Graduate-entry, Professional Speech Language Pathology Programs in Australia

The University of Sydney School of Speech Pathology

Program Overview - Master of Speech Language Pathology

University and Faculty:	The University of Sydney Faculty of Health Sciences
Program:	Master of Speech Language Pathology
University Location:	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
City Population:	4.6 million
Student Population:	49,000
Campus Location:	Cumberland campus (in Lidcombe, a suburb of Sydney)
Program Duration:	2 years, full time (four semesters)
Semester Intake:	Semester 1 (March) each year
Next Intake:	March 2014
Est. Annual Tuition:	$47,040 AUD (2013)
Est. Total Tuition:	$94,080 AUD (estimated, over two years)

OzTREKK NOTE:
It is important for Canadian students wishing to study Master of Speech Language Pathology at the University of Sydney to carefully read the "Professional Certification/Accreditation Information" below.

The University of Sydney offers a two-year, graduate-entry Master of Speech Language Pathology program. It is intended for students coming from an undergraduate degree in any field, who wish to gain the requirements to become a speech pathologist.

Speech Pathology at Sydney has a long and proud history of producing high-quality graduates who go on to be expert clinicians, leaders of the profession and international researchers in communication sciences and disorders. Sydney's Speech Pathology Discipline is the largest speech pathology department in the Australian state of New South Wales and one of the largest in Australia.

The Master of Speech Language Pathology at the University of Sydney aims to

• enable students to learn in a way that resembles the clinical practice of speech pathology; and
• help students acquire the skills necessary to qualify and practise as speech pathologists through case-based learning and clinical placements.

The curriculum is designed around the competency requirements for speech pathology professional practice. This program enables students with requisite knowledge and skills from their previous studies to undertake study in speech pathology and will build on their existing knowledge. It is structured around four academic blocks and four clinical blocks. The clinical blocks may occur outside normal semester times.

Unique features of program

The large staff numbers allows subjects to be taught by specialists in each field. The discipline boasts an on-campus Communication Disorders Treatment and Research Clinic that encourages integration of theory with practice and also provides opportunities for talented students to become involved with research. Students have access to the discipline's Speech Science Laboratory, the largest academic library in Australia, and to other extensive facilities.

Why international students like to study at the university and this specific program

The discipline of Speech Pathology at the University of Sydney is not only the first and largest program in communication sciences and disorders in New South Wales, but it is also among the largest of such programs in Australia. Its roots stem from the first training of speech pathologists in Australia at Sydney's Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children under the leadership of the founder of Australian speech pathology, Elinor Wray.

Professional Certification/Accreditation Information

The program is accredited by Speech Pathology Australia.

The University of Sydney has advised that its MSLP program provides 180 to 190 clinical practicum hours. In order to meet the 350 to 400 clinical practicum hours required by Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (CALSPA), students wishing to obtain Canadian certification must arrange for the completion of these additional hours. This may be done by completing six months of paid speech pathology employment in Australia on completion of the degree or by organizing a clinical placement of six months in Canada. The student is responsible for organizing the employment/placement and necessary visas. Students will also be required to undertake two additional audiology units to meet CASLPA accreditation requirements. These audiology units are taken from the University of Sydney Bachelor of Applied Science (Speech Pathology).

OzTREKK recommends that Canadian students understand the certification requirements and procedures of their Canadian provincial licencing body prior to applying or accepting an offer of admission to a speech pathology degree.

For a detailed overview of the certification process, please review the website of the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (CASLPA): http://www.caslpa.ca

Scholarships

Every student who applies (and accepts) via OzTREKK and commences his/her studies at an OzTREKK Australian university will receive a $500 scholarship from OzTREKK.
Click here for more info about OzTREKK's Scholarships!

Admissions Criteria/Entry Requirements for Canadians

The Master of Speech Language Pathology program at Sydney welcomes students from all backgrounds.

To be eligible to apply, you must have

• completed an undergraduate degree from a recognized university; and
  
• achieved a minimum cumulative GPA of 4.5, which the University of Sydney states is approximately equivalent to a credit average or better. A credit average at the University of Sydney is between a 65 and 74%. Your grades assessed for admission are based on your highest-ranked university degree.

OzTREKK recommends that you apply for this program if you have achieved a minimum 65% cumulative average in your university studies. Please note that this is a minimum average to be eligible to apply.

Students who have not yet completed an undergraduate degree may apply, as long as they will have graduated prior to commencing the program.

Additional Admissions Information

Knowledge Requirements for Sydney's MSLP Program

It is important that Sydney MSLP students have knowledge in the areas of linguistics and phonetics prior to commencing the speech language pathology program at the University of Sydney.

Knowledge of linguistics and phonetics are not prerequisites for enrolment in the MSLP program; however, these subject areas will not be covered during the course and prior study is essential. Successful applicants who do not have an acceptable background in linguistics and phonetics will be required to attend summer school (CSCD1034 Linguistics, Phonetics and Articulation) at the University of Sydney for six weeks in January/February before the start of Semester 1. Please do not enrol in summer school before you receive an offer for the MSLP program.

Linguistics
Including sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic models of language, morphology, phonology, orthography, semantics, discourse, and grammar/syntax.

Phonetics
Including real-time broad/phonemic transcription of normal adult speech using IPA. Theoretical concepts of allophones, distinctive feature analysis, narrow or phonetic transcription, diacritics, stress or accent, suprasegmental aspects of speech, acoustic features of vowels and consonants, interpretation of spectrographs of normal adult speech.

In addition to the linguistics and phonetics requirements, the following domains of knowledge are not prerequisites for enrolment in Sydney's MSLP program. Nevertheless, it will be expected during classes that participants will have completed prior study in these domains, either through an academic program or through independent study:

Psychology
An understanding of the principles of psychology, normal child development, learning and cognition are beneficial.
Research Methods
A knowledge of the principles of research design is beneficial.
Statistics
Knowledge of the principles of basic descriptive and analytic statistics is beneficial (e.g., mean, mode, median, standard distribution, standard deviation, t-test, anova, chi square, p value, type I and II errors etc.).
Anatomy
Students without a background in anatomy are strongly encouraged to do some study in this area before enrolment.
Physiology
Students without a background physiology are strongly encouraged to do some study in this area before enrolment.
Sociology
It is desirable for students to have completed introductory sociology.

University of Sydney Agent: OzTREKK educational services TP01544

Application Deadline for the March 2014 intake: October 31, 2013.

OzTREKK Admissions Officer: Shannon Tilston