About the School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport
La Trobe is changing the face of health and wellbeing in Australia and abroad. Our teaching and research programs in the School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport are helping to build quality health systems that, in turn, build healthy communities.
Comprising three departments – the Department of Community and Clinical Health, the Department of Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Prosthetics and Orthotics and the Department of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition Sciences – our goal is to transform health and wellbeing education, research and practice.
We foster lifelong learning for health professionals through undergraduate, postgraduate, and graduate research degrees and continuing professional development programs that equip them to upskill, reskill, advance into leadership roles or pursue research.
We also provide students with access to an extensive network of healthcare services and industry partners. Our outstanding placement programs provide future health professionals with real world experiences.
Our researchers specialise in most areas of allied health including sport and exercise medicine, social inclusion of people with cognitive disabilities, and the treatment of aphasia and stroke.
Our goal is to improve community health and wellbeing by producing outstanding graduates and research outcomes that set best practice in audiology, nutrition and dietetics, occupational therapy, orthoptics, physiotherapy, podiatry, prosthetics and orthotics, social work and social policy, speech pathology, and sport and exercise science.
Practice-based education
Our undergraduate and postgraduate programs feature practice-based education that delivers outstanding graduate employment outcomes.
Our students benefit from formal academic training, augmented by sustained and supported work-based experiences in a range of clinical, community, industry and private practice settings.
The School’s innovative teaching facilities and on-site clinics also provide students with hands-on experience that complements their theoretical training.
Our programs are fully accredited by the relevant professional bodies, making our graduates work-ready and able to register to practice in their respective fields.
Research with impact
The School has outstanding researchers who are working to improve health and wellbeing across communities and the lifespan.
The Australian Research Council's Excellence in Research for Australia ranks many of our disciplines as well above world standard. Our researchers have received prestigious awards and fellowships in recognition of their achievements.
We have a strong reputation in professional practice, especially in sport and exercise medicine, social inclusion of people with cognitive disabilities, and the treatment of aphasia and stroke.
Our research aligns with La Trobe University’s five research themes: Sustainable food and agriculture; Resilient environments and communities; Healthy people, families and communities; Understanding and preventing disease; and Social change and equity.
Research centres
The School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport is home to three leading research centres.
The Centre for Research Excellence in Aphasia Recovery and Rehabilitation is a National Health and Medical Research Council-funded centre that aims to transform the health and wellbeing of people with aphasia and their families. The Centre’s research program champions enhanced, cost-effective and sustainable interdisciplinary aphasia rehabilitation and community service.
Find out more about the Centre.
The La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre is a world-leading, collaborative centre for sport and exercise medicine research. The Centre’s research impacts on policy, clinical practice, activity participation, and health and wellbeing, in Australia and internationally. It translates research findings to key stakeholders including the international research community, health practitioners and the general public.
Find out more about the Centre.
The Living with Disability Research Centre conducts research to help improve practices, programs and policies that support the social inclusion of people with cognitive disabilities. The Centre’s research program focuses on building a robust evidence base for the disability sector, and the broader community, to address the complex and multifaceted problems facing people with cognitive disability, their families and carers.
Find out more about the Centre.