BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapy
Key Details
- Award
- Degree of Bachelor of Science
- UCAS Course Code
- B620
- Typical Offer
- ABB
- Contextual Offer
- BBC
- Course Length
- 3 years
- Course Start Date
- September 2024
Why you should choose us
Course Overview
Study for a degree in Speech and Language Therapy and open a world of opportunities.
A Speech and Language Therapist’s scope of work is very broad. You could work with people of any age and from any background; anyone who experiences difficulties with communication and swallowing.
On our degree course, you’ll gain the skills you need to guide and advise people as they manage their individual challenges and how to support their families and other health and education professionals. You’ll have a positive effect on their everyday lives, helping them not only overcome their difficulties but also to reveal their personal strengths and fulfil their potential.
Speech and language therapy builds on a foundation of linguistics and phonetics, psychology, and anatomy and physiology. Our course covers all areas of SLT research, intervention and practice.
From the beginning of this three-year programme, you’ll discover how these core academic areas relate to a wide range of client groups, including children with developmental speech and language disorders, individuals with learning disabilities, and adults with acquired communication and swallowing difficulties. These client groups form the basis for your modules.
Throughout the course, our Problem-Based Learning (PBL) programme design will help you develop skills such as team working, negotiating and leadership. You’ll also use group learning to expand your knowledge of SLT practice.
You’ll develop your learning beyond the classroom with practice placements, beginning with training from staff and service users on how to effectively communicate with people with communication needs and opportunities to hone your skills through regular interactions with an assigned adult conversation partner. You will finish year 1 by practising communication skills with children, adapting for their stages of development. In years 2 and 3, you’ll have the opportunity to develop your therapeutic practice in clinical settings, supported by qualified therapists. Practice education features throughout the course, ensuring you have the clinical and core skills you’ll need for real working environments.
As part of your training, you will complete the Pre-registration eating, drinking and swallowing competencies - competency document | RCSLT.
Taught within the School of Health Sciences, Speech and Language Therapy at UEA reflects our multidisciplinary ethos. That ethos has been developed and nurtured as a reflection of the real-life practices of working healthcare professionals. As such, you’ll undertake shared learning with Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy students and spend some of your time studying alongside students from other health professions, as well from other outside the School of Health Sciences.
Accreditations
Our course is fully approved by and prepares you for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT).
Study and Modules
Structure
This three-year full-time degree programme will arm you with the theory, methodology and skills you’ll need to embark on a career as a Speech and Language Therapist. The programme combines a number of compulsory modules with practical placements.
In your first year, your Foundation module will introduce you to the core concepts relating to SLT in the areas of linguistics, phonetics, psychology and biology, as well as SLT theory and practice. During two client group modules, you’ll gain an understanding of basic approaches to intervention appropriate for stuttering and developmental speech and language difficulties. On top of this, you’ll be introduced to research methods.
You’ll also undertake two pre-clinical placements in the Practice Education module, which will explore the subjects of acquired communication difficulties and working with children. The module will enable you to develop and hone your communication skills with each group.
Through a module shared with Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy students, you’ll discover what it means to be a professional in today’s health, social care and educational environments, and be introduced to research methods.
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
Our teaching methods and pattern are consistent across the clinical modules. This involves being in face-to-face lectures for around 2.5 full days each week, and having independent study time for the rest of the week. However, this can vary dependent on other requirements of the programme. There is some online teaching but we are an on-campus programme.
To aid independent study, you’ll have access to the university’s excellent library facilities, as well as an extensive range of clinical resources. These include SLT assessments across the range of client groups, and therapy resources including equipment for alternative and augmentative communication (AAC). In addition, our dedicated SLT Clinical Skills Area is available to support teaching and independent study throughout your degree.
In a typical week in first year, you will have Problem-Based Learning (PBL) sessions in your smaller PBL group, lectures on theory and seminars to explore application of that theory.
The course’s PBL structure focuses on ‘triggers’, which encourage you in groups to consider material selected to provoke discussion about topics relevant to the field (for example, case studies based on clinical experiences, videos of individuals interacting, assessment results, newspaper/journal articles). In these sessions you’ll apply your classroom-based learning and independent study to interventions and clinical reasoning in response to these triggers – a key aspect of a therapist’s role. Through these discussions and your follow-up tasks, you’ll also develop independence, problem-solving skills and critical thinking.
As a member of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, you will spend time studying alongside students from other healthcare disciplines, allowing you to develop the inter-professional working skills key to clinical practice, leadership, research and/or clinical education.
The key modules taught in first year lay the foundational skills and knowledge. We focus on some of the fundamental clinical areas which can be built on as the programme progresses.
Towards the end of the first year, you will have a 4-week placement which will alter the typical study pattern for this period.
Assessment
Our assessment method is designed to ensure you are not only enabled to evidence your learning, but that you also have opportunities to develop some of the skills required when qualifying. These are professional skills such as presenting, sharing clinical reasoning, and thinking critically.
Each module is assessed and will give you the opportunity to evidence your learning and understanding of content within that module. This could cover a number of elements such as: clinical knowledge and application, understanding of key theories, practical skills and professionalism. A range of assessment methods are introduced across the first year to assess your knowledge in a variety of formats appropriate to the content and the field, such as:
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Essays or case-based assignments
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Class/Course tests
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Practical tests for phonetics
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Presentations and/or professional discussions
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Structure
Your third year modules will cover motor speech disorders and disorders of the oral and vocal tract. You’ll increasingly focus on clinical decision making and planning interventions for clients. You will also complete a larger project such as a structured literature review, supervised by a member of staff. You’ll also undertake further clinical skill sessions and an eight-week clinical placement.
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
The first term consists of clinical modules and so follows the pattern previously described. The modules covered require you to integrate knowledge and skills from those taught previously to understand the most complex of adults and children.
Much of the Spring term is utilised for the 8-week clinical placement and the research module, while Term 3 focusses on completion of the research module and as such has varying levels of contact time compared to self-directed work on your assignment.
Assessment
Based on the study level and modules which you’ll be studying on your final year, the content will change. The assessment methods will still be chosen to enable the skill/knowledge to be assessed in the best possible way, while remaining a balanced, varied format.
Entry Requirements
- A Levels
- ABB. If you are taking an EPQ and three A Levels, we may offer you a one grade reduction on our advertised typical offer alongside an A in the EPQ.
- T Levels
- Obtain an overall Pass including a B in the core of the T Level and a Distinction in the Occupational Specialism. Acceptable subjects: Education & Early Years, Health, Healthcare Science, Science.
- BTEC
- DDM in Health, Care or Science. See below for accepted subjects and combinations.
- Contextual Offer
A Level – BBC
BTEC L3 Extended Diploma – DMM in Health, Care or Science. See below for accepted subjects and combinations
UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of their background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes.
- Access to HE Diploma
- Pass with Distinction in 30 credits at Level 3 and Merit in 15 credits at Level 3, in a Health, Care, Science or Psychology subject.
- International Baccalaureate
- 32 points
- English Foreign Language
If English is not your first language, we will require evidence of proficiency in English (including reading, writing, speaking and listening) at the level of IELTS 7.5 overall (minimum 7.5 in each component).
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.
Review our English Language Equivalencies for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
INTO UEA also offer a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the English skills necessary for successful undergraduate study:
- Interviews
The strongest applicants will be invited to interview. Please note that meeting (or being predicted to meet) the minimum academic entry requirements will not guarantee that you will be selected for interview.
Interview invitations will be sent by email. Please keep a close eye on all emails from UEA after you submit your UCAS application. For more information on the application process and what to expect at each step, take a look at our handy Applying to HSC infographic, which explains the application journey from start to finish.
Interview formatOur interviews for 2024 will take place on our campus. You will be invited to book your interview for a morning or afternoon session by email. The email will include the arrival time and building location. We use a variety of the buildings on our campus for interviews, but they will either be on our Main Campus or on our West Campus (which is around a 20-minute walk from the centre of the Main Campus, near the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital). The session will last no longer than 3 hours in total. Applicants who are based outside of the UK at the point of applying will be offered an online interview. The format will match the process outlined below as closely as possible.
As part of the session, you will take part in ‘multiple mini-interviews’ with academic members of staff from the School of Health Sciences at UEA, clinicians from the profession, service users* and/or current UEA students from the course.
*A ‘service user’ is someone who has access to use health or social care services or could be affected by the services of health and social care professionals.
You will undertake your ‘multiple mini-interview’ alongside 1 or 2 other applicants for the course. Together, you will be taken to your interview room, which will be furnished with three interview stations. You will attend each interview station in turn, rotating with the other applicants you have been grouped with.
Before you visit each interview station, you will be given time to read some information. The information will include the interview questions or topics that you will be asked about. You will then be given a set amount of time with the interviewer(s), who will ask you the questions verbally.
The other applicants who you have been grouped together with will be following the same process as you at the same time. They will be speaking to alternate interviewer(s) to you simultaneously. You will all continue the process above until you have been interviewed at all three interview stations.
As part of your interview day, you will also have an opportunity to join some other sessions, for which you will not be assessed. The sessions are an opportunity for you to learn more about the course, the university, the students that study here, and for you to ask questions of current students and teaching staff. There may be an opportunity to undertake some practical skills during some of these sessions, if possible. There may also be an opportunity to tour the teaching facilities. These parts of your interview day are not compulsory, and do not form part of the assessment.
Interview questionsAt each interview station you will be asked questions that focus on a particular domain. The order in which you are asked about these domains will be variable. The domains are:
- Your knowledge of the professional field for which you are applying.
- Your personal qualities and suitability for the profession. To help with discussion around this domain, you may be asked to consider a scenario and asked questions about how you would respond to it. You will be given time to read the scenario before you approach the interview station, and it will also be read to you by the interviewer(s).
- Your understanding of and suitability for the course at UEA.
On all interview stations, interviewers will also consider your understanding of the values that are required of a healthcare professional. This will include your understanding of moral and ethical values, competence, commitment to improve and personal accountability. You won’t necessarily be asked specific questions about these areas, but the information you include in your answers to all questions will be considered when the interviewer(s) assess you.
Experience of healthcareWe are aware that it is a difficult time to try to gain relevant experience in healthcare. First time applicants to Nursing, Midwifery and the Allied Health Professions will all be in a similar situation.
Clinical work experience will not generally be a requirement for applying to train in healthcare. We will be looking for you to show that you are able to work with people, that you appreciate the health and social care setting, and that you understand what a career in health will involve. While we will expect you to show some understanding of what it is like to be the professional of your choice, part of this involves demonstrating that you know what it is like to work in a responsible role, particularly with the public.
Note that your experiences are only as valuable as the way you talk about them and what understanding you take from them. It is important that you think about how you might be able to demonstrate your understanding of healthcare, that you can relate this to experience or research, and that you can explain what you have learned.
What type of experience or research do you need?Any activity, life experience or research that helps you to prepare for training to be a healthcare professional will help. This means any activity that allows you to demonstrate that you have:
- Had people-focused experience of providing a service, care, support or help to others, and that you understand the realities of working in a caring profession.
- Developed some of the values, attitudes and behaviours essential to being a Nurse, Midwife or Allied Health professional such as conscientiousness, effective communication and the ability to interact with a wide variety of people. The values that we are looking for are set out in the NHS Constitution.
- A realistic understanding of Health and Social Care and in particular the physical, organisational and emotional demands of the career.
Practical ways to gain experienceKeep a reflective diary on what is happening in the news and online. Listen to what healthcare professionals have to say and reflect on this. All healthcare professionals can be a valuable source of information and experience, not just those that work in the specific profession that you are applying for. Demonstrating that you have a sense of all healthcare professions (and how they work together) will help you in both your personal statement and interview.
Volunteer in your spare time if you can, all forms of voluntary work can provide helpful work experience. If volunteer work in the NHS isn’t something that is available to you, think about what else you could explore i.e. working with other people in a caring or service role. Voluntary commitments to community groups (for example groups related to the work of churches, mosques and temples, or other groups such as Scouts or Guides) and online community support groups may also provide valuable experience of taking on responsibility, dealing with people and communicating effectively.
Remember: what is important is what you learn about yourself and about other people, and what you learn about how effective care is delivered and received. How you learn these things is only a small part of the story; it is how you communicate what you learnt that matters.
COURSE CONDITIONS
Offers will be made to applicants after completion of successful interviews, and will be subject to a satisfactory occupational health check (including evidence of appropriate immunisations), an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and two satisfactory references. We will let you know what you need to do (and when) to meet these conditions if you are successful in gaining an offer.
PLACEMENTS
During the course, practice experience is gained via placements. The placement environments include hospitals, community, social services, or a variety of other sectors. Placement allocation occurs throughout the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Lincolnshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, and London.
As this course includes patient facing placements in health or social care settings, and these are a mandatory component of the course, you will need to comply with the placement vaccination policy. Failure to meet the placement vaccination policy may prevent you from joining the course or may lead to your withdrawal from the course in the future. Future employment may also be subject to this condition.
ASSESSING YOUR FITNESS TO BECOME A REGISTERED HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL
Please see our guidance on assessing your fitness.
- Deferred Entry
We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year. We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. If you intend to apply with deferred entry, please let us know about your gap year plans in your UCAS application.
ADMISSIONS POLICY
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.
- Intakes
This course is open to UK and overseas applicants. The annual intake for this course is in September each year.
Additional Information or Requirements
- 2.1 or above
- 2.2 with CCC or above at A Level
Grade requirements:
- DDM (made up of Extended Certificate, Diploma or Extended Diploma subjects)
- DD (made up of Extended Certificate or Diploma subjects) plus B at A Level
- D (Extended Certificate) plus BB at A Level
Subject requirements:
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Extended Diploma in any Health, Care or Science subject
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A combination of BTEC/OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 subjects, with at least two of the grades in Health, Care or Science*
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Any BTEC/OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 subject* taken in combination with two A Levels
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One A Level alongside a BTEC/OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Diploma in Health, Care or Science
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One A Level alongside two BTEC/OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Extended Certificates (at least one of which must be in Health, Care or Science*)
*BTEC Public Services, BTEC Uniformed Services and BTEC Business Administration are not accepted to make up any grades.
60%, with CCC at A Level
60% or above in Year 2
60% or above in Year 2, in a Health, Care or Science subject
65% or above in a Foundation Year of an undergraduate degree programme at a UK university, in a Health, Care or Science subject
3 subjects at H2, 3 subjects at H3
Grade A in Child Care and Education (Early Years Educator)
Grade A in one of the following subjects:
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Children's Care, Learning and Development
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Children and Young People's Workforce
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Health and Social Care (including Technical Level)
60 credits at 60% or above, in a Health, Care or Science subject
BCC or above
A combination of Advanced Highers and Highers may be acceptable, please contact Admissions for further information.
We welcome and value a wide range of alternative qualifications, and we also recognise that some students might take a mixture of some of the qualifications above. If your qualifications aren’t listed, or if you are taking a combination of qualifications that isn’t specified, please contact Admissions.
UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes.
Please note that we do not consider A Levels in General Studies or Critical Thinking, Apprenticeships, NVQs (any level) or Work-based Level 3 Diplomas (previously NVQs) to meet the minimum academic entry requirements, although these can be used as evidence of recent study. We’ll also be unable to consider you for this course if you’ve obtained an academic fail from a previous health based degree programme, including where an exit award has been achieved.
GCSE REQUIREMENTS
5 GCSEs at a minimum grade C or grade 4, including Mathematics, English Language, and a science subject. These requirements apply alongside all other specified requirements.
If you hold or are working towards Mathematics and English Language GCSEs but do not hold 5 GCSEs/a science GCSE, please contact Admissions.
RECENT STUDY
We would prefer you to be able to demonstrate evidence of recent academic study within 5 years of the start of the course. If your last qualification will have been completed more than 5 years ago by the time the course starts, please contact Admissions.
AGE ON ENTRY
Applicants for this course need to be aged 18 or over by 31 August 2025. This is owing to the integrated nature of placements within the first year of the course and safeguarding implications. In view of this, applicants who will not be 18 years old or over by this date, should consider applying for deferred entry.
INTERNATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
We accept many international qualifications for entry to this course. For specific details about your country, view our information for International Students.
If you do not meet the academic and/or English language requirements for this course, entry is available through successful completion of an International Foundation at our partner INTO UEA (as well as a successful interview):
International Foundation in Pharmacy, Health and Life Sciences
Fees and Funding
Tuition Fees
View our information for Tuition Fees.
Scholarships and Bursaries
We are committed to ensuring that costs do not act as a barrier to those aspiring to come to a world leading university and have developed a funding package to reward those with excellent qualifications and assist those from lower income backgrounds. View our range of Scholarships for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
NHS Learning Support Fund
If you are eligible for tuition fee and maintenance support from the Student Loans Company, you can apply for additional financial support through the NHS Learning Support Fund when studying this course.
Course Related Costs
You can find information regarding additional costs associated on our Fees and finance webpages.
How to Apply
Apply for this course through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Services (UCAS), using UCAS Hub.
UCAS Hub is a secure online application system that allows you to apply for full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the United Kingdom.
Your application does not have to be completed all at once. Register or sign in to UCAS to get started.
Once you submit your completed application, UCAS will process it and send it to your chosen universities and colleges.
The Institution code for the University of East Anglia is E14.
View our guide to applying through UCAS for useful tips, key dates and further information:
Employability
After the Course
Studying at UEA will provide you with a springboard into the Speech and Language Therapy profession. Your degree qualification will enable you to apply for professional registration as a Speech and Language Therapist, opening doors to a wide range of settings, including schools, hospitals, people’s homes and the justice system, as well as community work.
Graduates from this programme are widely employed across the NHS, education and independent sectors throughout the UK and beyond. You could also choose to return to higher education as an academic or researcher.
The transferable skills you develop on this course will also equip you well for further training in health or education (e.g. PGCE) and for non-clinical roles involving communication skills, problem-solving, and disability awareness.
Careers
A degree at UEA will prepare you for a wide variety of careers. We've been ranked 1st for Job Prospects by StudentCrowd in 2022.
Examples of careers that you could enter include:
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Hospitals
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Community health centres
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Education (schools and nurseries)
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The independent sector
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The charity sector
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The justice system
Discover more on our Careers webpages.