Students from England, Scotland, Wales or EU (except the Republic of Ireland)
Unfortunately, Ulster University is not in a position to accept applications from students from England, Scotland, Wales or EU (except the Republic of Ireland) for this course due to regulations issued by the Department of Health Northern Ireland.
The highly competent graduates from this course are passionate about their profession and compassionate to their clients and their families.
Summary
This course aims to produce highly competent, passionate, compassionate speech and language therapists who practise safely and effectively. You will gain knowledge and understanding of communication and eating, drinking and swallowing problems and how these problems impact on your client's ability to live a full live, as well as how they affect their family. You will learn to assess such problems and how to work with the person to improve, maintain, or manage their communication and eating, drinking and swallowing, so that they can fully engage in living their life.
You will be supported to develop skills of team working, clinical analysis and high-level communication skills during the in-house university modules as well as when out on placement. You will also develop your research skills in order to ensure that your management of people with a communication and/or eating, drinking, swallowing problem is based on current best evidence.
You will experience a fully integrated three-year course where all aspects of theory and practical experience are carefully woven together. Your assessments will also develop your ability to integrate theory with practice as a speech and language therapist. This will happen in well-supported, logical steps across the three years.
You will be facilitated in your learning by a welcoming, collegiate community of speech and language academics and your peers in class. In addition, you will learn in an academic department (School of Health Sciences) with other health professional students which helps prepare you fully for working in a respectful, person-centred, inter-professional manner.
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Course specific information
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Admissions
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For queries related to course content, including modules and placements, please select Course specific information.
The programme meets the needs of those who wish to gain a professional qualification in speech and language therapy together with a good foundation for postgraduate study, involvement in research, and continuing professional development. This programme is recognised by the Professional and Statutory bodies for speech and language therapists (SLTs) in the United Kingdom.
Graduates are eligible to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). HCPC is the statutory body which regulates the profession and allows graduates to practise as an SLT in the UK. Graduates are also eligible for full membership of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT).
There is a strong focus on the application of current theory and evidence to the development of practitioners with good clinical skills. Graduates are fit for purpose to work with people of all ages with communication and eating, drinking, swallowing challenges and are able to use and contribute to research in the area of speech, language and communication. Practice placements are therefore an integral part of the programme and are enhanced by a range of University-based and placement-based support and learning opportunities.
There is also a distinct eating/drinking/swallowing strand through this programme. Graduates will have completed a minimum of 100 SLT-supervised clinical hours across the three years in predominantly eating/drinking/swallowing placements. This is in addition to 480 plus SLT-supervised clinical hours in a range of child and adult settings where Speech and Language Therapists work.
The SLT students are taught by a range of experts, and at the core, there is a specialist team of six highly qualified SLTs.
Attendance
Three years full-time.
Start dates
September 2024
Teaching, Learning and Assessment
The SLT academic team has developed creative, clinically-applied, research-focused student learning methods. In the National Student Survey (NSS), our final year students scored us at 100% for making the teaching interesting, challenging them to give their best, for explaining thing, and for creating opportunities to apply what they have learnt.
Additionally, it is important to us, and our NHS SLT colleagues, that students' clinical placements are excellent. Our final year graduates also scored their placement allocation as being 100% fit for purpose and also judged at 100% that their clinical placement educators understood how placement related to the broader requirements of their course.
Our External Examiners also commend the range of assessments that we use.
We continue to work with our student body to improve the feedback and learning on all assessments. To that end, it is a partnership - a collegiate community of learning.
Teaching, learning and assessment
The content for each course is summarised on the relevant course page, along with an overview of the modules that make up the course.
Each course is approved by the University and meets the expectations of:
the requirements of any professional, regulatory, statutory and accrediting bodies.
Attendance and Independent Study
As part of your course induction, you will be provided with details of the organisation and management of the course, including attendance and assessment requirements - usually in the form of a timetable. For full-time courses, the precise timetable for each semester is not confirmed until close to the start date and may be subject to some change in the early weeks as all courses settle into their planned patterns. For part-time courses which require attendance on particular days and times, an expectation of the days and periods of attendance will be included in the letter of offer. A course handbook is also made available.
Courses comprise modules for which the notional effort involved is indicated by its credit rating. Each credit point represents 10 hours of student effort. Undergraduate courses typically contain 10, 20, or 40 credit modules (more usually 20) and postgraduate courses typically 15 or 30 credit modules.
The normal study load expectation for an undergraduate full-time course of study in the standard academic year is 120 credit points. This amounts to around 36-42 hours of expected teaching and learning per week, inclusive of attendance requirements for lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical work, fieldwork or other scheduled classes, private study, and assessment. Teaching and learning activities will be in-person and/or online depending on the nature of the course. Part-time study load is the same as full-time pro-rata, with each credit point representing 10 hours of student effort.
Postgraduate Master’s courses typically comprise 180 credits, taken in three semesters when studied full-time. A Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) comprises 60 credits and can usually be completed on a part-time basis in one year. A 120-credit Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) can usually be completed on a part-time basis in two years.
Class contact times vary by course and type of module. Typically, for a module predominantly delivered through lectures you can expect at least 3 contact hours per week (lectures/seminars/tutorials). Laboratory classes often require a greater intensity of attendance in blocks. Some modules may combine lecture and laboratory. The precise model will depend on the course you apply for and may be subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. Prospective students will be consulted about any significant changes.
Assessment
Assessment methods vary and are defined explicitly in each module. Assessment can be a combination of examination and coursework but may also be only one of these methods. Assessment is designed to assess your achievement of the module’s stated learning outcomes. You can expect to receive timely feedback on all coursework assessments. This feedback may be issued individually and/or issued to the group and you will be encouraged to act on this feedback for your own development.
Coursework can take many forms, for example: essay, report, seminar paper, test, presentation, dissertation, design, artefacts, portfolio, journal, group work. The precise form and combination of assessment will depend on the course you apply for and the module. Details will be made available in advance through induction, the course handbook, the module specification, the assessment timetable and the assessment brief. The details are subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. You will be consulted about any significant changes.
Normally, a module will have 4 learning outcomes, and no more than 2 items of assessment. An item of assessment can comprise more than one task. The notional workload and the equivalence across types of assessment is standardised. The module pass mark for undergraduate courses is 40%. The module pass mark for postgraduate courses is 50%.
Calculation of the Final Award
The class of Honours awarded in Bachelor’s degrees is usually determined by calculation of an aggregate mark based on performance across the modules at Levels 5 and 6, (which correspond to the second and third year of full-time attendance).
Level 6 modules contribute 70% of the aggregate mark and Level 5 contributes 30% to the calculation of the class of the award. Classification of integrated Master’s degrees with Honours include a Level 7 component. The calculation in this case is: 50% Level 7, 30% Level 6, 20% Level 5. At least half the Level 5 modules must be studied at the University for Level 5 to be included in the calculation of the class.
All other qualifications have an overall grade determined by results in modules from the final level of study. In Master’s degrees of more than 200 credit points the final 120 points usually determine the overall grading.
Figures correct for academic year 2022-2023.
Academic profile
The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 60% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.
Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (19%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (22%) or Lecturers (57%).
We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic and learning support staff (85%) are recognised as fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) by Advance HE - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.
The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise. The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff. This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.
Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.
Figures correct for academic year 2022-2023.
Modules
Here is a guide to the subjects studied on this course.
Courses are continually reviewed to take advantage of new teaching approaches and developments in research, industry and the professions. Please be aware that modules may change for your year of entry. The exact modules available and their order may vary depending on course updates, staff availability, timetabling and student demand. Please contact the course team for the most up to date module list.
Knowledge and Skills for Personal & Professional Development
Year: 1
Status: C
This module provides opportunities to learn in an interprofessional context. Students will acquire skills for both academic and practice based learning. It will provide them with an opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills on issues relating to professional practice and personal development within a supportive environment.
Biological Sciences
Year: 1
Status: C
This module provides students with the fundamental understanding of human anatomy, physiology and physics of sound to enable subsequent learning on communication and eating, drinking and swallowing disorders.
Paediatric Clinical Pathways
Year: 1
Status: C
This module will enable the student to develop an understanding of a range of SLC and EDS-driven difficulties in children. The student will draw on their background knowledge of developmental foundations, linguistics, and anatomy and physiology, as this applies to the SLC and EDS needs of children. Students will apply their knowledge of linguistics, developmental foundations, anatomy and physiology from semester one to the analysis and interpretation of clinical data and in using this data to consider appropriate evidence-based management for children with SLCN and EDSN.
Neurodevelopmental Conditions
Year: 1
Status: C
This module enables the student to develop a sound knowledge of good practice for planning and delivering an appropriate service to children with speech, language and communication (SLC) and/or eating, drinking and swallowing (EDS) needs associated with a range of NDDs.
This module enables students to see how children actively contribute and shape their own development through meaningful interaction with others and how the study of atypical development and individual difference contributes to theory and practice. The health and educational settings within which assessment, diagnosis and intervention takes place forms the context for learning and teaching in this module.
Linguistics for Speech and Language Therapists
Year: 1
Status: C
This module aims to introduce and develop the skills of the SLT student in the area of linguistic transcription and analysis with particular consideration of communication difficulties. Through practical and experiential learning opportunities the student will develop the core skills essential for gathering linguistic data to facilitate deductive and analytical thinking in this area.
Developmental Foundations
Year: 1
Status: C
This module aims to provide students with the appropriate background knowledge and understanding of the range of developmental parameters of the typically developing child and young person, as they become a competent communicator, including early feeding skills. Such knowledge and understanding will contribute to the student's ability to make informed judgements and reason clinically about atypical development in feeding and communication. Underpinning knoweldge and skills of linguistic analysis will be developed on this module.
Professional Practice 1
Year: 1
Status: C
This module is the students' first practice placement. Following their observation sessions prior to semester two and their subsequent preparation for placement sessions, they will be supported to participate in all aspects of practice with children who have a range of SLCNs and EDS needs, under the direct guidance of a Practice Educator during the block placement. Students will be expected to draw from all previous and current modules, as appropriate to the SLC and EDS needs of their caseload. By the end of the placement, they will expected to demonstrate a range of basic professional and practice competencies which can be transferred to subsequent placements.
Year two
Health Science Research
Year: 2
Status: C
This module will develop students' research knowledge and skills. They will become more proficient at finding and appraising relevant research in their discipline, they will also understand the impact and relevance of research, determining if/how it might influence clinical practice. This module will prepare students for the year three module (OTH501).
Neuroscience
Year: 2
Status: C
This module aims to develop students' knowledge and intellectual curiosity about contemporary neuroscience as it impacts on Speech and Language Therapy. Students will be able to read papers in this area with an appreciation of the methods of investigations, while examining the complex relationship between neural organisation, cognitive functioning and behaviour.
Enhancing Participation: Acquired Neurology 1
Year: 2
Status: C
This module provides SLT students with an understanding of communication and EDS needs in adult neurological populations, focusing on the client's experience, presenting features of communication and EDS disorders, and the SLT's role at each stage. It develops students' knowledge of neuropathology related to specific conditions, clinical skills in analysis and reporting of clinical data, in order to assess and reach a working diagnosis.
Vocal Health
Year: 2
Status: C
This module provides speech and language therapy students with theoretical and practical knowledge and skills for the evaluation and management of voice disorders to facilitate voice modification.
Advanced Clinical Linguistics
Year: 2
Status: C
This module focusses on the use of linguistics as a clinical tool for speech and language therapists. The module provides insight into core linguistic concepts, psycholinguistic models and an introduction to the linguistic tools that may be exploited in clinical contexts. Students are encouraged to develop and refine their analytical skills through inquiry-based and problem-based learning methods.
A Focus on Fluency
Year: 2
Status: C
This module provides the student with the appropriate knowledge, understanding and critical evaluation skills to assess, diagnose and manage children and adults with disorders of fluency. The module will encourage the student to evaluate and reflect on various assessment and treatment options, taking on board the wider context, to ensure that management of clients with disorders of fluency is evidenced based, effective and user focused. Teaching methods include lectures which incorporate a practical slant to enable application of theory to practice.
Enhancing Participation: Acquired Neurology 2
Year: 2
Status: C
This module builds on Speech and Language Therapy students' knowledge of adult clinical populations and develops their understanding of the principles and practices of speech and language therapy in these populations. It provides the foundation for students' development of professional skills that they will apply in their placement module.
Professional Practice 2
Year: 2
Status: C
This module allows the student to apply academic knowledge to the clinical situation with a range of Adults in a variety of clinical settings integrating theory through case based learning. It allows students to develop their clinical effectiveness and professionalism with adults with communication and eating, drinking and swallowing needs.
Year three
Research Project
Year: 3
Status: C
This module facilitates the practical application of research skills developed in the earlier years of the academic program. It will prepare students to contribute meaningfully to evidence-based healthcare practices and to conduct research that informs and advances the field. Lectures provide the theoretical knowledge and guidance required to undertake the research task. Seminars and tutorials will provide specific support for students' practical skills, relevant to their research project topic, method of scientific enquiry, and study design.
Advanced Management: Adult
Year: 3
Status: C
This module builds on previous learning to give students a current understanding of the evidence and issues pertaining to speech and language therapy practice in the areas of acquired neurological disorder and voice. It equips them with the skills to evaluate evidence in these areas and apply it to practice.
Advanced Management: Infants, Children and Young People
Year: 3
Status: C
This final year module focuses on fostering evidence-based understanding of the current issues in disorders of speech, language, communication and eating, drinking and swallowing needs in children and young people. The broader perspectives of the provision of evidence-based services, collaborative working, service user focus and efficacy of management will be advanced.
Professional Practice 3
Year: 3
Status: C
This module supports students to advance their clinical effectiveness, diagnostic skills and professionalism through practice placement with adults. It encourages them to reflect on their level of independence in preparation for clinical block placement in semester 2 and ultimately independent clinical practice.
Professional Practice 4
Year: 3
Status: C
This module allows the student to apply academic knowledge to the clinical situation with a range of Child Groups in a variety of clinical settings. It allows students to advance their clinical effectiveness and professionalism to a level of competence for independent practice as a Speech & Language Therapist. It encourages the student to recognise and apply evidence based practice.
Professional Development & Employability
Year: 3
Status: C
This module allows the student to evaluate their clinical thinking, skills and professionalism through core capabilities in preparation for life-long learning and rapidly changing professional context.
Standard entry conditions
We recognise a range of qualifications for admission to our courses. In addition to the specific entry conditions for this course you must also meet the University’s General Entrance Requirements.
We will also accept smaller BTEC/OCR qualifications (ie Diploma or Extended Certificate/Introductory Diploma/Subsidiary Diploma) in combination with A Levels or other acceptable level 3 qualifications.
To find out if the qualification you are applying with is a qualification we accept for entry, please check our Qualification Checker –
We will also continue to accept QCF versions of these qualifications although grades asked for may differ. Check what grades you will be asked for by comparing the requirements above with the information under QCF in the Applied General and Tech Level Qualifications section of our Entry Requirements - https://www.ulster.ac.uk/study/entrance-requirements/undergraduate-entry-requirements
Irish Leaving Certificate
Grades H3,H3,H3,H3,H3. Plus English and Mathematics grade H6 at Higher Level or grade O4 at Ordinary Level.
Overall profile of 65% (120 credit Access course) (NI Access course), including 65% in each level 3 module. To include a 20 credit level 2 Mathematics module, passed at 40% or successful completion of NICATS Mathematics as part of the pre-2021 Access Diploma.
Overall Access profile of 24 credits at distinction and 21 credits at merit in graded units (60 credit Access course) (GB Access course) in a relevant subject. Plus GCSE Mathematics and English Language grade C.
GCSE
For full-time study, you must satisfy the General Entrance Requirements for admission to a first degree course and hold a GCSE pass at grade C/4 or above in English Language, plus GCSE Mathematics Grade C/4.
Please note that for purposes of entry to this course the Level 2 Certificate in Essential Skills - Application of Number is NOT regarded as an acceptable alternative to GCSE Maths
English Language Requirements
English language requirements for international applicants The minimum requirement for this course is Academic IELTS 8.0 with no band score less than 7.5. Trinity ISE: Pass at level III also meets this requirement for Tier 4 visa purposes.
Ulster recognises a number of other English language tests and comparable IELTS equivalent scores.
As part of the selection method applicants will be required to undertake a successful video interview. Interviews will occur after the 31 January 2024 deadline.
Applicants should note that, as they will be engaged in 'regulated activity' involving children or vulnerable adults as part of their course, there is a compulsory, legal requirement to obtain an Enhanced Disclosure from AccessNI. The cost for this is payable by the applicant and is currently £33. More information on Enhanced Disclosures may be accessed by http://www.accessni.gov.uk.
You will also be required to demonstrate good health prior to commencing the course. You will therefore complete a health declaration form which will be screened by the University’s Occupational Health Department who will confirm your medical fitness to undertake the course. Following the screening, you may be required to undertake a vaccination programme. You will be liable for the cost of both the health screening and vaccinations. Costs will be provided at enrolment.
Acceptable alternative qualifications include:
Pass HND with overall Merit to include 60 distinctions in level 5 credits/units.
Pass HNC with overall Distinction to include 90 distinctions in level 4 credits/units.
Pass in Foundation Degree with an overall mark of 55% in level 5 modules. Applicants will be considered for year one entry only.
You may also meet the course entry requirements with combinations of different qualifications to the same standard as recognised by the University (provided subject requirements as noted above are met).
Exemptions and transferability
If you can provide evidence of previous relevant study you may be considered for exemptions from specific modules. It should be noted that exemptions are limited. This is because of the closely integrated, hierarchically designed structure of the degree. In addition, we need to provide evidence for all learning outcomes, specific to the degree, in order that the UK Regulator's Standards of Proficiency are met.
If you do not wish, or are not eligible, to proceed to registration as a Speech and Language Therapist, you may be considered for transfer into another award programme without the eligibility for being registered with the UK Regulator, the Health and Care Professions Council.
Most graduates currently find employment within the NHS, the Education sector and increasingly in the Charities and Voluntary sector. There are a range of opportunities for speech and language therapists, working both within Health and Education. Opportunities for speech and language therapists exist throughout the UK, Ireland and other parts of the world, although graduates are likely to have to meet specific requirements for professional recognition/registration in other countries and may require some experience within the UK first. There are many opportunities for postgraduate study as full-time and part-time students since the area of communication problems and their management is a rapidly growing area of research and continuing professional development.
Work placement / study abroad
Clinical placements are an integral part of the development of a speech and language therapist. The clinical experience on this course is designed around your academic preparation for that placement. So, in Year 1, your focus is on children and young people, and you are therefore out in late Spring on a child and young persons' SLT-placement. You are on placement for a 'block period' of four days a week for six weeks.
In Year 2, your focus is on adults and acquired communication and eating, drinking and swallowing problems. You are on placement in late Spring on an acquired neurological and adult learning difficulties persons' SLT-placements, for a 'block period' of four days a week for six weeks.
In Year 3, you have a focus on adult clients in Semester 1 for six weeks followed by an adult-orientated SLT-placement for six weeks, four days a week. You then focus on children and young people in Semester 2 for six weeks, followed by a children and young persons' SLT-placement for six weeks, four days a week.
It is useful to note that all of these placements are run in partnership with Northern Ireland Health Trusts' SLT services. All of the above are SLT-supervised clinical placements where your clinical placement educators have had the opportunity to be trained in your learning needs and our goals of the placement.
Although all placements are in Northern Ireland, in order that you can experience a broad range of settings and clients, you may need to travel a distance to placement or reside locally to that placement. This may incur additional personal expense.
Approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) for the purpose of providing eligibility to apply for registration with the HCPC as a speech and language therapist.
Eleanor Gildea Award: This prize is awarded for the highest mark in the final year Project module.
Additional mandatory costs
Additional costs include - AccessNI Check, Health Screening, Membership of Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists, Placement Expenses, Uniforms.
Membership of Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists - you will be required to join the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. The cost of student membership will cost approximately £110 for the three years.
Placement Expenses - students may incur expenses during periods of placement. Some placements may be outside Northern Ireland and will incur additional costs.
Uniforms - as part of your course, you will be required to purchase a uniform during the first week of the semester. 2015/16 costs were approx £100.
It is important to remember that costs associated with accommodation, travel (including car parking charges) and normal living will need to be covered in addition to tuition fees.
Where a course has additional mandatory expenses (in addition to tuition fees) we make every effort to highlight them above. We aim to provide students with the learning materials needed to support their studies. Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. Computer suites and free Wi-Fi are also available on each of the campuses.
There are additional fees for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.
Students choosing a period of paid work placement or study abroad as a part of their course should be aware that there may be additional travel and living costs, as well as tuition fees.
Although reasonable steps are taken to provide the programmes and services described, the University cannot guarantee the provision of any course or facility and the University may make variations to the contents or methods of delivery of courses, discontinue, merge or combine courses and introduce new courses if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Such circumstances include (but are not limited to) industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key staff, changes in legislation or government policy including changes, if any, resulting from the UK departing the European Union, withdrawal or reduction of funding or other circumstances beyond the University’s reasonable control.
If the University discontinues any courses, it will use its best endeavours to provide a suitable alternative course. In addition, courses may change during the course of study and in such circumstances the University will normally undertake a consultation process prior to any such changes being introduced and seek to ensure that no student is unreasonably prejudiced as a consequence of any such change.
The University does not accept responsibility (other than through the negligence of the University, its staff or agents), for the consequences of any modification or cancellation of any course, or part of a course, offered by the University but will take into consideration the effects on individual students and seek to minimise the impact of such effects where reasonably practicable.
The University cannot accept any liability for disruption to its provision of educational or other services caused by circumstances beyond its control, but the University will take all reasonable steps to minimise the resultant disruption to such services.
