Speech and Hearing Sciences

Speech and language therapists and audiologists make a significant contribution to Scotland’s health and social care sectors, which include the NHS, social services, schools, day centres, the voluntary sector and private practice. At postgraduate level, the department of Speech and Hearing Sciences offer three distinct courses.

There are two pre-registration courses for graduates who wish to be educated to Masters level in order to qualify as either a speech language therapist or audiologist. There also is a post-registration course for qualified audiologists who wish to attain a Masters degree that is recommended for advanced practice.

Why QMU?

Speech and Hearing Sciences at Queen Margaret University offers prospective students a small and friendly environment for learning and our professionally relevant courses are designed to meet the changing needs of students, employers, and society. The presence of audiology and speech and language therapy courses within the same subject area is unusual in the UK, but has significant potential benefits, given the complex interplay between the biological, psychological, social and cultural factors that underlie communicative behaviour. Students on both pre-registration courses share specific content in order to promote an understanding of the links between hearing, speech and communication.

Speech and Hearing Sciences at QMU have an excellent reputation for our educational provision, research and clinical work in speech, language, audiology and communication. Our aims are to:

■ educate speech and language therapists and audiologists to the high standards required by each profession, by providing a learning environment that encourages all students to reach their full potential;

■ pursue research excellence in speech, language and hearing disorders, with the goal of improving quality of life for individuals with impaired communication;

■ maintain a high profile in the professional and wider academic community and

■ enhance our reputation as a recognised centre of excellence for teaching, interdisciplinary research and clinical practice.

Industry links

Speech and Hearing Sciences recently launched our new Clinical Audiology, Speech and Language Research Centre (CASL). The aim of the Centre is to apply innovative techniques which will assist in the diagnosis and treatment of a wide variety of communication disorders.

QMU has an international reputation for our outstanding research in the area of speech sciences, and over the last few years, the specialist area of audiology has been added to the portfolio. The new Centre will draw together the research and clinical practice expertise of both audiology and speech and language therapy, and ensure that these benefit the wider community.

Socially relevant research topics include hearing and communication problems in older people, and the relationship between language impairment and social inclusion in young offenders.

The Clinical Audiology, Speech and Language Research Centre builds on years of pioneering work achieved in the area of speech sciences. Much of the work has focused on developing technologies, in collaboration with engineers and computer scientists, which provide visual images of the tongue and its movement inside the mouth during speech.

Our approach to learning and teaching

Our learning and teaching approaches are developed using the following underpinning core values in relation to student-centred education:

■ Each individual’s learning and practice experience and the context in which that learning occurs is significant. It allows them to make explicit their values and perspectives; thus enabling them to question and defend assumptions and interpret and learn from experience and feedback.

■ Learning is embedded in the principles of equality; valuing and capitalising on the individual diversity of students and the richness of their knowledge and experience.

■ Learning is a continuous lifelong process for both students and educators.

Focusing on the processes of learning is fundamental to our learning and teaching approaches. It is expected that students entering any of the offered courses will already have well-developed learning skills and a high level of motivation, so that they will be able to build on previously established skills, experiences and knowledge. Staff will aim to facilitate an independent, autonomous approach to learning, while providing a supportive but challenging learning environment, together with constructive evaluation and feedback about student performance. This is achieved through the provision of a facilitative environment, which encourages reflection, and sharing of knowledge and experiences as a basis for personal and professional growth, along with use of the humanistic and adult learning theories that promote valuing and respect of others, relevance of learning and recognition of emotional aspects of learning.

Students will be able to engage in a range of learning and teaching methods, in a way that suits each student’s individual learning style. Assessment is an integral part of the learning process and is designed to encourage an analytical approach to practice, which draws on a deep understanding of theoretical principles and critical evaluation of available evidence. The emphasis is on active learning approaches that encourage deep learning. In summary, the courses are designed to allow progressive development and integration of practical skills, intellectual development and theoretical knowledge.

Facilities

We have fully equipped clinical environments for both speech and language therapy and audiology. A suite of clinic rooms, situated around a clinic reception area, provides accommodation for clinical activities and research. There are two speech science laboratories. One is used primarily for undergraduate and postgraduate student laboratory work, and has an adjacent recording studio. The second laboratory is primarily for research purposes and contains specialist speech science equipment. The audiology suite consists of purpose-built test rooms, sound-proof booths and includes a full range of audiological equipment, supporting the development of clinical skills within the university environment before going out on clinical placement.

Career prospects and guideline salaries

Postgraduate study in Speech and Hearing Sciences opens up a multitude of career opportunities as well as facilitating CPD for those already employed within the healthcare sector. It is possible to take specific individual modules or the PgCert or PgDip as part of your ongoing career and personal development. Previous students have gone on to careers in advanced clinical practice, public health practice, government, education, management, business and research. We prepare our students for the challenges of the 21st century and actively encourage aspiration to higher levels of their chosen profession. It is difficult to estimate guidelines for salaries for either profession, as this is dependent on the context of employment as well as individual expertise.

Our courses:

»PgDip/ MSc Audiology (Pre-Registration)

»MSc Rehabilitative Audiology (Post-Registration)

»PgDip/MSc Speech And Language Therapy

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