Masters (Coursework)
Speech pathologists work with people of all ages who are experiencing communication and/or swallowing disorders as a result of illness, injury or disability. Speech pathologists may work in a range of education and health sectors.
The Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology at University of Melbourne offers the Master of Speech Pathology degree, which is a two-year full-time course. Completion of this degree qualifies you to work as a speech pathologist.
The first year of the course provides the scientific background in anatomy and physiology, articulatory and acoustic phonetics, linguistics, speech and language disorders, clinical practice and processes.
The second year builds on the specialised knowledge acquired in first year, develops clinical skills and introduces students to research methods in the field.
Speech pathologists may work as a sole therapist or as part of a larger interdisciplinary team (physiotherapists, occupational therapists, doctors, audiologists and psychologists). This profession may be of interest to those with a scientific or linguistics background who are interested in working with people.
The course consists of formal lectures, seminars, practical work and student presentations along with substantial clinical component. Students will be scheduled for approximately 400 hours of supervised clinical work during the two-year course at various health-care and educational facilities in metropolitan and rural areas in Victoria.
Graduates from the Master of Speech Pathology will develop and apply clinical skills for the assessment, diagnosis and intervention across all areas of speech pathology practice. Students graduate from this well-established course as speech pathologists qualified to work with children and adults who have communication and/or swallowing issues.
Upon graduation, students are eligible for membership with Speech Pathology Australia and can work in any area of the field.
Students who demonstrate an aptitude for research may be considered for PhD studies.
We encourage all applicants with a WAM of 68 or above to apply. This WAM is an indication only and may vary year to year depending on the applicant pool, achieving this WAM does not guarantee entry. Domestic applicants who have special circumstances are encouraged to apply through Graduate Access Melbourne to increase their eligibility.