A Chronology of Changes in ASHA's Certification Standards

1925–1952

No certification program.

1952

Certification program started with two levels, Basic and Advanced.

• Basic: 30 semester hours (6 in basic areas, 12 in major areas, 6 in minor areas, 9 in related areas), 275 clock hours (clinical practicum), 1 year of sponsored professional experience
• Advanced: 60 semester hours (9-12 in basic areas, 21-24 in major areas, 6-9 in minor areas, 15-18 in related areas), 400 clock hours (clinical practicum), 4 years of sponsored professional experience
• Degree: No graduate degree
• Exam: No national examination

1965–1970

The Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC)—a single level of certification—was established.

• Requirement of a master's degree or equivalent 60 semester hours in specified areas (18 in foundation areas, 24 in major areas, 6 in minor areas, 6 of practicum), 275 clock hours (clinical practicum), 9 months of supervised full-time professional employment, a letter from the candidate's academic program director, and a passing score on the National Examination in Speech Pathology and/or Audiology (NESPA).
• Members with Advanced Certification were granted the CCC in either speech or hearing. New CCC applicants were required to have a master's degree.
• Option for pre-1965 members and holders of Basic Certification to be granted the CCC with 4 years of sponsored professional experience or a passing score on the 1969 special exam. Holders of Advanced Certification were automatically granted the CCC.
• Clinical Fellowship supervisors were required to be ASHA-certified.

1973

• Degree: Master's degree or equivalent
• Semester Hours: 60 (12 in normal development [academic and physiologic basis, physical basis, and linguistic and psycholinguistic variables], 30 in professional area courses [24 in major area, 6 in minor area], 30 at graduate level [21 within major area], and a "related" category for courses toward the 60 total)
• Practicum: 300 clock hours
• Clinical Fellowship: 9 months of full-time experience supervised by an individual holding the CCC.
• Exam: NESPA

1980

• Requirements added for amount and type of supervision of student practicum.
• CCC-holders were no longer required to also hold ASHA membership.
• Degree: Master's degree or equivalent with major emphasis in audiology, speech-language pathology (SLP), or speech-language and hearing science.

1993

The Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology (CCC-A) and The Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) were established.

• Degree: Master's or doctoral degree required (equivalency no longer accepted)
• Semester Hours: 75 (including 27 in basic sciences [6 in basic math, 6 in behavioral social sciences, and 15 in basic human communication] and 36 in professional coursework (30 at graduate level, including 21 in major area)
• Practicum: 375 clock hours (25 observation, 350 practicum) with 250 at the graduate level
• Clinical Fellowship: 36 weeks of full-time experience supervised by an individual holding the CCC. Periodic formal evaluation of specific skills required.
• Exam: NESPA/Praxis

1997

New requirements adopted for the CCC-A, but not immediately effective:

• at least 75 hours of post-baccalaureate study, effective January 1, 2007
• 12 months of full-time, supervised experience, effective January 1, 2007
• doctoral degree, effective 2012 

1999

Approved requirement of mandatory professional development for maintenance of the CCC-A, effective January 1, 2003.

2000

Approved requirement of mandatory professional development for maintenance of the CCC-SLP, effective January 1, 2005.

2005

Update to the SLP certification standards.

• Degree: Graduate
• Semester Hours: 75 (no specific breakdown, but must include courses in biological sciences, physical sciences, mathematics and behavioral sciences) with 36 graduate semester credit hours of academic course work. Knowledge and skills assessed by graduate academic program.
• Practicum: 400 clock hours (375 hours of direct client/patient contact and 25 hours of observation) with 325 hours at the graduate level
• Clinical Fellowship: 36 weeks of full-time experience supervised by an individual holding the CCC. Periodic formal evaluation of specific skills required.
• Exam: Praxis

2007

Update to the audiology certification standards.

• Semester Hours: 75 graduate semester hours of post baccalaureate study that culminates in a master's, doctoral, or other recognized academic degree, during which the student has been assessed on the acquisition of specific knowledge and skills mandated by the standards.
• Practicum: Experience occurs under the auspices of the academic program and must be equivalent to a minimum of 12 months of full-time, supervised clinical experience. Completion of a clinical fellowship is removed and replaced with additional practicum experiences during the program of study.
• Clinical Fellowship: No longer required
• Exam: Praxis

2012

Update to the audiology certification standards.

• Degree: Doctoral degree required for all applicants for certification or reinstatement of certification in audiology as of January 1, 2012.
• Practicum: A minimum of 1,820 hours of supervised clinical experience
• Exam: Praxis
• Disclosure: Applicants for the CCC-A are required to answer questions regarding disclosure of misdemeanor or felony offenses.

Update to the SLP certification standards.

Disclosure: Applicants for the CCC-SLP are required to answer questions regarding disclosure of misdemeanor or felony offenses.

2014

Update to the SLP certification standards.

• Degree: Graduate
• Semester Hours: 36 graduate semester hours, including courses in biological sciences, physical sciences, statistics (rather than a generic mathematics requirement), and social/behavior sciences
• Practicum: 400 clock hours (375 hours of direct client/patient contact and 25 hours of clinical observation) with 325 hours at the graduate level
• Clinical Fellowship: 36 weeks of full-time experience supervised by an individual holding the CCC.
• Exam: Praxis

2020

Applicants for the CCC-A must apply under the 2020 Audiology Certification Standards, which went into effect on January 1, 2020.

• Degree: AuD or equivalent
• Practicum: No longer prescribing a specific number of hours of supervised clinical practicum. Applicant's program of study must meet the Council of Academic Accreditation's standards for duration and for depth and breadth of knowledge. Applicants who did not complete their entire supervised clinical experience under an ASHA-certified supervisor can make up the remainder of their experience post-graduation in order to meet ASHA certification standards.
• Exam: Praxis
• Maintenance: Beginning with the 2020-2022 maintenance interval, CCC-A holders must earn 1 of their 30 required certification maintenance hours in ethics.
• Clinical supervisors must have a minimum of
  • 9 months of practice experience post-certification before serving as a supervisor; and
  • 2 hours of professional development in the area of supervision post-certification before serving as a clinical supervisor or CF mentor.

Applicants for the CCC-SLP must apply under the 2020 SLP Certification Standards, which went into effect on January 1, 2020.

• Degree: Graduate
• Semester Hours: 36 graduate semester hours, including courses in biological sciences, chemistry or physics, statistics, and social/behavior sciences.
• Practicum: 400 clock hours (375 hours of direct client/patient contact and 25 hours of clinical observation) with 325 hours at the graduate level
• Clinical Fellowship: 36 weeks of full-time or equivalent part-time experience supervised by an individual holding the CCC.
• Exam: Praxis
• Maintenance: Beginning with the 2020-2022 maintenance interval, CCC-A holders must earn 1 of their 30 required certification maintenance hours in ethics.
• Clinical supervisors must have a minimum of
  • 9 months of practice experience post-certification before serving as a supervisor; and
  • 2 hours of professional development in the area of supervision post-certification before serving as a clinical supervisor or CF mentor.