University degrees

What does a typical undergraduate degree cover?

Each degree course is slightly different from each other, with different institutions offering different structures depending on their particular-skill set. Each university will be able to give you more specific details about its courses in their prospectus.

No matter where you obtain your degree, you will be learning the scientific fundamentals behind language communication and eating, drinking and swallowing needs in both an academic setting and through practical, in person placements.

Conditions and differences

Speech and language therapy covers a wide range of conditions and differences for all ages including:

• Acquired cognitive communication disorders
• Acquired language disorders
• Acquired motor speech disorders
• Acquired neurological disorders and/or conditions affecting the brain and/or central nervous system including : Parkinson’s disease, Stroke, Multiple sclerosis, Motor neurone disease, Huntington’s disease, Dementia
• Cleft lip and/or palate and other craniofacial conditions
• Dysphagia (eating, drinking and swallowing disorders)
• Fluency disorders
• Head and neck cancers and/or traumas
• Hearing impairment
• Language disorders
• Mental health
• Neurodevelopmental conditions and/or learning disabilities 
• Speech sound disorders
• Voice disorders and voice modification

What skills will I learn?

Communication – You will develop skills towards becoming an expert in communication and eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties

Partnerships – You will learn to advocate collaboratively with service users, their families and other agencies and professionals involved in their care to transform their lives.

Leadership and lifelong learning – SLTs are leaders in communication and EDS difficulties and lead the way in supporting service users to achieve their goals. You will start your journey of lifelong learning to provide evidence-based interventions for service users.

Research and evidence-base practice – You will learn to search for, critically evaluate and contribute to the body of professional knowledge and best practice.

Professional autonomy and accountability – You will learn about the scope of practice for SLTs and how to take responsibility as an autonomous and accountable professional.

Practical learning/ placements

Practice based learning opportunities are an integral part of pre-registration training.  Each learner must achieve at least 150 sessions of practice-based learning throughout their course.  One session is equivalent to half a day. Placements are either concurrent (you attend for 1-2 days per week over a period of several weeks with the remaining weekdays in university) or block (usually 3-5 days per week over a period of several weeks). More information can be provided by each institution.

Throughout your course, you will have the opportunity to see a variety of service users in a variety of settings.  For example:

• children in a community clinic who have difficulties with their speech sounds
• children with eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties in special educational needs schools
• premature babies in neonatal units who need help developing feeding skills
• Public health placements encompass addressing wider messaging around developing communication and EDS awareness and intervention at a global level
• adults nearing the end of their life in hospice placements having communication difficulties
• people with communication and swallowing difficulties who have had a stroke in acute hospitals settings

You’ll practice a wide variety of practical skills during placements. If you feel that you would have difficulties with some of these skills, please speak to your prospective HEIs before applying.  They will be able to discuss reasonable adjustments available and how students are supported on placements and on the course.

Examples of skills:

• looking in the mouths of children and adults to assess oral movements
• cleaning an adult or child’s mouth
• complete infection control procedures including hand washing and decontaminating equipment
• holding babies
• assisting in positioning a service user
• assisting and/or feeding service users
• touching a service users face and neck to assess movements
• travelling to different placement locations
• having difficult discussions with service users and their families
• talking to service users about the results of an assessment and future intervention
• being able to concentrate in a busy and noisy environment such as a nursery or hospital ward
• being able to talk to people through different methods e.g. over the phone, through emails
• composing reports

Where can I study?

There are currently 24 universities offering accredited speech and language courses across the UK, so you can choose a place to study that suits you.

Use our interactive map to find universities that offer accredited speech and language therapy undergraduate, postgraduate and master’s courses.

These programmes are approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and accredited by the RCSLT.

Click the pin of the university location and the details of the university. Their programmes will then appear in a pop-out box.

You can filter by delivery mode. For example, part-time or full-time study, or undergraduate or postgraduate level.

You can also view a list of universities offering accredited programmes or download the list as a PDF.

Funding your studies – England

Visit the GOV.UK student finance pages for basic information about student finance in England.

The guide at The Funding Clinic covers more detailed information about the student loan in England, including the special arrangements for loans for postgraduate students on healthcare courses.

Students who have taken out a student loan are able to access another loan to study these courses. This is not the standard postgraduate student loan but the loan accessed by undergraduate students to cover tuition fees and support living costs.

In December 2019, the Government announced that, in addition to existing student support, from September 2020 students studying the nursing, midwifery and allied health subjects will receive a non-repayable and non-means tested grant of at least £5,000 a year.

We have confirmed that this funding will be available to speech and language therapy students. Funding will be offered to existing students as well as new course entrants.

There will be additional funding available to attract students to the highest-priority subjects based on the Government’s assessment of vulnerability and workforce priorities.

Additional funding will also be available for childcare and to support regional vulnerabilities. Total additional funding could come to as much as £3,000 per year for some students.

Useful guides

• NHS Learning Support Fund
• MoneySavingExpert: Student loans mythbusting

Funding your studies – Scotland

In Scotland, students are supported under the general funding system and can apply for bursaries and loans depending on status and income.

Additional allowances are available depending on circumstances such as:

• dependants’ grant for carers
• lone parents’ grant
• disabled students’ allowance

You can also claim travel and accommodation costs for placements.

Visit the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) website or call 0300 555 0505 for more information.

Useful guides

• SAAS funding guide (PDF)
• The Funding Clinic: Studying in Scotland

Funding your studies – Wales

The NHS Wales Bursary

The NHS Bursary Scheme is provided by the Student Awards Services. The bursary includes:

1. The tuition fees of your Health Education Course
2. A £1,000 non means tested grant
3. A means tested bursary
4. If eligible, support for costs such as travel, accommodation (whilst on placement), Childcare, Disabled Student Allowance, Dependents Allowance and Parental Learning Allowance
5. If eligible, you will have access (separately) to a reduced student maintenance loan.

If you choose to access funding via the Bursary Scheme, you are required to commit to working within Wales for:

• A period of two years after your course

Things to note:

• If you receive the NHS Wales bursary, you can claim the (non-means tested) reduced rate maintenance loan from Student Finance Wales alongside the full bursary package. You are not entitled to claim a full loan and the full NHS bursary.
• If you have already taken out a student maintenance loan with Student Finance Wales for a previous degree, you won’t be eligible to claim for the reduced maintenance loan. However, you are still eligible for all other parts of the bursary.

Other options

If you do not wish to commit to working within Wales on completion of your course, you can opt out of the NHS Wales Bursary Scheme.

• If you are a Welsh domiciled student and you opt out, you will have access to the standard student support package available from Student Finance Wales. This would include a fees loan and a maintenance loan.
• If you are a Non-Welsh domiciled student and you opt out, you will continue to be eligible to study in Wales but you will need to secure funding for fees and maintenance from an alternative source. This may include funding from the relevant funding body in your home country or self-finance.

Funding your studies – Northern Ireland

For students who have lived in Northern Ireland for the last three years, the Department of Health in Northern Ireland will pay tuition fees directly to the university. Students can apply for an income-assessed bursary to help with living costs and may also be eligible to apply for a reduced rate non-income assessed loan.

Students from EU countries who are ordinarily resident and studying in Northern Ireland may also qualify for financial support. The amount of bursary available to students will depend on an individual and family’s income.

For further information contact NI Direct on 028 902 577 77 or visit:

• NI Direct Government Services: Health professional courses
• The Funding Clinic: Studying in Northern Ireland