The SLP Clinical Fellowship
Everything ASHA requires of a Clinical Fellow, in one place — and free tools to check where you stand against each requirement.
The Clinical Fellowship (CF) is the supervised professional experience a speech-language pathologist must complete after their graduate degree to earn ASHA’s Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP). It requires 1,260 hours of professional work over at least 36 weeks, divided into 3 separately-evaluated segments, under the mentorship of a CCC-certified SLP.
You will also see it called the CFY, or Clinical Fellowship Year — the older name for the same requirement. During it you hold the CF-SLP designation, which becomes the CCC-SLP once your fellowship is verified and approved.
- Total hours
- 1,260
- Minimum weeks
- 36
- Direct contact minimum
- 1,008 (80%)
- Completion window
- 48 months
Check where you stand
- CF hours trackerTrack your 1,260 hours and see which requirement sets your completion date.
- CF segment plannerMap your three segments to real dates, with each one's supervisor hours and CFSI deadline.
- CF supervision checkerCheck a segment's supervisor supervision against ASHA's per-segment minimums.
Guides
CF basics & terminology
- CF-SLP: what it means and when it becomes CCC-SLPCF-SLP is the credential you hold during your Clinical Fellowship. What it stands for, whether it's CF-SLP or SLP-CF, and when it becomes CCC-SLP.
- CF-SLP salary: what ASHA's data actually showsASHA publishes no salary figure for Clinical Fellows. Here is the closest published data, sourced and linked — and what it does not tell you.
Hours & pacing
Segments & the CFSI
Forms & paperwork
When things go sideways
- Changing jobs during your CF without losing hoursLeaving mid-segment is survivable, but there is one ASHA rule that decides whether it costs you. Know it before you resign, not after.
- Your CF supervisor is leaving. What now?Losing a CF mentor partway through the Clinical Fellowship is disruptive but survivable. What matters is what you do in the first week.
Frequently asked questions
- How many hours is the SLP clinical fellowship?
- The Clinical Fellowship requires at least 1,260 hours of professional work over a minimum of 36 weeks. At least 80% of that time — 1,008 hours — must be spent in direct clinical contact.
- How long does the SLP clinical fellowship take?
- A minimum of 36 weeks. Full time is 35 hours per week, which reaches 1,260 hours in exactly 36 weeks. Working more hours per week does not shorten the 36-week minimum.
- Can I do the clinical fellowship part time?
- Yes. You must work at least 5 hours per week — experience below that does not count at all — and the fellowship extends proportionally. The whole fellowship must be completed within 48 months of the start date.
- What are the CF supervisor supervision requirements?
- Per segment, each mentor must provide at least 6 hours of direct care observation and 6 hours of indirect mentorship activities. For segments beginning before August 1, 2027, at least 3 of the direct observation hours must occur in person.
- Is the CFY the same as the clinical fellowship?
- Yes. CFY — Clinical Fellowship Year — is the older name for what ASHA's current materials call the Clinical Fellowship (CF). It is the same requirement. The name changed in part because the fellowship is not measured in years: the minimum is 36 weeks, and a part-time fellowship has up to 48 months to finish.
- What are the three CF segments?
- The fellowship is divided into three segments, each at least 12 weeks long and each representing roughly one third of the total — about 420 hours apiece. Each segment is evaluated separately and closes with a CFSI.