Master of Speech Pathology, Courses and degrees, data, 2025, domestic, BU, La Trobe University

Entry requirements and pathways

Academic entry requirement

Prerequisites

Successful completion of an Australian bachelor degree (or equivalent).

Selection criteria

All students are expected to undertake a four-week bridging course at the Melbourne (Bundoora) Campus, which is designed to enable students to develop foundation knowledge in Speech Pathology (including human bioscience (anatomy and physiology), linguistics (phonetics and grammar) and problem-based learning) which will serve as a basis for their future studies in Speech Pathology.
Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of 70 (calculated across entire completed degree) in any of the following:
- Australian bachelor level degree (or equivalent)
- Australian masters by coursework degree (or equivalent)
- Australian graduate diploma (or equivalent)
Alternatively, applicants who have completed an Honours year (subsequent to a bachelor level degree) are eligible to apply with a minimum H2A grade

Note: Meeting minimum prerequisites does not guarantee an offer of a place. Entry into all La Trobe courses is based on competitive selection and there may be limited places available.

Special Entry Access Schemes (SEAS)

For information on adjustment factors that may be applicable, such as those through Special Entry and Access Schemes (SEAS) and other La Trobe special access schemes see: Special Entry Access Schemes (SEAS)

Core participation requirements

Core Participation Requirements are abilities, attributes and behaviours that are required to undertake learning activities and professional experience in your course. These requirements are provided for your information and are not entry requirements. Core Participation Requirements are also referred to as Inherent Requirements by other institutions.

La Trobe University wants you to understand the Core Participation Requirements of your course so you can:

determine if you may need support during your studies; and
make an informed decision about whether the course is suitable for you.

If there are any Core Participation Requirements listed below that you do not feel capable of demonstrating, we may be able to make adjustments that may support your studies. Please contact the AccessAbility Hub or your Course Coordinator to discuss any adjustments you may need.

As a La Trobe student, you will also need to abide by the Student Charter and meet any professional accreditation requirements of your course.

Core requirement

Students must be able to manage their own responses and behaviour to work effectively in a range of learning environments with diverse people and tasks. This includes the capacity to be receptive and respond appropriately to constructive feedback. Students should also be able to work with others in a team or group environment and make and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of individuals in order to complete tasks or for professional practice.

See also Student behaviours policy for more information.

Course-specific requirement

Speech Pathology students will be exposed to health and human service contexts in which they will encounter diversity and adversity and will be required to draw upon behavioural, emotional and relational skills to manage these situations in a professional manner. They must have the ability to recognise, interpret and respond appropriately to behavioural cues. Effective communication, including verbal and non-verbal communication is also fundamental to speech pathology practice and needs to be respectful, clear, attentive, empathetic, honest, and non-judgmental. Strong interpersonal communication skills are needed so that students can undertake speech pathology practice with clients who communicate, eat and drink in different ways. Strong written communication skills are needed so that students have the capacity to construct coherent written communication appropriate to the circumstances such as report writing and client notes. All these skills are needed so that students can continuously develop their speech pathology skills during placements and throughout their careers. Students must also be able to manage personal responses, beliefs, or preferences such that they can work with diverse groups of people who express varied cultural, religious and gender identities.

https://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/SPAweb/Resources_For_Speech_Pathologists/Professional_Standards/Professional_Standards/SPAweb/Resources_for_Speech_Pathologists/CBOS/Professional_Standards.aspx?hkey=583a56af-74e0-4111-95fa-656502269967

Core requirement

Students must be able to locate, acquire, retain and apply knowledge as part of their learning and for assessment. They must have the ability to sustain their attention over a designated period, maintain their focus in a variety of learning environments and remember information long enough to complete tasks in a reasonable and safe timeframe.

Course-specific requirement

Safe and effective delivery of speech pathology practice is based on comprehensive knowledge that must be sourced, understood and applied appropriately, and includes conceptualising and using appropriate knowledge in response to academic assessment items. It also includes appropriately applying knowledge of theory, research evidence, policies and procedures in the class and practice settings. Literacy skills are required to: convey spoken and written messages accurately and effectively in a practice setting; paraphrase, summarise and reference in accordance with appropriate academic conventions in written assignments. Competent application of numeracy skills is also essential in speech pathology to facilitate the safe and effective delivery of care. Examples include interpreting standardised assessments accurately; counting the number of times a client stutters in a given time period and calculating the number of times a client produces a sound correctly.

Core requirement

Students should possess the ability to interact with visual, auditory or tactile inputs sufficiently to manage their learning environment and to meet professional performance needs.

Course-specific requirement

Speech pathology students must be able to demonstrate adequate visual and auditory acuity for safe and effective delivery of care on clinical placements and throughout their careers. Visual acuity is required for students to detect subtle changes in a client's non-verbal communication skills, observe a communication environment and to assess and manage clients with reading comprehension and written expression needs. Auditory acuity is also essential for effective speech pathology practice. Tasks requiring auditory skills include the ability to detect different productions of speech sounds accurately, detect subtle changes in voice quality, the occurrence and frequency of stuttering, and word and grammatical errors during speech production.

Core requirement

Gross motor skills: Students should possess the strength, range of motion, coordination and mobility sufficient to manage their learning environment and ultimately, professional performance needs.

Fine motor skills: Students should possess the manual dexterity and fine motor skills sufficient to manage their learning environment and ultimately, professional performance needs.

Course-specific requirement

Speech pathology students require sufficient gross and fine motor skills to undertake effective assessment and management of clients with communication and swallowing disorders. Examples of gross motor skills that are important for speech pathology practice include standing next to a client to observe their swallow, moving to observe a communicative interaction, bending to observe the inside of a client's mouth, carrying assessment materials such as toys. Fine motor skills are required for a range of tasks including modifying foods and fluid for a swallowing assessment, demonstrating the use of alternative and augmentative communication devices, and being able to accurately produce speech sounds to model to clients.

Credit for previous study (advanced standing)

Credit for previous study (advanced standing) is the recognition of prior study or learning that can be counted towards a qualification. This can reduce the number of subjects required to complete your course. The amount of credit received depends on the level and relevance of your previous study and the number of subjects completed.

The University will designate courses where there is only admission into Year 1 of the course. In these cases, there is limited credit. See list of limited entry courses.

To check if this course is available for credit, please visit the Advanced standing webpage.

Defer

Find out if you can defer

Pathways

There are currently no alternative Pathway courses for this course.

Use the Pathways Tool to discover other courses with pathway options available.

Questions about the course?

Check when course applications close and find out how to apply directly.

Book a 1:1 consultation

Call 1300 135 045

Book a one-on-one

Book a consultation with us to get advice on your study options.

Book a 1:1 consultation

Live chat

Chat is available from 9am to 5pm AEST Monday to Friday during business days.

Live chat

Ask a question

Submit a question online. We'll get back to you within the next business day.

Ask a question

BACK: Overview NEXT: What you'll study

What you'll study

Sample course structure

Please note, the following course structure is indicative and subject to change depending on your course location, offer year or how you tailor your course with specialisations, majors, minors and electives. Structures for the following year are not normally finalised until October, so the sample provided is based on the most recently approved structure. For more information, please refer to the La Trobe University Handbook.

To qualify for the award of Master of Speech Pathology, students must complete a total of 240 credit points across 2 years.

Year 1 requires the completion of 120 credit points including:

120 credit points from chosen Core

Study options

Core subjects are required subjects in your course. You need to complete these subjects to attain your degree.

Subject name	Subject code	Year	Credit points
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY MODULE	LTU0AIM	1	0
ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION IN SPEECH PATHOLOGY CLINIC	HCS5AIB	1	15
CRITICAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EVIDENCE	HCS5CIE	1	15
EVIDENCE IN PRACTICE IN SPEECH PATHOLOGY	HCS4EPS	1	15
INTRODUCTION TO SPEECH PATHOLOGY PRACTICE	HCS4ISP	1	15
ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION A	HCS5AIA	1	30
ASSESSMENT OF COMMUNICATION AND SWALLOWING	HCS4ACS	1	30
ADVANCED SEMINARS IN SPEECH PATHOLOGY	HCS5ASP	2	15
SPEECH PATHOLOGY PRACTICE A	HCS5SPA	2	15
SPEECH PATHOLOGY PRACTICE B	HCS5SPB	2	15
THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION AND MANAGEMENT	HCS5TIM	2	15
SPEECH PATHOLOGY PRACTICE D	HCS5SPD	2	30
SPEECH PATHOLOGY PRACTICE E	HCS5SPE	2	30

Work-Based Learning

Compulsory placements (Work Based Learning)
During this course, you will participate in one or more supervised Work Based Learning (WBL) placements designed to allow you to practice newly acquired skills, behaviours and knowledge while integrating theory with practice. The placements will immerse you in professional work culture, enabling you to develop and further enhance your skills. WBL provides you with the opportunity to gain valuable industry experience at one or more of our local, interstate or international industry partners or agencies. WBL placements will generally be arranged by the College based Placements Operation Team or Experiential Learning Team at La Trobe University. The number of hours undertaken can vary considerably, depending on the requirements of the course. Students may incur additional costs and it may be necessary to travel or relocate to complete a specific placement. Please refer to the individual subject entries for more information.

See La Trobe University Handbook for more details

The Handbook contains detailed course information designed for enrolled students, including course structures, electives and options. The delivery of this course can vary between campuses.

View course information for Melbourne (Bundoora)