Speech and Language Therapy BSc(Hons)

About the course

Speech and language therapists work alongside children and adults who have speech, language and communication differences and eating, drinking, and swallowing difficulties. Through holistic assessment and management, speech and language therapists collaborate with the individual, their family and/or carer to provide person-centred care that encompasses health, wellbeing, participation, and quality of life.

Speech and Language Therapy BSc(Hons) at the University of Huddersfield utilises clinician, academic and service-user input within our teaching and research. This course has been co-developed by practising speech and language therapists with extensive clinical experience and service-users and carers, who are part of the University's Public Partnership Group (PPG). The PPG will continue to be involved in developing your clinical and professional capabilities, through planning and assisting with teaching and learning sessions.

You'll put your clinical and professional capabilities to the test, including eating, drinking and swallowing competencies with various age groups and a variety of settings, through practice-based learning. For further information about the requirements for graduates to develop eating, drinking and swallowing capabilities endorsed by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists visit the placement section.

Why study Speech and Language Therapy BSc(Hons)

This course is accredited by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Through three overarching themes, you can develop interdisciplinary knowledge and the core capabilities to undertake holistic assessment and management of individuals with a range of speech and language therapy related difficulties. Those themes are clinical and professional skills, underpinning knowledge, and underpinning clinical knowledge.

The course integrates theory with practical skills in a balanced mix across both paediatrics and adults. Practice-based education, which includes placements, will incorporate all age groups in a variety of contexts and environments. The degree emphasises life-long transferable skills for graduates to implement in a variety of related career pathways too, in, for example clinical, research, leadership, and education.

To acquire essential skills that reflect the multidisciplinary ethos of the profession, you’ll study interprofessionally with learners from other healthcare professions. You’ll also benefit from specialist clinical teaching facilities and world-leading research facilities via the University’s new Daphne Steele Building, which will open in 2024 on the site of the National Health Innovation campus.

Following successful completion of the course, you might go on to work in healthcare, as an allied health professional, as a speech-language pathologist, a therapist, or another relevant role.

Students on this course may be eligible to receive a non-repayable grant of at least £5,000 each year – find out more on the NHS Learning Support Fund website.

Not quite ready to start Speech and Language Therapy BSc(Hons)? Successful completion of our Health Foundation Pathway leading to a BSc(Hons) Degree will equip you with the foundation knowledge to study Speech and Language Therapy.

Entry requirements

In addition, five GCSEs or equivalent Ofqual regulated qualification at grade C/level 4 or above, including Maths, English and a single Science covering Biology, Chemistry and/or Physics (Double/Dual Award Science grade CC or above; grade 4 for those sitting their GCSEs from 2017 onwards).

If you do not have the appropriate qualifications for direct entry to this degree you may be able to apply to our Health Foundation Pathway leading to a BSc(Hons) Degree.

Offers will be subject to an interview and references. Please note all the information provided in support of your application may be checked and must be verifiable as a true record.

Should you meet our admissions criteria, you'll be offered an individual interview, typically of no longer than 20 minutes. At present, the interview will likely be carried out using a virtual platform unless there are exceptional circumstances in which an alternative format may be provided. The interview panel may involve members from the University/programme academic team, practising Speech and Language Therapists, service users and/or carers and Placement Educators. Questions will be based on the Values Based Recruitment Framework (HEE, 2016) that will enable you to demonstrate your personality, attributes and skills, whilst ensuring that your individual values and behaviours align with those of the NHS Constitution (NHS, 2015). This is particularly important as future healthcare professionals. Some questions have been set by service users and/or carers to ensure that we include what matters to them when selecting our learners. In addition to considering your interview, we will also review your personal statement which you submitted to UCAS. You may therefore want to include information that illustrates your awareness of Speech and Language Therapy as a profession and what has motivated you to choose this as a career. Whilst we appreciate that not everyone will have gained prior experience in this area, showing your commitment and engagement, such as undertaking a relevant reading, listening to a podcast and/or attending a webinar is welcomed. Evidence of interpersonal/teamwork is also beneficial.

You also need satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and occupational health clearances prior to registration on the course. We arrange these as part of the application process. You'll be required to sign a self-declaration at the start of each year and at the end of the course. All police contact during the course must be reported to the course leader as a matter of urgency and may lead to suspension or termination.

Placement providers for this course may require you to have received a number of vaccinations, unless medically exempt, and provide evidence of these. As a student on a course with a clinical or healthcare placement, we strongly recommend that you complete any courses of vaccinations required under current guidelines for your future profession. Failure to do so may result in your inability to undertake a placement in certain clinical settings, therefore impacting upon your academic progression, and may result in academic failure of your course.

Other equivalent qualifications that suggest the student has an equal opportunity of succeeding on the course eg a relevant Access Course, previous professional qualification and/or degree.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 8.0 overall with no element lower than 7.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

For further information please see the University's minimum entry requirements.

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