By: Vivian Li

At Teachers College, Columbia University, there is a wealth of resources to craft your schedule to your liking. Since we have over 100 programs, each varying in flexibility and structure, I will share my Spring semester experiences. My program follows a more structured schedule —  licensure or certification can lead to more rigidity. Funding my education and research is also an important part of my week – follow along to see how I spend my time!

As a first-year student in the MS Communication and Sciences Disorders (CSD) program Bilingual Extension track, I will be licensed as a bilingual speech-language pathologist after completing my program. Thus, all of my classes are curated to meet licensure requirements. Here is a screenshot of my Spring semester schedule:

As you can see, I love color coding because it helps me stay organized throughout the week!

I generally follow a 9  – 5 schedule Monday through Friday. I have two classes (Dysphagia and Medical Speech-Language Pathology) on Mondays, two classes on Tuesdays (Neuropathology of Speech and Assessment & Evaluation), and one class on Thursdays (Language Disorders in Adults). I also have recurring weekly meetings, like my s-group or small group meetings held in the Mysak Clinic. This is the Communication Disorders clinic at TC, where CSD students gain clinical experience before heading off to our externships in the real world in the summer. In these meetings, a group of CSD students and our clinical supervisor discuss how to better ourselves for the clients we are assigned each semester. I currently have one client who I see on Wednesdays from 8 – 9 am. I also go to the hospital occasionally on Fridays, depending on my rotation. There, I evaluate and diagnose patients on cognition, swallowing, speech, and language. My shift is from 9 am – 1 pm. 

I am also involved in my program’s research labs. Most of my professors conduct research, and students can work in labs as research assistants, which can be a work-study position. I work 10 hours a week doing research for Leaders Project. We meet weekly on Tuesdays at my professor’s lab, where tasks are delegated to each of us to complete throughout the week.

Lastly, one of my favorite groups of people and favorite parts of the week is working with Admission at TC! I work here three times a week, Wednesday through Friday, and I love helping applicants or admitted students with questions. I work around 12 hours a week, and it is a blast!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read about my week! I wish you the best in all of your endeavors!