MSc in Speech and Langauge Therapy in UL

geminilady

hey i was just wondering has anyone done this course or are going to do it? I was planning to do an arts degree hopefully in psychology and then doing the masters. Is there much competition for places? Is an arts degree a good choice for applying? If anyone has any information it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

acuv

You cannot do this course unless your have a degree in Speech & Language Therapy. You MUST be a QUALIFIED speech & language therapist.
There are no short cuts into this profession by doing a masters degree.
How can you do or expect to be admitted on to an MSc when you have no training or qualifications in this profession?????!!!!
This is equivalent to doing a degree in maths or physics & then applying for a MSc in physiotherapy. Aint gonna happen!
Apply for the degree itself...sorry about been so blunt but you obviously dont have a very good careers guidance teacher in your school...

geminilady

acuv wrote:

You cannot do this course unless your have a degree in Speech & Language Therapy. You MUST be a QUALIFIED speech & language therapist.
There are no short cuts into this profession by doing a masters degree.
How can you do or expect to be admitted on to an MSc when you have no training or qualifications in this profession?????!!!!
This is equivalent to doing a degree in maths or physics & then applying for a MSc in physiotherapy. Aint gonna happen!
Apply for the degree itself...sorry about been so blunt but you obviously dont have a very good careers guidance teacher in your school...

ok thanks for d reply

blipp

UL has two MSc courses in Speech and Language Therapy.

One is for qualified speech therapists.

The other, which i imagine was what the poster was actually talking about, is a graduate conversion masters for people with a 2.2H or higher degree in a related area ie. psychology, life sciences, linguistics etc. It is a 2-year high intensity course that takes place over summers as well. This course qualifies the graduate with the same qualification as someone who does the BSc in Speech Therapy in TCD, UCG or UCC.

If you have any questions, just PM me.

ghastly

The MSc. is most definitely available to anyone with an existing undergraduate and is definitely a route to become a qualified Speech and Language Therapist, regardless of what your undergraduate is. I'm starting the course in two weeks, so I can say this for sure.

What they do prefer, however, is that you have a related undergraduate degree, such as in linguistics or psychology. You also have to demonstrate your interest and knowledge of the field when you apply. This means that if you want to stand a good chance of being selected for interview, you should start doing some shadowing of therapists and visiting day-care centres.

It's a good learning experience to do the shadowing anyway, it's not just to get you into the course. I'd recommend trying to cover many of the areas a therapist works in: paediatrics, adults, learning disabilities (both children and adults), acquired injuries, dysphagia (swallowing difficulties) and also older people.

You'll probably find that if you contact any therapist about looking for help with getting some experience, they'll be more than helpful. If you want to pm me, I can give you a list of places in Dublin I visited.

To be accepted into the course, you have to go through two phases. The first is the written application phase, which is at the start of December. That's the one you need the shadowing experience for. The seconds phase, if you get accepted, is an interview phase.

Despite being called an 'interview', you actually don't get asked questions at all during the day. Instead, the focus of the day is on your interpersonal skills and ability to work as a team. You have to do three presentations on the day. One is a presentation you'll have prepared in advance (which you'll present on your own) and the other two are ones that are given to you on the day (which you'll do as a group).

About 140 to 160 people apply each year for the MSc course, which has space for 25 people on average every year, so competition is high, but if you get enough experience and prepare well in advance you'll be fine

Blondie1988

hey im thinking of doin the M.Sc. in UL. Im have a degree in physiology. How do you find the course? Id imagine its very demanding being compacted into two years!

Answerspleases

Hi there,

I am a mature student and looking into doing a Degree in Speech and Language therapy. I did not have a great leaving cert and just wondering if anyone could tell me if there are any course i could be doing to help with my chances of getting into this Degree? I studied performing arts which consisted of singing, acting, dancing but primarily singing at college and also studied physiology of the voice and Anatomy while doing this Diploma. I have just completed my Fetac 5 in Special Needs Assisting will these help my chances at all?
Any information anyone might have would be very much appreciated

Cheers

Larianne

Hi there.

The Special Needs Assisting course will help. Do you have much work experience with that? Also, your course in performing arts will look good too. You will have the basic understanding of the anatomy of speech etc.

I guess the college will be more worried about your academic ability. I would strongly recommend looking into doing the access to Science course in UCD if possible. Here's the information: http://www.ucd.ie/adulted/courses/ex430.htm It basically covers the Leaving Certificate Science subjects plus you do study skills - which is excellent!

TCD is the only university to offer it as an undergraduate in the Republic as far as I know.

University of Ulster (Jordanstown) also offer it but that would be under the UK system of UCAS. You need to sit the Ulster HPAT exam in January for that. And application for UCAS is earlier than CAO application. It can be easier to get a place through the UCAS system though.

I would contact the Head of department in Speech and Language Therapy in TCD and explain what experience you already have and ask what should you do to make your application stronger.

My advice would be to try get on the UCD Access to Science course. Work part-time as a carer/special needs assistant and get as much shadow experience and volunteer work as you can. Also, go to TCD's open day and speak to students about the course.

I've done out tips for applying as a mature student here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055676871

It might help you out.

Answerspleases

Thanks Larianne,

Thats a great help, makes me feel a bit more postive about my chances
. Just one more question if i did leaving cert Biolodgy do you think that will help also?

Larianne

As well as the Access course? It's no harm. You'll be doing a lot of Anatomy and Physiology in the course and it will give you a base if you did Biology beforehand.

Speak to someone in the department and see what they say. Whether the access course would be enough or if doing Biology would also help.

ni churraoin

As well as Trinity you can also do an undergraduate degree in Speech + Language therapy in NUI Galway and UCC. Galway allow 2places for mature students and I think UCC have either 3 or 5 places. I applied for all 3colleges this yr.....got interview in Galway+was successful+will be starting the course in Sept:D!!! I havent studied in 12yrs+this is my 1st degree. I have a cert in Physiology so that def helps. I also have been volunteering in a primary school+playschool on a reg basis since Nov to get used to working with children. I spoke with speech therapists in the HSE and spent time shadowing them in the hospital setting. When you go for an interview they want to make sure you know exactly what the job involves.....the type of clients/patients you will be treating.....the heavy work schedule.....the different type of settings you could be working in....what the college course involves etc. Definitely get experience shadowing and do some volunteer work because it shows you have a keen interest. Definitely have a chat with the head of the Speech department in the colleges, they will point you in the right direction
Good luck!!!!

Answerspleases

Thanks a mill to you both for the advice. much appreciated.

Feu

i definitely think its important to bear in mind the pace of the 2 year degree. I know people who did the Speech&Lang, and some who did the similar MSC in Occupational therapy and it is a huge amount of work to undertake in 2 years. Also, there can be a lot of travel involved, as altho the course is "based" in Limerick, you could be on placement pretty much anywhere in Ireland.

Don't mean to sound too negative, i think it's brilliant that a grad can do this in 2 years, but just advising people to think about it