Speech and Language Sciences BSc (Hons)
UCAS Code: B620
Duration: 4 years, Full-time
This four year honours degree leads to a qualification as a Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) approved by the UK’s Health Professions Council and recognised by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
SLTs are responsible for assessing and treating people of all ages who have difficulty communicating, whether it be a three-year-old learning to talk or an eight-year-old learning to read and write. SLTs also work with adults who have trouble expressing themselves as a result of a recent stroke and with people who have difficulty swallowing, using their voices, or speaking fluently.
Newcastle was the first university in the UK to award a degree in Speech and Language Therapy, in 1959, and continues to be one of the UK’s leading training programmes in the field and a leader in research. The programme at Newcastle is based in part on a case-based learning approach which is aimed at developing students’ problem solving skills.
More information about SLT as a career may be found on the websites of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and the Health Professions Council.
Course content
Stage 1: Provides a foundation for later work and you study anatomy, physiology, psychology, linguistics, phonetics, child language, social interaction and clinical education. You are also introduced to case-based problem solving. After this introduction, the time you spend on clinical practice increases in each year of the course.
Stage 2: You continue to study linguistics, phonetics and psychology, and learn to apply information in the context of typical cases of communication disorder. In this Stage you start to take responsibility, under close supervision, for assessment and treatment of a limited number of cases in University clinics.
Stage 3: You learn about the speech and language skills of groups with particular difficulties, in addition to taking modules in neurology, abnormal psychology and research methods. Clinical education involves a half-day placement in a community clinic each week and then a six-week block.
Stage 4: You undertake a second six-week placement in, as well as gaining experience of evaluating, under supervision, a clinical service. You also carry out a research project on a particular aspect of the subject that interests you, which takes up a third of your time throughout the year.
Coursework and assessment
It is modular based with teaching through a combination of lectures and seminars.
Work experience
We know that practical experience is important to help prepare you for your future career, so at Newcastle you gain clinical experience in all four Stages of your degree. In Stage 1, you study topics in clinical skills, procedures and ethics. The child study looks at ways of observing, testing and evaluating children. You then begin to take responsibility for the assessment and treatment of your own cases in Stage 2. You'll observe both adult and child cases in the Newcastle University clinic.
In Stage 3, you undertake a placement in a clinic in the community. You spend half a day here each week in the first semester and a six-week block placement in the second semester. You complete a similar block in Stage 4, when you also have an opportunity to evaluate a speech and language therapy service.
Applicants will need to undergo a CRB disclosure
Careers opportunities 
On completion of this four-year programme, graduates will be eligible to apply for professional registration with the Health Professions Council, and qualified to practise as speech and language therapists. They can also become full members of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
Find out more about:
For further enquiries contact:
Speech and Language Admissions
Telephone: 0191 222 7385
Fax: 0191 222 6518
E-mail: speech@ncl.ac.uk