5 Thesis Topics for a Master’s in Speech Language Pathology Student

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Updated July 19, 2022
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5 Master’s in Speech Language Pathology Thesis Ideas

  • How Language Comprehension Is Affected By Traumatic Injury
  • Assessing And Predicting Reading Skills At A Young Age
  • Eldery Patients and Text To Speech Processing
  • Hearing Loss and Language
  • Avoiding Speech Related Diseases
When working towards a Master's in Speech Language Pathology, students are required to complete in depth research on a related topic of interest. Selecting a detailed topic that is interesting or related to a future career path, will help to maintain the focus and engagement required to be successful in this process. Let’s take a look at five potential thesis topics for a master’s degree in speech language pathology. Resource: Top 50 Master’s in Speech Language Pathology Degrees

1. How Language Comprehension is Affected By Traumatic Injury

When a person suffers a traumatic brain injury, there are often multiple impacts to deal with. One of those could be damage to the portion of the brain that deals with language and speech. Students wishing to study this topic could focus on the effects of the damage to language, potential rehabilitation methods, or why some people are impacted differently when the damage appears to be similar.

2. Assessing and Predicting Reading Skills At A Young Age

Within the first few years of life a child will learn the basic skills needed to begin reading. There are theories that suggest a child will show their potential for reading skills by the age of three, before they have even learned to read. Students interested in child development could run studies and observations to assess these predictions and and prove or dispel their validity.

3. Elderly Patients and Text To Speech Processing

While an aging person may not experience changes in their language or speech capabilities, they may start to experience issues while reading, comprehending, or discussing what has been read. Students interested in working with the aging population may be intrigued by this topic and wish to research it in depth. This could include causes, effects, impacts to lifestyle, and the effectiveness of potential treatments or therapies.

4. Hearing Loss and Language

People who were born deaf innately have speech issues because of their inability to hear. What will happen when a person loses their hearing at an older age when they have already learned to speak? Students interested in hearing loss can study what happens when hearing loss occurs and how this will affect language. They can also research treatments, therapies, alternate communication methods that can help to improve the lives of those who have experienced hearing loss.

5. Avoiding Speech Related Diseases

There are a number of diseases that can affect a person’s speech and language. For example, Bell’s palsy can affect the facial muscles and make it difficult to speak. Thesis research could focus one or more of these diseases. The focus could be on identifying causes, explaining impacts to language, and potential treatments and outcomes. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association provides a list of clinical topics and disorders that could be a starting point for students who are just beginning the process of choosing a thesis topic. The process of researching and completing a thesis is a long an involved one and requires dedication to the topic to be successful. Choosing a topic that interesting and applicable to a future career path will make the process that much easier and ensure successful completion of a Master's in Speech Language Pathology.

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