Programme Description

The philosophy of the M.Sc. course is based on the belief that learning is a life long process with the student assuming responsibility for his/her own learning and development. The course uses a combination of teaching styles including lectures, self-directed and distance learning, as well as problem based learning approaches.

This M.Sc. course takes place over a 2 year period. Core and specialist modules are taught during Year 1; research project and dissertation are the main focus in Year 2. Classes are timetabled to facilitate clinicians in employment and overseas students. The aims of the course are to provide qualified speech and language therapists with opportunities to advance their academic knowledge and professional practice skills with specialist clinical populations.

The specialist strands offered for the academic year 2008-2009 are as follows:

• Dysphagia
• Acquired Communication Disorders
• Child Language
• Fluency
• AAC

For the specialist module in Dysphagia, students may register for a one year Postgraduate Diploma in Dysphagia (see entry below). This course is similar to Year 1 of the M.Sc. course but students do not complete the research component, which leads to a dissertation. Core module courses offered include Research Methods and Statistics, Disability and Society, Ethics, Introduction to Analysis of Talk in Interaction Advanced Counselling and Evidence Based Practice.