Speech and Language Therapy BSc (Hons)

This course will equip you with the skills to assess and treat speech, language, communication and swallowing problems in people of all ages.

Overview
Structure and assessment
Facilities and features
Opportunities and careers
More about your DMU
Contact us

Overview

Watch: Lisa Morgan, Senior Lecturer in Speech and Language Therapy, speak about the benefits of our Speech and Language Therapy course.

Speech and language therapists provide treatment and support that improves patients’ lives. They address speech, language and communication problems as well as assisting with eating and drinking difficulties.

Much of their work involves close collaboration with teachers, psychologists and other health professionals, along with supporting patients themselves and/or their carers.

Our work placements and work-based learning opportunities mean that you’ll be developing these collaborative professional skills throughout your degree course.

By joining us, you’ll study a range of topics including introduction to phonetics and phonology, communication disability and psychology, professional practice, and transition to the workplace. You’ll learn what’s involved in developing individual treatment programmes and providing patients with tailored support.

From September 2020, all speech and language therapy students, will receive at least £5,000 a year with up to £3,000 additional funding available. Further information, including eligible health professional courses, can be found here.

Key features

Our course is approved by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and graduates are eligible to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council to practise as a professional.
Build your essential clinical and professional skills through varied placement opportunities in nurseries, schools, clinics, hospitals, day centres and with home visits.
Our strong links and integrated work placements within NHS England Midlands and East and independent service providers in the area ensure a dynamic and clinically relevant curriculum.
Our graduates have become speech and language therapists for the NHS, charitable institutions and private healthcare companies.
Gain valuable international experience as part of your studies with our DMU Global programme where students visited schools and community groups in India, supported deaf children in The Gambia and taught English to children in Bangkok.
DMU has achieved the top Gold award, the highest ranking possible, under the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), indicating the outstanding learning and teaching on offer the university (Office for Students).

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UK/EU
International

Key facts for UK/EU students

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: B621

Duration: Three years full-time

Start date: September 2021

Location of study: De Montfort University, Leicester UK and on work-based placements normally in the East Midlands but occasionally could be elsewhere in the UK

Fees and funding:

2021/22 tuition fees for UK students will be £9,250

2021/22 tuition fees for EU students: TBC - Learn more

Find out more about tuition fees and available funding.

Additional costs: You may incur additional costs for this programme, including the cost of travelling to and from project/placement locations.

How to apply

Order a prospectus

Book an Open Day

Submit a study-related enquiry

Key facts for international students

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: B621

Duration: Three years full-time

Start date: September 2021

Location of study: De Montfort University, Leicester UK and on work-based placements normally in the East Midlands but occasionally could be elsewhere in the UK

Fees and funding: For 2021/22 tuition fees will be £14,750

Find out more about course fees and available funding.

Additional costs: You may incur additional costs for this programme, including the cost of travelling to and from project/placement locations.

How to apply

Order a prospectus

Submit a study-related enquiry

Entry criteria

A Levels Three A-levels with grades ABB or better (excluding General Studies), normally taken in one sitting, or

BTEC National Diploma - Distinction/Distinction/Merit, or
BTEC Extended Diploma - Distinction/Distinction/Merit

Plus, five GCSEs at grade 4 or above, including English Language, Maths and Science.

International Baccalaureate 30+ points
Access: Pass in the QAA Access to HE overall 128 UCAS tariff with at least 30 Level 3 Credits at Distinction and 15 Level 3 credits at Merit.
English, Maths and Science GCSE required at grade C/4 as separate qualifications. Equivalency not accepted within the Access qualification.

Interview: Yes.

The recruitment process for this course includes assessing applicants by interview for the core values of the NHS constitution. Professional conduct during the event will also contribute to the decision making regarding an applicant’s application. Interviews are currently being conducted remotely via Microsoft Teams.

Work experience: We expect candidates to have sought some related experience e.g. with a voluntary organisation/school/nursery etc before applying. Where possible they will have had experience within a speech and language therapy clinical setting

Relevant degree/foundation degree

Each application will be considered on its merits.

Mature students

Applications from mature students are encouraged. Mature students must normally demonstrate evidence of academic attainment within five years of application.

All successful applicants

Will need to be 18 years of age by the commencement of placements in the Year 1 Professional Practice Education module
Must complete an occupational health check, declaration form and enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service disclosure application form before starting the course (if you are overseas you will also need to submit a criminal record certificate from your own country), which needs to be cleared in accordance with DMU's admission policy

English language requirements:

If English is not your first language an average IELTS score of 8.0 (with no component below 7.5) when you start the course is essential. English language tuition, delivered by our British Council accredited Centre for English Language Learning (CELL), is available both before and during the course.

Please visit dmu.ac.uk/international for more information.

Resources

For more general information and resources on how to prepare for applying to become a Speech and Language therapist, please see the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists website.

UCAS Tariff changes

Students applying for courses starting in September 2019 will be made offers based on the latest UCAS Tariff.

Structure and assessment

First year

Professional Practice Education 1
Introduction to Linguistics and Language Acquisition
Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology
Medical Sciences
Communication Disability and Psychology

Second year

Professional Practice 2
Clinical Linguistics Assessments
Intervention 1: Language and Cognition
Intervention 2: Speech and Swallowing
Cognitive Psychology and Research Methods

Third year

Professional Practice 3
Transition to the Workplace
Intervention: Specialist Settings
Speech and Language Therapy Project
Language, Interaction and Society

Click here for more detailed module information

Note: All modules are subject to change in order to keep content current

Teaching includes:

Lectures
Seminars
Tutorial discussions
Practical workshops
Inter-professional (IP) learning with students from other healthcare professions
Work-based placement sessions

You will also benefit by receiving support from a personal tutor. Your precise timetable will depend on your modules, however, you will normally benefit from around 15-20 hours in timetabled, taught study each week plus at least 150 work-based placement sessions of approx. 3 ½ hrs per session.

Assessment includes:

Written and video exams
Coursework
Assignments
Presentations
Portfolio
Dissertation

Teaching contact hours:

Personal tutorial/small group teaching: approx. 7 hours of tutorials (or later, project supervision) each week – this includes placements which are effectively 1:1 teaching/supervision

Medium group teaching: approx. 6 hours of practical classes, workshops or seminars each week – this includes all sessions less than whole group size

Large group teaching: approx. 14 hours of lectures each week

Personal study: approx. 10 hours

Our teaching staff have been actively engaged in clinical work so you can benefit from their specialist experience and understanding of communication and eating and drinking disorders in children and adults. You will also learn from visiting lecturers from health, education and social care sectors.

The teaching staff have a range of backgrounds and specialist areas. There is a combination of staff with strong clinical and academic backgrounds and they have very close links with the local services.

Students have given excellent feedback about the approachability of the staff and the extensive amount of support they offer.

Accreditation

The course is certified by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Graduates are eligible to apply to the HCPC for entry onto the speech and language part of the register in order to practise as speech and language therapists.

RCSLT

Facilities and features

Hawthorn Building

Substantial investment in Health and Life Sciences has developed our teaching and learning facilities to help you apply your practical experience and theoretical knowledge beyond the classroom.

The 19th century Hawthorn Building has facilities designed to replicate current practice in health and life sciences, including contemporary analytical chemistry and formulation laboratories, audiology booths and nursing and midwifery clinical skills suites.

Purpose-built clinical skills areas allow you to apply theory to practice in a safe environment. You will receive guidance and support from staff, to ensure that your practical ability in the clinical skills suites is accurate.

Library and learning zones

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available.

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose.

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including Blackboard, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub.

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

Opportunities and careers

Placements

As part of this course we will organise placements for you in each year to compliment the theoretical learning in university. Preparation for placements takes place in the clinical practice modules.

Placements are typically provided by the NHS, educational establishments, social care settings and private providers across the East Midlands.

Speech and Language Therapy student Dinithi O'Gorman has benefited from valued placement experiences such as helping people with brain injuries and empowering trans and gender diverse clients. She said: “It's been absolutely everything I could have ever wanted in a degree and I don't think I've been happier.”

She’s received "great" support from lecturers and one of her highlights has been her placement at the Brain Injury Services Burton Park, Leicestershire.

Graduate Careers

Our graduates are highly sought-after by speech and language therapy providers, with previous students securing positions working for the NHS and private organisations, as well as in medical, educational and social care settings.

Speech and Language Therapy graduate Alison Fowler came to study at DMU after more than 20 years working as a teacher, so she could follow her dream of helping people who have had a brain injury or a stroke, or any condition that might affect their communication.

She said: “I was utterly thrilled when I was offered my place on the course and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here.”

#DMUglobal

This is our innovative international experience programme which aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons – helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world. Through #DMUglobal, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.

Students on this course have recently undertaken #DMUglobal trips to places such as India, where they visited schools and community groups, and The Gambia, where they helped support deaf children. In addition to this, students have travelled to Bangkok to teach English to schoolchildren.

DMU Open Days

The next DMU Open Day will take place on Saturday 5 December

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Order a prospectus

This will give you a clearer idea of what it's like to live and study at DMU and a snapshot of the courses we offer, correct at the time of going to press.

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How to apply

We welcome applications from UK and international students with a wide range of qualifications and experience. We are happy to help guide you through the process and answer any questions you might have.

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Speech and Language Therapy BSc (Hons)