Bachelor of Speech and Language Sciences/Master of Speech Pathology

This Australian-first dual degree will prepare you to support those with communication and/or speech and swallowing challenges.

As a speech pathologist, you'll play a crucial role in enabling communication and/or speech and improving swallowing disorders to enhance quality of life for those experiencing these difficulties, as well as supporting their families and broader community.

With plenty of opportunities for practical learning throughout your degree, you'll be prepared for work in the speech-pathology field across complex and diverse settings.

The course combines the practical and theoretical study of communication and swallowing disorders with human development, biomedical sciences, human rights and principles of social justice to enable you to graduate as a well-rounded practitioner.

The course has been designed to meet the accreditation standards of Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) and is currently in the qualifying phase of accreditation. VU will seek accreditation of the award courses prior to the first cohort of students graduating to enable graduates to be eligible for membership with Speech Pathology Australia, in line with the SPA accreditation process for new courses.

With both a bachelor and masters qualification, you'll be prepared for work in the rapidly growing speech pathology industry.

Speech Pathologists are in increasing demand for work in the following fields:

• government and non-government organisations
• education
• health
• disability
• welfare
• community-based organisations
• health promotion
• policy development
• academic teaching and research
• private practice in speech pathology (also known as speech therapy).

Speech pathologists can also work with professional voice users such as auctioneers, teachers, actors and singers, coaching them on how to use their voices safely.

Find the average salary for a graduate speech pathologist at PayScale.

To attain the Bachelor of Speech and Language Sciences/Master of Speech Pathology, students will be required to complete:

• 432 credit points of Core studies.

Use our credit calculator to find out how much credit you could get towards your course, based on your previous study.

If you have completed study with another university or institution and believe you are eligible to receive credit for skills and past study, you can apply for advanced standing.

Applications for advanced standing can be made after a discussion with your course chair or academic adviser.