To become an SLP in Michigan, you need a master’s degree from an ASHA-accredited program with 400+ clinical hours, pass the Praxis exam (score 162+), complete a 1,260-hour clinical fellowship under supervision, and obtain state licensure through Michigan LARA. Michigan SLPs earn an average salary of $85,880 (Detroit metro area), with projected 16% job growth through 2032.
- Emerson College - Master's in Speech-Language Pathology online - Prepare to become an SLP in as few as 20 months. No GRE required. Scholarships available.
- Grand Canyon University - Online Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology. - This STEM program focuses on training aspiring speech-language pathologists to offer compassionate, effective services to individuals with communication disorders
- Arizona State University - Online - Online Bachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science - Designed to prepare graduates to work in behavioral health settings or transition to graduate programs in speech-language pathology and audiology.
- NYU Steinhardt - NYU Steinhardt's Master of Science in Communicative Sciences and Disorders online - ASHA-accredited. Bachelor's degree required. Graduate prepared to pursue licensure.
- Pepperdine University - Embark on a transformative professional and personal journey in the online Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology program from Pepperdine University. Our program brings together rigorous academics, research-driven faculty teaching, and robust clinical experiences, all wrapped within our Christian mission to serve our communities and improve the lives of others.
With eight institutions in Michigan offering CAA-accredited graduate programs in speech-language pathology, and more provided online, the state is home to a thriving community of clinical practitioners, academics, researchers, and policy advocates focused on communicative sciences and disorders.
At the center of this network is the Michigan Speech-Language-Hearing Association (MSHA). Formed in 1939, MSHA is the cornerstone of Michigan’s SLP professional community. In 2024, they honored Dr. Alice K. Silbergleit for developing the Dysphagia Handicap Index, a groundbreaking tool that practitioners around the country use to track the efficacy of treatment. MSHA members come together to offer speech pathology scholarships, hold advocacy events, and host conferences and workshops that help practitioners learn new skills and serve more people.
When you become a speech-language pathologist in Michigan, you’re entering a community that genuinely cares about its work and pushes it to new heights. In this guide, we’ll walk through how you can earn your SLP license through the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs – Board of Speech-Language Pathology.
Step 1. Earn a Speech Therapist Degree: Complete a Master’s Degree Program in Communicative Sciences and Disorders
The Michigan Board of Speech-Language Pathology requires candidates for licensure to hold a Master of Speech-Language Pathology. The program must be accredited by ASHA’s Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA), or be housed in a school with basic institutional accreditation.
If your degree comes from a program not accredited by the CAA, you’ll have to submit a course-by-course summary of your education to ensure you’re prepared for licensure. Enrolling in a CAA-accredited program offers the assurance that your curriculum meets all requirements.
Graduating from a CAA-accredited program is also required to earn the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) from ASHA.
You don’t technically need a CCC-SLP to become a speech-language pathologist in Michigan. But as the most respected credential in the field, it’s the recognized standard in professional practice. You’ll find that most employers either require it or have a strong preference for candidates that hold it. The CCC-SLP will open up career opportunities in Michigan, and anywhere in the country.
Admissions Requirements and Foundational Courses
SLP graduate programs can be competitive. Admissions departments look for GPAs above 3.0. Having a Bachelor of Communicative Sciences and Disorders isn’t required, but it can be helpful. Most programs today don’t require GRE or GMAT scores.
CAA-accredited programs require students to have taken prerequisite courses in four areas:
- Biology
- Statistics
- Chemistry or physics
- Social or behavioral sciences
Classes you took during undergrad and any AP classes that appear on your transcript count. If you still need to take classes in any of these areas, you can take them online through just about any accredited college or community college. Master-level SLP programs also typically offer online prerequisite classes to new students.
Graduate-Level Courses
You can earn a Master of Speech-Language Pathology in two years as a full-time student. In that time, you’ll cover the foundations of the field and take classes on more advanced, specialized topics, too. You’ll even have the chance to work with fully licensed SLPs, serving clients under their guidance and supervision.
Asfors foundational classes, CAA-accredited programs build their curriculum around ASHA’s Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology. This document fully outlines the services SLPs should be trained to provide, the issues they should be prepared to assist with, and the duties their jobs entail.
Schools are allowed to approach these topics in any way they see fit. Exact courses vary by program, but core classes often include:
- Child Language Disorders/Preschool
- Child Language Disorders/School Age
- Articulation & Phonological Issues
- Aphasia
- SLP Diagnostics
- Neurocognitive Disorders
- Voice & Velopharyngeal Disorders
- Motor Speech & Treatment
- Fluency & Resonance
Once you have a firm grasp of the basics, you’ll have room in your schedule to take more specialized classes. For example, you might learn how to assist patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder or dive deeper into fluency disorders.
Your Clinical Practicum
Along with classroom courses, your program will also require a practicum. A practicum is completed in a clinic under the direct supervision of a licensed SLP. According to ASHA, practicums should be at least 400 hours long.
Three hundred seventy-five of those hours will be dedicated to direct patient care. This includes assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning, and providing therapy.
Up to 25 hours can be spent doing guided observation. This is an exercise in which you’ll watch your supervisor perform treatment, then discuss what you observed in detail.
Step 2. Complete a Supervised Postgraduate Clinical Experience
You’ll need to complete 1,260 hours of a clinical fellowship program before moving on to licensing. The clinical fellowship is completed after you’ve earned your master’s degree but before becoming fully licensed to practice. The idea is to help you gain experience with a variety of populations and patients so that you’ll be fully prepared to serve patients with a range of communicative disorders once you’ve started your career.
Your supervisor, who must be a licensed SLP in the state of Michigan, will help you develop a plan for your clinical experience, breaking it down into sections and tasks to be completed. You’ll also participate in feedback sessions with your supervisor to be sure you’re meeting the expected outcomes.
At least 1,008 hours of the 1,260 hours must involve clinical contact, including direct client or client assessment, consultations, recordkeeping, and administrative duties. You’ll also complete on-site observations, including screening, evaluation, assessment, and habilitation or rehabilitation activities.
Michigan also requires that you complete training in identifying victims of human trafficking before becoming licensed. The training is meant to help you:
- Understand the venues of human trafficking
- Identify victims in healthcare settings
- Identify the warning signs
- Have knowledge of resources for reporting the suspected victims of human trafficking.
The training must be completed through a nationally recognized or state-recognized health-related organization. This could include ASHA or MSHA. It’s usually completed during your clinical fellowship period.
Earning Your Temporary License
In Michigan, you need to have a temporary license before beginning your postgraduate clinical experience. You’re eligible once you earn your master’s. You’ll need to submit your transcripts and a plan for your clinical expertise to the Board.
Temporary licenses in Michigan are valid for 12 months and can be renewed once for an additional 12-month period if needed. It usually takes about nine months to earn your clinical experience hours, but the renewal option provides flexibility if you need more time. You can reach out to the Board for guidance on the renewal process.
Step 3. Pass the National Examination in Speech-Language Pathology
The Michigan board requires that you receive a passing score of at least 162 on the National Speech-Language Pathology exam. The exam is developed by ASHA and administered by the standardized testing company Praxis.
The test will cover topics such as:
- Feeding and Swallowing
- Therapeutic Measures
- Voice Resonance
- Speech and Production
- Motor Speech
- Variances in Language
- Social and Cognitive Aspects of Communication
- Hearing Processes
You can register for the exam online, but be prepared to provide transcripts and proof that you’ve completed a postgraduate clinical experience. ASHA has several resources on its website to help you prepare.
You can either take the exam at home with an online proctor or at a Praxis test center in:
- Ann Arbor
- Detroit
- East Lansing
- Grand Rapids
- Lansing
- Livonia
- Mount Pleasant
- Sault STE Marie
- Troy
When you have received your passing score on the national exam, you can choose whether you want to seek CCC-SLP certification through ASHA or not. Either way, at this point, you’re ready to apply for your SLP license in Michigan.
Step 4. Apply for Licensing and Begin Practicing as a Speech-Language Pathologist
It may take a few weeks to receive your scores from the national exam, but once you receive them, you can apply for your license through the Michigan Professional Licensing User System (MiPlus).
You’ll need to submit:
- A $207.40 fee
- The Good Moral Character questionnaire
- Proof of completion of a human trafficking identification program
- A criminal background check
- Official transcripts from your graduate program
- Proof of completion of your postgraduate clinical experience
- Exam scores
If you’ve already earned the CCC-SLP credential, you can reduce necessary paperwork by submitting a verification from ASHA.
After a few weeks, your application will be processed and your license issued. Now you may begin seeking a career in SLP in Michigan.
Join the Clinic That Provides Postgraduate Clinical Experience
One option to begin your career is to join the clinic that provided you with your postgraduate clinical experience. You may already be familiar with the clinic’s procedures, staff, and patients, making this an easy way to transition into the career.
Consider Starting an Independent Practice
In Michigan, your SLP license allows you to practice independently. If you’d like the flexibility to set your own schedule and take on specific client populations, you may want to go this route. You can also partner with another SLP.
Pursue Job Openings in Michigan
Speech-language pathologists in Michigan fill vital roles throughout the state in private practices, hospitals, and the school system.
Regardless of your career goals as an SLP, there are plenty of opportunities for you in Michigan. You might seek employment through the following providers or similar entities:
- Rehab Care
- Advantage Therapy Services
- Therapists Unlimited
- Education Support Services
- Detroit Premier Academy
- Botsford Hospital
- Encore Rehabilitation Services
- Peyton and Davenport
- Spectrum Health
- Beaumont Hospitals
- Mid-Michigan Health
- Samaritas
- Custom Home Health
Step 5. Keep your License Current and Complete Continuing Education Requirements
You’ll have to renew your SLP license every two years with proof of 20 hours of continuing education. In Michigan, there are many ways to meet this requirement.
The most common way to earn hours is by attending classes and seminars offered by ASHA or Michigan’s boards of medicine, audiology, and SLP, or osteopathic medicine. Courses provided by similar boards in other states count as well. You can also take classes through continuing education providers approved by any of these organizations.
On top of that, you can earn hours by reading articles, presenting at conferences, writing articles, and leading education courses yourself. The Board limits how many hours you can earn from each of these activities.
No matter what you do, you’ll have to complete at least one continuous professional development activity focused on pain and symptom management. When all of that’s complete, you can submit your hours through MiPlus along with a $165.40 fee.
Speech-Language Pathology Salary in Michigan
Michigan offers competitive salaries for speech-language pathologists across the state. The average salary for SLPs varies by metropolitan area, with the Detroit metro area averaging $85,880 annually.
Here’s a comparison of Michigan’s major metropolitan areas based on 2024 BLS data:
| Metropolitan Area | Annual Mean Wage | 10th Percentile | Median Wage | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe, MI | $91,550 | $62,360 | $86,490 | $108,230 |
| Ann Arbor, MI | $88,820 | $64,720 | $89,250 | $109,290 |
| Lansing-East Lansing, MI | $88,260 | $59,330 | $85,820 | $111,680 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $85,880 | $61,050 | $82,460 | $108,460 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | $85,370 | $60,310 | $86,360 | $106,040 |
| Traverse City, MI | $81,910 | $61,020 | $77,970 | $106,600 |
| Niles, MI | $81,050 | $59,420 | $79,460 | $106,080 |
| Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI | $77,730 | $53,140 | $77,780 | $93,680 |
Strong Job Growth and Increasing Opportunities for Michigan’s SLPs
Michigan is home to 4,420 SLP professionals. The top five cities for employment are:
- Detroit, home to 1,940 SLPs
- Grand Rapids, home to 520 SLPs
- Ann Arbor, home to 220 SLPs
- Lansing, home to 190 SLPs
- Flint, home to 170 SLPs
Between 2020 and 2030, the number of SLPs in Michigan is projected to increase by 22%, higher than the national average. That’s equivalent to an average of 340 SLP job openings each year.
US News & World Report ranked the profession 3rd among healthcare jobs. The publication also noted that speech-language pathologists’ salaries have “seen a spike in recent years.” In Michigan, the average SLP salary increased by 3.4% between 2019 and 2023.
While many SLPs practice in schools, hospitals, residential care facilities, and social services, private clinics also offer another avenue of employment. Michigan boasts several such clinics that specialize in speech therapy:
- Ann Arbor: Pediatric Speech-Language Pathology at Briarwood Milestones
- Dearborn: Dearborn Speech & Sensory Center
- Farmington: Listening and Language Connections, LLC
- Farmington Hills: Daly’s Stuttering Center
- Farmington Hills: More Than Words Speech Therapy
- Flint: Speech Language Learning Center
- Grand Rapids: Family Tree Therapies
- Jackson: Comprehensive Speech
- Kalamazoo: Kalamazoo Speech Associates
- Kalamazoo: Robin D. Pollens, MS
- Northville: Talking Point Speech Therapy, LLC
- Petoskey: Abby D Center
- Royal Oak: Pure KaiZen
- Trenton: Communication and Speech Services
- Troy: Associates Speech and Language Therapy
- Troy: Como Pediatric Communication Center, LLC
- Waterford Township: Integrate Speech Therapy Solutions
- West Bloomfield Township: Kaufman Children’s Center for Speech, Language, Sensory-Motor, and Social Connect
- West Bloomfield Township: Milstein Pediatric Speech
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I become an SLP in Michigan with an online degree?
Yes, Michigan accepts master’s degrees from online CAA-accredited programs. Whether your program is online or on-campus, it must be accredited by ASHA’s Council on Academic Accreditation. The clinical practicum hours (400+) typically require in-person attendance at approved clinical sites, but the coursework can be completed online.
How long does it take to become licensed in Michigan?
The timeline is typically 3-4 years total. This includes 2 years for your master’s degree (with 400+ practicum hours), 9-12 months for your clinical fellowship (1,260 hours), and 2-3 months for exam preparation and application processing. You can take the Praxis exam before or after completing your clinical fellowship.
What’s the difference between Michigan licensure and ASHA certification?
Michigan state licensure is legally required to practice as an SLP in Michigan. ASHA’s CCC-SLP certification is optional but highly recommended, as most employers prefer or need it. Both have similar requirements (master’s degree, Praxis exam, clinical fellowship), but ASHA certification is portable across all states.
Do I need continuing education to maintain my Michigan SLP license?
Yes, Michigan requires 20 hours of continuing education every 2 years. At least one activity must focus on pain and symptom management. You can earn hours through ASHA courses, Michigan board-approved seminars, journal articles, conference presentations, or teaching.
Can I work in Michigan schools with just my SLP license?
To work in Michigan public schools, you need both your state SLP license AND a teaching certificate from the Michigan Department of Education. The teaching certificate requires additional coursework in education and passing the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC). Private schools may have different requirements.
How much does the Michigan SLP licensing process cost?
Expect to pay approximately $600- $ 800 in licensing fees. This includes the Praxis exam ($120), the temporary license fee ($207.40), the criminal background check ($50-75), and the initial license application ($207.40). Renewal every 2 years costs $165.40. These fees don’t include your master’s program tuition or clinical fellowship expenses.
What happens during the clinical fellowship in Michigan?
The clinical fellowship requires 1,260 hours of supervised practice, with at least 1,008 hours involving direct client contact. You’ll work under a licensed Michigan SLP who helps you develop a personalized experience plan. The fellowship typically takes 9-12 months and must be completed on a temporary license before applying for full licensure.
Key Takeaways
- Michigan requires a master’s degree from a CAA-accredited program with 400+ clinical practicum hours
- You must pass the Praxis exam with a score of 162 or higher to qualify for licensure
- The clinical fellowship involves 1,260 hours (at least 1,008 direct client contact), completed under supervision with a temporary license
- Temporary licenses in Michigan are valid for only 12 months, so plan your clinical fellowship timeline accordingly
- Michigan SLPs earn competitive salaries ranging from $77,730 to $91,550, depending on location, with strong 22% job growth projected through 2030
- License renewal every 2 years requires 20 hours of continuing education, including at least one activity focused on pain and symptom management
- Emerson College - Master's in Speech-Language Pathology online - Prepare to become an SLP in as few as 20 months. No GRE required. Scholarships available.
- Grand Canyon University - Online Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology. - This STEM program focuses on training aspiring speech-language pathologists to offer compassionate, effective services to individuals with communication disorders
- Arizona State University - Online - Online Bachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science - Designed to prepare graduates to work in behavioral health settings or transition to graduate programs in speech-language pathology and audiology.
- NYU Steinhardt - NYU Steinhardt's Master of Science in Communicative Sciences and Disorders online - ASHA-accredited. Bachelor's degree required. Graduate prepared to pursue licensure.
- Pepperdine University - Embark on a transformative professional and personal journey in the online Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology program from Pepperdine University. Our program brings together rigorous academics, research-driven faculty teaching, and robust clinical experiences, all wrapped within our Christian mission to serve our communities and improve the lives of others.
Ready to Start Your SLP Career in Michigan?
Explore accredited speech-language pathology programs and take the first step toward your Michigan SLP license today.
2024 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and job market figures for Speech-Language Pathologists reflect state and national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed November 2025.