Overview
Overview
Speech pathologists are experts in the field of human communication science, who help a diversity of people experiencing communication, eating and swallowing challenges.
As a speech pathologist, you may help children develop speech and language skills, provide feeding advice to parents of a baby born with cleft palate, use technology to enable communication, and support adults after a stroke, traumatic brain injury or onset of illness.
In this course, you will study speech and language development and explore the ways underlying conditions can impair swallowing and communication abilities. You’ll develop your clinical reasoning and learn practical skills, applying them to diverse cases.
In your first year, you’ll learn the foundations of human communication science and study interprofessional course units with students from other Health Science disciplines.
You’ll then delve into key practice areas, building the skills and knowledge needed to assess, diagnose and manage a range of client cases.
In your final year, you’ll apply your learnings at supervised placements in Curtin’s on-campus clinics and various community settings – including opportunities to practice in rural, remote and international locations. These placements will be completed alongside an individual research or collaborative professional honours project.
You’ll graduate this course with the expertise and confidence to begin your career as a speech pathologist.
This can be a physically and mentally challenging course. Please familiarise yourself with the inherent requirements before applying.
What jobs can the Speech Pathology course lead to?
Careers
- Speech pathologist
Industries
- Education and training
- Healthcare
- Public administration and safety
- Social assistance
What you'll learn
- apply knowledge of human communication science to the delivery of speech pathology services and research in diverse and changing settings
- critically analyse information to plan, implement and evaluate speech pathology services and research
- locate, extract and critically appraise evidence and information from a range of resources to solve theoretical and applied problems in human communication science
- demonstrate excellence in written, verbal and non-verbal communication skills appropriate to the discipline within a legal and ethical framework
- use technologies relevant to the human communication sciences to inform clinical practice and research
- understand and implement varied learning strategies, and take responsibility for ongoing professional and personal development
- incorporate and demonstrate awareness of global or international perspectives in health care to clinical practice and research in speech pathology
- demonstrate awareness of and respect for individual human rights and cultural diversity
- independently and collaboratively apply professional skills in an ethical manner across a range of professional settings
