How to Complete the ASHA Clinical Fellowship

For aspiring clinical speech pathologists, completing an American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) clinical fellowship is a crucial component of your education. ASHA’s Council for Clinical Certification in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CFCC) sets certification standards and awards the CCC-SLP credential, or Certificate of Clinical Competence for SLPs. 

After successfully completing clinical speech pathology coursework and a clinical practicum, your master’s degree program will be followed by a post-graduate Clinical Fellowship (CF)  that demonstrates your career readiness. It’s one of the final steps in earning your speech pathology certification, also called a speech language pathology (SLP) certification. This page highlights what you need to know about completing your ASHA fellowship.

The purpose of the clinical fellowship is to apply everything you learned in your academic studies—evaluating your strengths, identifying areas of weakness, and building further clinical skills that are consistent with ASHA’s SLP Scope of Practice. Learn more about the scope of practice for SLPs.

Under the supervision of an independent practitioner or clinical educator who practices in the field, you will receive on-the-job training. The instructor will conduct an evaluation to assess your readiness to practice and help you develop any areas of limitation, so that when the time comes, you’ll have the confidence and skills needed to support your clients with high-quality, professional care. 

With a clinical practicum already under your belt, the supervised ASHA clinical fellowship is an opportunity to refine your expertise. When you have successfully completed your ASHA clinical fellowship by demonstrating your ability to apply the necessary knowledge and skills on-site, you’ll be ready to obtain your credentials through ASHA. 

Completing your clinical fellowship requires a few key components. Before you begin, you need certain prerequisites—like building foundational knowledge of the practice through education and pre-professional experience. Then, you need to carefully select where you want to complete a clinical fellowship—and with whom. And you need to work on absorbing all of the feedback and experience you receive at the clinical site. 

Below, find a comprehensive list of steps needed to complete the ASHA clinical fellowship from start to finish.

The thought of jumping into work as an SLP may be exciting, but first, you need to meet ASHA Standards and Implementation Procedures for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech Language Pathology (CCC-SLP). You must complete all required coursework and clinical experience through an accredited master’s degree program in speech language pathology. Accreditation is overseen by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA), which verifies that a given program meets certain quality and educational standards. 

You may find that you need more flexibility than a standard full-time, on-campus master’s in speech pathology program can provide. Today, there are a variety of ways to earn your master’s degree, including getting a master’s in speech language pathology online. Many CAA-accredited online programs even offer part-time enrollment for students who work full-time jobs or are parents. 

Selecting a clinical fellowship setting can be challenging. But there are a few factors to consider when deciding which setting is best for you. You will be spending a lot of time on-site, so you need to take into consideration what you want to get out of the experience, what you want to learn, and where you’d like to work after your fellowship is over. 

There are a variety of settings where SLPs can work. Some common site locations include hospitals, private or independent medical practices, schools, nursing or rehabilitation centers, and in-home health facilities. The type of setting you choose for your ASHA clinical fellowship isn’t necessarily where you will end up but selecting the location you believe you’re interested in pursuing can provide foundational career experience. Learn more in our guide to SLP work settings.

Your clinical fellowship mentor, or “CF mentor,” is an important part of your clinical fellowship experience. For any aspiring SLP, it’s important to find a mentor whose expertise aligns with your particular career goals. In addition, you may want to look for someone who will provide some level of personal support throughout your fellowship, as the field can be challenging. 

ASHA recommends evaluating your prospective mentor’s career experience and speaking with past clinical fellows to ensure they had a positive experience.

It’s also a good idea to confirm that the mentor completes paperwork promptly and works with you to create a supervision plan that ensures there won’t be any delays in obtaining your certification. Mentoring SLPs, or CF mentors, must hold an active CCC-SLP, have at least 9 months of post-CCC-SLP clinical experience (or part-time equivalent), and complete 2 hours of supervision-related professional development.

Every state has differing requirements for obtaining a license. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the specific requirements for a speech pathologist license in your state before beginning your clinical fellowship—you may be required to hold a temporary license while you complete your clinical fellowship (CF).

Note that SLP state licensure is different from the ASHA CCC-SLP. The CCC-SLP is optional, though in some states it is required to obtain a license. In other states, having the CCC-SLP is a sufficient credential to apply for your license. Either way, certificate requirements are rigorous.

Getting feedback from a clinical fellowship mentor is perhaps one of the most important components of your experience. ASHA needs thorough information from your mentor to determine if you have earned the certificate. The fellowship is divided into three distinct segments, and your mentoring SLP must complete a current Clinical Fellowship Skills Inventory (CFSI) form for each segment. This form outlines your progress across several skill sets related to client evaluation, treatment, management, and interaction. Make sure you understand the distinct requirements for the 18 core skills—and feel adequately prepared to demonstrate competence in these areas. Each skill is rated from 1 to 5, and clinical fellows must achieve at least a 3 in all skill areas during their final segment in order to earn the CCC-SLP.

Your CF mentor is there to ensure you meet certification and licensing requirements in the short term—and set you up to become a qualified SLP in the long term. Based on their experience, your mentor can tell you where you are excelling and provide guidance not only on where you need to improve, but also on how to make it happen. 

Ideally, your clinical fellowship mentor will begin identifying areas for improvement early so you can strengthen these skills later in your fellowship. But it’s up to you to review the requirements and aim for the highest possible rating in all fields.

The goal of the mentorship isn’t just to solicit advice. Mentorship provides an opportunity for you to develop, refine, and master skills holistically, across all areas of your SLP practice. Speech pathologists have a demanding role that requires interpersonal skills, scientific knowledge, and sound evaluation skills to develop effective treatment plans for clients. 

Though your mentoring SLP will lead feedback sessions and provide guidance, you may get even more out of the experience by observing your own progress and coming to sessions prepared for meaningful discussion. If you find that you are excellent in one area (such as evaluation or treatment) but consistently weaker in another (such as management), you can work with your mentor to create a plan of action to improve.

As you now know, the CFSI forms have a ranking system of 1 through 5—with 5 being the highest rating. A rating of “2” is the minimum required on all skills during the final segment for the CF to be accepted. 

To achieve a 3 or higher in any skill category, you must demonstrate that you can regularly perform that skill independently, self-sufficiently, and accurately. When you receive your CFSI for the first segment, make sure to have a thorough conversation with your CF mentor to determine what next steps to take to help you improve in any areas where you may have had a low—or less than ideal—rating. If you take your feedback seriously early on, you can focus on improving your rating and skills in the second segment and refining them in the third.

At the culmination of your fellowship, you must provide the proper forms to ASHA to earn your CCC-SLP. ASHA accepts CCC-SLP applications at any time before, during, or after your Clinical Fellowship (CF); requirements and timing depend on your individual situation. The SLPCF forms report all information on your mentor, site location, hours worked, and ratings for each of the three segments. 

You should carefully fill out all information following the completion of your fellowship. Any mistakes or inaccuracies could cause application rejections or delays. Once you have verified that everything is correct, review the paperwork with your mentoring SLP and sign the forms. The form can also be completed online. 

The best way to gain clarity on your certification status is to check in with the ASHA national office periodically. Whether you submitted your membership application and SLPCF online or by mail, ASHA advises that the application review process can take up to 6 weeks from the date ASHA receives your last document.  Your clinical fellowship experience won’t be reviewed until you’ve submitted the membership application, so it is recommended to submit the membership application prior to the end of your clinical fellowship. 

ASHA recommends paying your membership dues while your certification is still under review. You will receive an email or letter letting you know when your certification is granted. At that point, you will finally boast a CCC-SLP—and be a member of the largest speech language pathologist organization in the country.

Selecting a clinical fellowship site is a highly personal decision. After all, you will be committing 1,260 hours over 36 weeks to studying in this location. You should think strategically about where you can get the most experience working with the populations you desire to help throughout your speech pathology career.

It can be helpful to actually articulate where you think you want to work—and write down some goals you have for the clinical fellowship.  

Questions you might ask yourself include:

The more strategically you select your work site, the more you’re likely to get out of the experience—even if that means discovering where you don’t want to work. If that happens, you’ll still have the opportunity to identify a setting better suited to your career goals once you become a speech pathologist professional. 

You can choose more than one clinical fellowship site in special circumstances. ASHA outlines those circumstances on its site. Note that you will require a new SLPCF form every time you switch. You need a minimum of 6 direct and 6 indirect clinical contact hours per segment with each CF mentor (18 direct and 18 indirect hours in total). Completing fewer than the required number of hours at any clinical fellowship site will invalidate those hours, and they will not count toward your certificate. If finishing your required hours on time—within 36 weeks—is your primary goal, you may want to stick to one site. 

To make the most informed decision, research a prospective site as much as possible. Speak with people who currently work in these settings to help you narrow down your clinical fellowship site. Ask how many SLP clinical fellows are already working there. Having other fellows at the site can be an enriching experience, but you also want to ensure you’ll be able to get personalized attention from your mentor. Connect with previous SLP clinical fellows to gain insight into their experiences as well. Check to see if there are penalties for moving to another site—some sites may have contracts in place, and you should read the fine print to make sure you aren’t jeopardizing your progress toward a certificate. 

Your CF mentor is an integral part of the experience, so selecting the right CF mentor for you is a big decision. Before committing to a placement site, confirm that your prospective mentor has all of the qualifications to set you up for success. Here are some questions you may want to explore: 

For aspiring SLPs, ASHA’s online Clinical Fellowship (CF) reporting and verification process is paramount. Clinical Fellows submit a CF report through their ASHA account, and the CF mentor verifies hours/weeks and skill ratings through the CF Mentor Portal (ASHA account) using the Clinical Fellowship Skills Inventory (CFSI).

At the end of your clinical fellowship, your mentor will complete the CFSI and verify that you met ASHA’s CF requirements. Your goal throughout the CF should be to steadily build toward entry-level independence and meet the required performance level in the final segment.

Before day one, read ASHA’s CF guidance so you understand:

ASHA also notes that if you change settings, mentors, or weekly hours, each period may need to be entered as a separate report in your certification application. Review ASHA’s Clinical Fellowship Guide for more details.

The 21core skills of an SLP may seem daunting at first. But the more you familiarize yourself with them, the more confident you can be as you work to master each one and execute them accurately. Review the ASHA clinical fellowship skills inventory to learn what you should accomplish by the end of your clinical fellowship. As you read through the CFSI, you may notice that the highest rating in most skill areas emphasizes independence. At the end of your fellowship, you should be able to make accurate decisions regarding client needs—independent of supervisory guidance. Approval of the CF requires a minimum rating of “2” on each skill in the last segment.

Your clinical fellowship mentor is there to help you grow into an entry-level, independent clinician—and the Clinical Fellowship Skills Inventory (CFSI) is a great framework for those conversations. Early in your fellowship, review the CFSI with your mentor and ask which skills you should prioritize first based on your setting and caseload. Then, use their experience to talk through real scenarios, troubleshoot challenges, and learn what “meeting expectations” looks like in day-to-day practice.

ASHA expects formal performance feedback at least once during each segment, so don’t wait until the end to find out where you stand. Schedule a mid-segment check-in and come prepared with a few targeted questions (e.g., “What would move me from needing support to doing this more independently?”). If you’re struggling, ask for concrete next steps—specific strategies to try, resources to review, and opportunities to practice that skill again. Over time, you should be able to apply that feedback more consistently, build confidence, and see your ratings improve from segment to segment as your independence increases.

Now that you know the skills you need to pass, the next step is to schedule direct clinical contact hours focused on these skills. Remember, at least 80% of the CF must be spent in direct clinical contact related to managing disorders within ASHA’s SLP Scope of Practice. ASHA’s examples of direct clinical contact include screening/observations, assessment, treatment, writing reports/notes (and billing), family consultation/counseling, and IEP/IFSP meetings or rounds tied to diagnosis/treatment planning.

If you verified your responsibilities and the services offered during your site selection process, you should be able to easily schedule the direct clinical contact activities as needed. Work with your supervisor to ensure you are spending enough time on the required tasks.

As an SLP-in-training, you should feel empowered by and proud of your work, and you’ll need to stay organized. ASHA places responsibility on the Clinical Fellow to track hours worked per week, so set up a simple, consistent system from day one. Your personal log can help you stay on pace, spot gaps early, and walk into mentor check-ins with clear examples of your growth. 

If you’re not sure where to start, you can use a basic spreadsheet or a free CF hour-tracking template. Track dates, setting, total hours/week, and your direct clinical contact activities (e.g., evaluations, treatment sessions, documentation tied to client management, caregiver counseling, IEP/IFSP meetings). Keep your notes professional and compliant with your workplace policies—avoid including identifiable client information in any personal files unless your employer explicitly permits it.

Also, remember that your goal isn’t just to “log hours”—it’s to build competence and independence. Use your logs to reflect briefly on what you practiced, what improved, and what you want feedback on next. Over time, this kind of documentation helps you advocate for yourself, take ownership of your learning, and show steady progress toward entry-level independence as an SLP.

Information last updated: April 2026