Early Admission Program (EAP)

You complete the standard application form for the Graduate School but indicate on that form (check the box that says "Other" special program) that you're applying for the EAP. You must submit three letters of recommendation from university instructors. You do not need to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

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How many students are accepted?

There is no fixed quota. Excellent applicants will be admitted regardless of how many there are. The most EAP students admitted to this point in any one year is 8.

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What does the EAP program allow me to do that I can't do otherwise?

First and foremost it admits you into the Marquette M.S. program in Speech-Language Pathology so you don't need to apply to graduate schools as a senior. Second, it allows you to enroll as a senior in up to 12 credits of Speech Pathology and Audiology (SPPA) course work that carries graduate credit. The credits from these classes count both toward the 128 credits you need for the B.S. degree and toward the 46 graduate credits you need for the M.S. degree.

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If I'm accepted into the EAP program can I still apply to other graduate schools as a senior?

Yes. We will ask you in the Spring semester of your senior year to confirm that you intend to complete your M.S. degree at Marquette. If you've applied and been accepted at another school, you can choose to go to that school. If you do, however, that decision is permanent—you'll lose your place in the graduate program at Marquette.

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What graduate classes can I take?

Any classes for which you're prepared. Most students take up to four of the following courses:

SPPA 241 Child Language Issues (3)
SPPA 244 Voice Disorders (3)
SPPA 245 Vocal Aging and Medical Speech Path (3)
SPPA 247 Neuro Bases Speech Dis (3)
SPPA 248 Neuromuscular Disorders (3)
SPPA 249 Aphasia (3)
SPPA 261 Clinical Research Methods (3)
SPPA 281 Speech and Language Assessment in Bilingual Populations (3)

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Will I graduate earlier from the M.S. program if I'm an EAP student?

Yes, this is one of the primary benefits of the program. If you take 12 graduate credits as a senior and take an additional 9 or 12 during the Summer term after your senior year, you will enter the Fall term after your senior year (when you would normally begin a graduate program at another university) with 21 or 24 of the 46 graduate credits needed already done. It is possible to finish this amount of work in three additional terms (Fall, Spring, Summer), meaning you'll graduate at the end of the second Summer term after your senior year. This saves you up to a year of time in graduate school and lets you enter the work force that much sooner. The financial benefits from this are considerable.

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Can I get financial aid as an EAP student?

During your senior year you will remain on the same financial aid program, if any, that you've been on during your first three undergraduate years. After that, however, you are treated as a graduate student and can apply for and receive assistantships and scholarships awarded by the Graduate School (see http://www.grad.mu.edu/finaid/index.shtml. These awards are based on academic merit, not financial need.

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Can I be in the BIES certificate program and an EAP student?

Yes. When you apply for the EAP you must indicate on your application that you want to complete both the M.S. degree and the BIES certificate. Admission to these two programs is granted separately (with BIES admission being more difficult because of more limited space). Therefore it's possible to be admitted to both EAP and BIES, to neither, or to EAP but not to BIES.

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If I take graduate courses as an EAP student and then go to another university for graduate school, can I transfer the graduate course credits?

Probably but not absolutely yes. Every university has its own rules about the transfer of graduate credit. Marquette, for example, allows graduate students to transfer in up to 12 graduate credits but this policy is not universal. If you are considering going elsewhere for graduate school, you should ask each university to which you apply what their policy is.

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