弗林德斯大学

Become a competent, reflective and innovative practitioner in the field of speech pathology.

Speech pathologists provide professional services for people across the lifespan whose educational, vocational, personal and social functioning is impaired by disorders of speech, language, voice, swallowing, fluency and hearing. Communication and swallowing disabilities may severely impact people’s quality of life and result from developmental difficulties, social disadvantage, illness or accident.

This coursework program is founded on principles designed to encourage lifelong learning in the practice of speech pathology. It involves an innovative, integrated enquiry-based curriculum, incorporating a problem-based learning format. This approach is supported by a wide variety of teaching and learning strategies including lectures, workshops, clinical skills tutorials and practicum.

A variety of assessment methods are used, including peer and self-assessment, performance within authentic tasks and competency-based assessment of practical work.

What you will study

The Master of Speech Pathology consists of 72 units.

The program is highly integrated and comprises three streams of study:

professional studies and communication sciences

speech pathology skills and practice

research methods.

In the professional studies and communication sciences stream, the content is delivered via problem-based learning tutorials. It involves working through a weekly case study in small groups facilitated by a tutor and followed up with independent learning. These case studies are also supported by lectures and other learning resources. The case studies cover the areas of professional practice: speech, language, voice, fluency, swallowing and multimodal communication. These areas are considered in relation to lifespan development and socio-cultural context and how they impact health and well-being.

In the speech pathology skills and practice topic stream, you are allocated to work-integrated learning placements under the supervision of placement educators. Regular clinical skills tutorials on campus support development of skills and knowledge.

The research methods stream aims to ensure you become familiar with evidence-based practice in the discipline of speech pathology. It also supports you to understand, critique and apply research methodology, so that you are an informed consumer of research, can use it to inform your practice and are able to develop an understanding of yourself as a practitioner-researcher.

Your career

Graduates will be equipped to begin practice in a wide range of health, educational and community settings. The course fosters your ability to respond effectively to the changing nature of professional knowledge and practice, preparing you to provide quality services throughout your working life.

Speech pathology graduates are employed in a wide range of settings around the world and work with people of all ages, their careers/families, services, communities and other professionals across a wide variety of agencies.

Potential employers include:

• healthcare sector (including hospitals, rehabilitation centres, community health services, mental health services)
• aged care sector
• disability services sector
• education sector (including mainstream, special schools and special education units)
• early childhood education sector
• private practice
• universities and research institutes
• non-government/not for profit sector.