Speech and Language Therapy

Speech and language therapy is an allied health profession concerned with the assessment and treatment of communication disorders and difficulties with eating, drinking, and swallowing. Speech and language therapists work with people of all ages, from infants and young children with developmental language disorders to adults who have acquired communication difficulties following stroke, brain injury, or neurological disease. At Roehampton University, the BSc Speech and Language Therapy is a three-year full-time programme accredited by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and approved by the Health and Care Professions Council, meaning that successful graduates are eligible for professional registration and autonomous practice.

The programme develops the scientific foundation that speech and language therapy requires: linguistics, phonetics, psychology, anatomy and physiology of the speech and hearing systems, and the neuroscience of language are all essential components. Clinical reasoning and assessment skills are developed alongside this knowledge base, and you will learn how to identify and evaluate communication and swallowing difficulties using standardised and informal assessment tools, and how to design and implement therapeutic interventions that are evidence-based and person-centred. Clinical placement is central to the programme: you will spend significant time in supervised practice with real clients in NHS and community settings, developing the professional competence and clinical judgment that registration requires.

Speech and language therapists work across the NHS, community health services, schools, private practice, and specialist residential settings. Paediatric practice, adult acquired communication disorders, neurodegenerative conditions, autism spectrum conditions, and voice disorders are among the specialist areas within the profession. Demand for qualified therapists is consistent, and the profession offers a clearly structured career pathway with opportunities for specialist practice and research.

Some graduates go on to postgraduate study in specialist areas of speech and language pathology, academic research, or related health sciences. Roehampton's accredited programme provides the clinical and academic preparation for a career in a profession that makes a direct and meaningful difference to the lives of the people it serves.