• Macquarie Home »
• Faculty of Human Sciences »
• Department of Linguistics »
• Undergraduate »
• Bachelor of Speech and Hearing Sciences

In 2010 there will be significant changes to the Bachelor of Speech and Hearing Science (BSpHSc) degree program. For further information about these changes and how they affect students enrolled in the BSpHSc degree program please read the following FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) web pages.

• FAQ: BSpHSc 2010 - All Students
• FAQ: BSpHSc 2010 - Continuing Students

Continuing students (ie. students who commenced the degree before 2010) should start by reading the second FAQ and should then read the first FAQ.

New students (ie. students who will commence studies at Macquarie in 2010) need only read the first FAQ.

Background

The fields of Speech and Hearing Sciences are multi-disciplinary areas of study encompassing a number of traditional disciplines including Linguistics, Psychology, the Medical and Clinical Sciences, Biology, Physics, Computer Science and Engineering. This diverse field includes people whose focus is on basic research into cognitive, linguistic, psychological and physiological issues surrounding speech, hearing and language, people whose particular focus is on clinical research or clinical practice, as well as people whose prime interest is in the development of new speech, hearing and language technologies.

Successful practitioners, whether clinicians or scientists, need to be equipped with tools, methods and knowledge from diverse sources. The purpose of the Bachelor of Speech and Hearing Science is to properly equip future practitioners in the Speech and Hearing Sciences with the tools appropriate to these rapidly growing fields. Such tools come from the related disciplines and from evolving methodologies specific to the speech and hearing fields.

The Bachelor of Speech and Hearing Sciences consists of a number of core units covering introductory studies in Psychology and Linguistics, together with at least some basic studies in each of Statistics and Biology. Whilst this degree is structured around a single program it's possible to organise your program so that you particularly focus on speech or hearing.

Careers

Audiology and Speech and Language Pathology graduates will need to obtain the specific further professional qualifications that will enable them to practice professionally in their chosen field (see Clinical Practice Pathways [PDF 206kb])

Professional Recognition

• Audiologists must undertake further studies to qualify as a clinical practitioner.
• Speech and Language Pathologists must undertake further studies to qualify as a clinical practitioner.

Relevant Clinical Masters Degrees at Macquarie University

• Master of Clinical Audiology
• Master of Speech and Language Pathology

Honours

Students may also take an optional fourth year of study (an honours year) that focuses on research in the clinical and scientific areas associated with speech and hearing. An honours degree (at an appropriate level of achievement) is the normal pathway for entry to research degree such as the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). An honours degree is not a required prerequisite for entry to a clinical masters degree but it is a normal first step for people wishing to undertake a research or an academic career.

For details of the honours programs within the Department of Linguistics, click here.

Contacts

For details on who to contact about this degree program, click here.

Unit Rotations

Certain 300 level SPH units are only offered two out of three years. There is a rotation schedule for these three units. In any year one of these units is not available. For details of the rotation schedule for these units, click here.

Departmental Facilities

The Centre for Language Sciences (CLaS) within the Linguistics Department at Macquarie University contains a well equipped speech research laboratory. Also located within the Linguistics Department are both Audiology and Speech and Language Pathology clinics.

Interested in a career in Audiology or Speech pathology? Click here to listen to an audio of the Program Conveners and students discussing these programs.

[Back to top]