Speech and Language Pathology
Te Reo Kōreo Kia Tika
Qualifications
Overview
Speech and Language Pathology studies human communication, how it develops, and the many differences and difficulties that children and adults experience.
Speech-language therapists/pathologists work with premature infants, children in preschools and schools who have difficulty communicating and learning, and adults who have lost their ability to communicate eg, through stroke, brain injury, or degenerative disease.
Studying Speech and Language Pathology will give you the skills to help improve and treat communication disorders.
- A hands on qualification, where you will work with real patients of all ages, through clinical experience at speech-language clinics, hospitals, retirement homes, and schools around Aotearoa. There are also opportunities for overseas and clinical placements.
- UC has its own speech-language clinics, giving you opportunities and experience with clients right on campus.
- The degree is Aotearoa New Zealand’s most established, having trained most of the country’s speech-language pathologists and being the first to be accredited by Te Kāhui Kaiwhakatikatika Reo Kōrero o Aotearoa | New Zealand Speech-language Therapists’ Association.
Bachelor of Speech and Language Pathology with Honours
UC offers a Bachelor of Speech and Language Pathology with Honours, which develops professional clinical practice and research skills in the diagnosis and treatment of communication disorders.
The first year of the degree is called the Intermediate Year, and includes introductory courses and a large selection of optional courses in a variety of subjects, such as Linguistics, Psychology, and Education.
The Intermediate Year is followed by three full-time years of specialised professional training – the Professional Years. A Grade Point Average of B or better is required to progress to the second year.
In the Professional Years, you will complete coursework covering a wide variety of topics in normal and disordered aspects of speech, language, swallowing, and hearing. The academic coursework is taken in combination with clinical fieldwork.
You will have the opportunity to undertake your fieldwork with practising therapists and people of all ages and backgrounds in a variety of settings, including preschools, schools, hospitals, and clinics in Ōtautahi Christchurch and throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.
Limited entry to the First Professional Year (second year of study)
Entry to the second year of the Bachelor of Speech and Language Pathology with Honours is limited to those who successfully complete their Intermediate Year with high grades and complete an application process.
If you are unable to or decide not to continue with a Speech and Language Pathology degree, you can credit completed courses to a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Health Sciences, or Bachelor of Arts.
The skills you gain in this degree will set you on a career helping others with their wellbeing, either directly as a clinician, or through administration and research, or even in creating new assistive communication devices.
Some career pathways could include:
- Speech-language therapist
- Audiologist
- Paediatrics
- Rest home care.
Find out more about what you can do with a degree in Speech and Language Pathology.
Contact us
Te Kura Mahi ā-Hirikapo | School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing
Phone +64 3 369 4333
Email psyc-speech-hear@canterbury.ac.nz
Location
Psychology building – see campus maps
Postal address
Te Kaupeka Pūtaiao | Faculty of Science
Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury
Private Bag 4800
Christchurch 8140
New Zealand
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