Speech and Language Therapy

Speech and language therapy is a healthcare profession dedicated to helping people who experience difficulties with communication or swallowing. Those difficulties take many forms: a child who is not developing language at the expected rate, an adult who has lost the ability to speak or swallow following a stroke, a person with autism who finds social communication challenging, someone with a stammer that affects their confidence, or a child with hearing loss learning to communicate effectively. Speech and language therapists work with people across the full span of life, applying clinical expertise and human understanding to help them communicate as fully and independently as possible.

At the University of Essex, this three-year full-time BSc prepares you for clinical practice as a speech and language therapist. The programme develops your understanding of how communication and swallowing work, what can go wrong, and how evidence-based therapeutic interventions can help. You will engage with the clinical, linguistic, and psychological dimensions of communication disorders, developing assessment, treatment planning, and interpersonal skills through classroom learning and supervised clinical placements in a range of settings.

Successful completion of the degree leads to eligibility to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council as a speech and language therapist. The typical entry tariff is 136 UCAS points.

Registered speech and language therapists work in the NHS, independent healthcare, schools, early years settings, residential care, and private practice. Clinical specialisms include child language and communication, voice, fluency, neurological communication disorders, acquired language impairment including aphasia, and dysphagia. The profession offers genuine variety, the opportunity to build specialist expertise over a career, and the reward of making a direct difference to people's ability to participate in the social world.

Many therapists also pursue postgraduate study in specialist clinical areas or in clinical research.