapy as much as they choose. This approach strengthens carryover of skills at home and builds trust with families who may be navigating services in a second language.

Program Leadership and History

The specialization was founded in 2001 by Wendy Krueger (current Director of Clinical Education), Kathy Erdman, and Donna Kelly. Stacy Ko, who helped launch the program, now serves as its director. Their combined leadership has sustained the BIES track for 25 years.

How to Become a Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist

Earning a bilingual specialization in speech-language pathology builds on the same credentialing pathway every SLP follows, then adds targeted training in bilingual assessment and clinical practice. Most candidates should plan on roughly six to seven years from the start of a bachelor's degree to full bilingual credentialing. ASHA's Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP) is the baseline professional credential; a bilingual extension or certificate is an additional layer that signals advanced competence in serving multilingual populations.

Language Proficiency: What 'Bilingual' Really Means for SLP Applicants

Clinical bilingualism demands far more than the ability to hold a conversation in two languages. Programs that train bilingual speech-language pathologists expect applicants to demonstrate proficiency deep enough to assess, diagnose, and treat communication disorders in both English and the target language, a bar that casual or "heritage" fluency alone rarely clears.

How Programs Define "Near-Native" Proficiency

The ASHA bilingual service delivery framework describes the standard for bilingual service delivery as "native or near-native" competence across five areas: vocabulary, semantics, phonology, grammar, and pragmatics. That guidance is language-neutral, meaning it applies whether you work in Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, or any other language pair. However, ASHA does not issue a separate bilingual credential or set a universal test score, so individual graduate programs and employers define their own benchmarks.

The most commonly referenced tool is the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview, a 15- to 30-minute structured assessment scored on a scale from Novice through Intermediate, Advanced, and Superior.¹ Many bilingual SLP tracks recommend reaching Advanced-High, which maps roughly to a high B2 or low C1 on the CEFR scale. Some state educator-licensure systems, including those in Texas and New Jersey, accept Intermediate-High for bilingual SLP certification, but that lower threshold may not satisfy the expectations of graduate programs focused on clinical practice.²³

CSU Long Beach's bilingual emphasis, for example, requires incoming students to show Spanish proficiency through an AP score of 4 or 5, equivalent coursework, or a placement test at Intermediate-High, plus completion of specific upper-division Spanish courses.⁴

Why Conversational Fluency Falls Short

Bilingual SLPs must navigate professional and clinical vocabulary, recognize dialectal variation across Spanish-speaking populations, and adjust their language for cultural nuance during therapy sessions.⁵ Being able to order food or chat with relatives is not the same as accurately scoring a phonological assessment using speech-language pathology assessment tools, or counseling a parent about a child's language delay. Programs expect applicants to document their proficiency through recognized instruments such as the ACTFL OPI or advanced coursework.¹⁴

Beyond Spanish

Although Spanish-English tracks are the most visible and well-documented, ASHA's bilingual framework applies to any language pair. Structured graduate-level options for languages like Arabic, Vietnamese, or Cantonese are less common and harder to find, but the growing diversity of client populations is slowly pushing institutions to expand.

Marquette Vs. Other Bilingual SLP Programs: What to Compare

Not all bilingual SLP tracks are built the same. Credit loads, clinical hour requirements, and delivery formats vary widely, so understanding the differences helps you choose a program that fits your goals and schedule. The table below compares Marquette's Bilingual English-Spanish Specialization with six other well-known bilingual SLP programs across the country.

Bilingual SLP Salary and Regional Demand

Bilingual speech-language pathologists typically earn a premium of 10 to 15 percent above the national median, reflecting the acute demand for clinicians who can serve Spanish-speaking and other multilingual populations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not break out wages by bilingual status, so the figures below combine BLS median wages for SLPs in high-demand metros with industry-reported bilingual premiums. Shortage pressure is most intense in urban markets with large immigrant and English-language-learner populations, including South Florida, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, and the greater New York area.

State-By-State Bilingual Certification and Endorsement Requirements

Bilingual SLP credentialing varies widely from state to state. Some states offer formal endorsements or extensions, while others rely on program-level concentrations or general bilingual teacher certifications. None of these state credentials are issued by ASHA, though many align with ASHA's guidance on bilingual service delivery. The table below summarizes requirements in states with the most established frameworks. Requirements can change, so always verify with your state licensing board before applying.

It truly changed my family's journey. The students were so passionate and caring with my child, and being part of that process gave our whole family hope we hadn't felt before.

Clinical Training That Improves Outcomes for Spanish-Speaking Clients

A monolingual English-speaking clinician assessing a bilingual child with a translated test is not the same clinical event as a trained bilingual SLP assessing that same child across both languages. The tools look similar. The diagnostic accuracy is not.

The Misidentification Problem

Bilingual children in the U.S. are simultaneously over-identified and under-identified for language disorders, depending on which tool is used and how bilingual speech assessment scores are interpreted.¹ National data suggest under-identification relative to monolingual peers, while classroom-level studies show over-identification when monolingual norms are applied to bilingual performance. Both errors delay appropriate services or push typically developing children into caseloads they don't belong on.

The BESOS study makes the mechanism concrete. Assessed in English only, the tool caught every child with a true impairment (100% sensitivity) but incorrectly flagged 65% of typically developing bilingual children.² Spanish-only administration misclassified 50%.² When clinicians matched the test language to the child's dominant language, specificity climbed to 57% in English and 70% in Spanish.² Not perfect, but a different clinical picture.

What Bilingual Training Changes

A comprehensive bilingual battery, including bilingual SLP materials, standardized measures in both languages, a parent interview, and a language sample, reaches 86.6% sensitivity and 93.3% specificity for language impairment in 4 to 5-year-olds.³ That exceeds the Plante and Vance benchmarks and is only achievable when the clinician can actually administer, score, and interpret across both languages.

ASHA's Multilingual Service Delivery guidance is explicit: SLPs are expected to assess all of a child's languages, not just English.⁴ Multilingual clinicians can also maintain the home language during intervention rather than inadvertently suppressing it, a distinction that matters for family communication and long-term outcomes.⁵

Family Involvement as an Outcome Driver

Parent input isn't a courtesy in bilingual assessment, it is data. ASHA's 2024 guidance recommends parent report as a core source, and the Children's Equity Project policy brief frames bilingualism as an asset to be preserved through interpreter use, parent partnership, and bilingual service models.⁶

One caveat worth naming: an AJSLP study found that clinical exposure to bilingual clients alone did not substantially raise cultural competence. Explicit coursework, supervised bilingual practicum, and structured reflection appear to be what actually shifts practice. That is the case for programs like Marquette's, and the case against assuming a few Spanish-speaking clients on a caseload equals bilingual expertise.

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Admissions Requirements and Application Tips for Bilingual Tracks

If you are considering Marquette's Bilingual English-Spanish specialization or a similar bilingual SLP track, here is a practical checklist of what most programs expect. Marquette-specific details are noted where applicable.

• Bachelor's Degree with SLP Prerequisites

  Complete foundational coursework such as anatomy and physiology of the speech mechanism, phonetics and phonology, child language development, speech science, introduction to audiology, and intervention methods. At Marquette, certain science and statistics courses must be taken outside the communication sciences department to count toward prerequisites.
• Minimum GPA

  Marquette requires a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 on a 4.0 scale. Other bilingual tracks may set different thresholds, so check each program individually.
• CSDCAS Application and Supplemental Materials

  Submit your application through CSDCAS along with any program-specific supplemental application. Marquette requires both, and the application window for fall 2027 entry opens July 15, 2026, with a January 15, 2027, deadline.
• Spanish Proficiency Documentation

  Marquette recommends that BIES applicants provide proof of Spanish proficiency directly to the department. Some peer programs may require a formal assessment such as an ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview, so confirm testing requirements early.
• Personal Statement Addressing Bilingual Experience

  Prepare a one- to two-page personal statement. While Marquette does not require a separate bilingual essay, BIES applicants are encouraged to reference their interest in the specialization and any relevant bilingual or multicultural experience within their main statement.
• Three Letters of Recommendation

  Marquette asks for three recommendation letters. Choose recommenders who can speak to your academic preparation, clinical potential, and, if possible, your bilingual or cross-cultural competencies.
• GRE Scores (Program-Dependent)

  Marquette does not require the GRE. Policies vary widely across bilingual SLP programs, so verify whether your target schools have waived or still require standardized test scores.
• English Proficiency for International Applicants

  Non-U.S. citizens applying to Marquette must demonstrate English proficiency through TOEFL scores or other accepted documentation. This requirement is standard across most accredited SLP programs.