Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Honours)

Domestic students:

Recent secondary education (Year 12)

This course uses the ATAR as part of its selection considerations.

VCE: Units 3 and 4: a study score of at least 30 in English (EAL) or at least 25 in English other than EAL. Units 3 and 4: a study score of at least 25 in one of Biology, Chemistry, any Mathematics, Physical Education, Physics or Health and Human Development.

HSC:

One of English Standard, English Advanced (Band 3), English as an Additional Language or Dialect (Band 4).

One of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, or Personal Development, Heath and Physical Education (Band 3).

Selection rank adjustments

VCE: A study score of 30 in Health And Human Development, any Mathematics, Physical Education or any Science equals 4 aggregate points per study. A study score of 20 in any LOTE equals 4 aggregate points per study. Overall maximum of 12 points.

HSC: Applicants who successfully complete one of the following HSC or equivalent Year 12 subjects will have their selection rank increased by one point per subject: Performance Band 4 in Personal Development; Health and Physical Education, any Mathematics; any language other than English (Band 2). Overall, selection ranks can be increased by a maximum of five points.

Higher education, VET and work/life experience applicants

Subject proficiency: Demonstrated proficiency equivalent to stated Year 12 prerequisites.

Additional selection information

• Applicants seeking consideration via Work Recognition must complete all requirements listed on the La Trobe University Work Recognition webpage and submit a Personal Statement, including relevant work experience and reasons for applying for this course.

• Some prerequisites for this course can be satisfied by successfully completing specific subjects offered through Unilearn and achieving the minimum overall grade. Further details and minimum overall grade information is available from the La Trobe University prerequisites page. Applicants who complete Unilearn studies must also submit a copy of their 'Statement of Achievement' and transcript to VTAC.

• You may satisfy the academic requirements by completing the STAT multiple choice if you:

  • are not currently studying an Australian Year 12 (or equivalent)
  • have no prior secondary school (Year 12), VET studies, HE studies or relevant work experience that can be considered for entry, or
  • do not meet the minimum academic requirements for the program. Refer to the La Trobe University STAT page page for further information.

• Applicants who have undertaken studies in a language other than English must demonstrate that they have achieved the required minimum scores in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) (Academic) or equivalent. Refer to Language requirements for further information.

• This course uses the ATAR as part of its selection considerations. Applicants must have completed an Australian Year 12 or equivalent to be eligible to apply for this course.

• A study score of 30 in Health And Human Development, any Mathematics, Physical Education or any Science equals 4 aggregate points per study. A study score of 20 in any LOTE equals 4 aggregate points per study. Overall maximum of 12 points.

International students:

Recent secondary education (Year 12)

Units 3 and 4: a study score of at least 30 in English (EAL) or at least 25 in English other than EAL.

Units 3 and 4: a study score of at least 25 in one of Biology, Chemistry, any Mathematics, Physical Education, Physics or Health and Human Development.

English language requirements

7.5 IELTS (Academic) with no individual band less than 7.0.

IELTS is the only English Proficiency test accepted for entry into this course.

Please refer to our Language requirements page for details of other accepted English proficiency tests and additional recognised English language proficiency measures, such as English as the language of instruction.

All applicants:

Inherent requirements

Behavioural and relational skills

Core requirement Students must be able to manage their own responses and behaviour to work effectively in a range of learning environments with diverse people and tasks. This includes the capacity to be receptive and respond appropriately to constructive feedback. Students should also be able to work with others in a team or group environment and make and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of individuals in order to complete tasks or for professional practice. See also Student behaviours policy for more information. Course-specific requirement Speech Pathology students will be exposed to health and human service contexts in which they will encounter diversity and adversity and will be required to draw upon behavioural, emotional and relational skills to manage these situations in a professional manner. They must have the ability to recognise, interpret and respond appropriately to behavioural cues. Effective communication, including verbal and non-verbal communication is also fundamental to speech pathology practice and needs to be respectful, clear, attentive, empathetic, honest, and non-judgmental. Strong interpersonal communication skills are needed so that students can undertake speech pathology practice with clients who communicate, eat and drink in different ways. Strong written communication skills are needed so that students have the capacity to construct coherent written communication appropriate to the circumstances such as report writing and client notes. All these skills are needed so that students can continuously develop their speech pathology skills during placements and throughout their careers. Students must also be able to manage personal responses, beliefs, or preferences such that they can work with diverse groups, of people who express varied cultural, religious and gender identities.

https://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/SPAweb/Resources_For_Speech_Pathologists/Professional_Standards/Professional_Standards/SPAweb/Resources_for_Speech_Pathologists/CBOS/Professional_Standards.aspx?hkey=583a56af-74e0-4111-95fa-656502269967.

Cognition

Students must be able to locate, acquire, retain and apply knowledge as part of their learning and for assessment. They must have the ability to sustain their attention over a designated period, maintain their focus in a variety of learning environments and remember information long enough to complete tasks in a reasonable and safe timeframe. Safe and effective delivery of speech pathology practice is based on comprehensive knowledge that must be sourced, understood and applied appropriately, and includes conceptualising and using appropriate knowledge in response to academic assessment items. It also includes appropriately applying knowledge of theory, research evidence, policies and procedures in the class and practice settings. Literacy skills are required to: convey spoken and written messages accurately and effectively in a practice setting; paraphrase, summarise and reference in accordance with appropriate academic conventions in written assignments. Competent application of numeracy skills is also essential in speech pathology to facilitate the safe and effective delivery of care. Examples include interpreting standardised assessments accurately; counting the number of times a client stutters in a given time period and calculating the number of times a client produces a sound correctly.

Sensory (visual, auditory, tactile, olfaction)

Students should possess the ability to interact with visual, auditory or tactile inputs sufficiently to manage their learning environment and to meet professional performance needs. Speech pathology students must be able to demonstrate adequate visual and auditory acuity for safe and effective delivery of care on clinical placements and throughout their careers. Visual acuity is required for students to detect subtle changes in a client's non-verbal communication skills, observe a communication environment and to assess and manage clients with reading comprehension and written expression needs. Auditory acuity is also essential for effective speech pathology practice. Tasks requiring auditory skills include the ability to detect different productions of speech sounds accurately, detect subtle changes in voice quality, the occurrence and frequency of stuttering, and word and grammatical errors during speech production.

Strength and mobility

Gross motor skills: Students should possess the strength, range of motion, coordination and mobility sufficient to manage their learning environment and ultimately, professional performance needs. Fine motor skills: Students should possess the manual dexterity and fine motor skills sufficient to manage their learning environment and ultimately, professional performance needs. Speech pathology students require sufficient gross and fine motor skills to undertake effective assessment and management of clients with communication and swallowing disorders. Examples of gross motor skills that are important for speech pathology practice include standing next to a client to observe their swallow, moving to observe a communicative interaction, bending to observe the inside of a client's mouth, carrying assessment materials such as toys. Fine motor skills are required for a range of tasks including modifying foods and fluid for a swallowing assessment, demonstrating the use of alternative and augmentative communication devices, and being able to accurately produce speech sounds to model to clients.

Possible career paths include:

• Hospitals and health centres
  • Treat and diagnose children and adults in hospitals, health clinics and rehabilitation centres.
• Teaching and consultancy
  • Educate others about communication and swallowing impairments, intervention and management.
• Disability and special needs
  • Opportunities exist in specialised centres which assist people with hearing impairment, cerebral palsy and intellectual disability.