Clinical Practicum Experience

As part of the program, you will complete five terms of clinical practicum where you will receive clinical training at an approved clinical site near your community. To assist in identifying an approved practicum site, you will be working with the placement team whose role is to facilitate your connection to a practicum site.

The Process:

The Clinical Coordinator and staff works to secure placements on behalf of students.
It is the goal of the clinical staff to determine only one viable placement site per clinical practicum.
- If the proposed site is refused by the student, an alternative placement site cannot be guaranteed, and graduation may be delayed.
- Please note that the placement team does not consider site-specific clinical requirements in the placement search.
Students may submit placement suggestions for their clinical practicum placements 90 days prior to the start of the trimester. Suggestions should come from known contacts or facilitated through a supervisor. Known contacts are established relationships through volunteer work, employment, and other community involvement. Suggestions may also be facilitated through supervisors at previous or current practicum experiences. Students are not permitted to contact sites to secure placements without having an established relationship or facilitated through a supervisor.
While student suggestions for placement sites are encouraged, placement sites are NOT determined by these suggestions or student preferences. Placements are determined by the SLP Clinical Coordinator to ensure students meet program and ASHA requirements.
Once a placement assignment has been secured, students may be asked to interview and confirm compliance with clinical requirements.
- Students must reach out to the assigned supervisor within two business days of receiving an interview notification.
- The supervisor will receive a similar interview notification, and will expect students to make initial contact, make introductions, and determine a meeting time.
- Students unable to comply with clinical requirements (such as vaccination requirements) must request exemption directly with the clinical site, even if a medical waiver for vaccinations has been previously approved by Pepperdine.
After all steps have been completed, placement will be confirmed.

Hours and Requirements:

The Clinical Coordinator and Assistant Clinical Coordinator track the number of hours that each student completes each trimester in the Clinical Practicum 1-5 courses using Calipso.
If you complete the minimum number of hours required each trimester in the Clinical Practicum 1-5 courses, you will acquire the minimum 400 clinical hours for graduation.
The Clinical Coordinator, Assistant Clinical Coordinator, and student must also track that those 400 hours are with patient populations representing the breadth and depth of clinical practice, across the lifespan and continuum of care, culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and various types and severities of changes in structure and function.
The Clinical Coordinator and Assistant Clinical Coordinator may make adjustments to the student’s clinical placement sites to ensure the student acquires clinical clock hours that meet all of these requirements.
Each trimester, you will meet with your advisor for the Advisory Meeting. The advisor will verify the total number of clinical hours you have completed so far during the program to help track your own progress toward acquiring the minimum 400 clinical clock hours prior to graduation.