Overview Being able to communicate with others is a fundamental human pursuit. Speech, hearing and language professionals have the privilege of bringing that gift to the community whether that be through helping someone hear for the first time, assisting a stroke patient to speak again, or investigating how children acquire language. This course will prepare you for further study towards a career in a number of professions, including clinical work or research in audiology and speech language pathology, forensic speech science, the development of associated speech and hearing technologies, or teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). It will also provide you with a strong background in linguistics (human language) that can take you into careers such as journalism, marketing, education or management. KEY FEATURES This course focuses on the many aspects of the production and perception of spoken language, such as the way we produce speech sounds using the vocal apparatus; the way the brain (via the ear) responds or fails to respond to different aspects of speech and language; how languages differ in the way they use speech; how language develops in children; the relationship between language and culture; and how computers can be used in speech, hearing and language analysis. In preparation for a career as a speech language pathologist or audiologist, this course forms a pathway (subject to competitive entry) into our clinical masters courses. You can choose from a wide range of electives either as companion units to speech, hearing and language sciences, or as units of individual interest. In this way, you build your own course that's custom made to meet your individual needs. ACCREDITATION If you wish to qualify for clinical practice in either audiology or speech language pathology, you will need to do further (postgraduate) study to gain the appropriate professional accreditation. Macquarie offers masters degrees in audiology and speech language pathology. If you wish to become accredited as a TESOL practitioner, you will need to complete postgraduate study in this field. SUITABLE FOR Those who want to take the first step to a career as a speech pathologist or audiologist. This degree will help you enter these clinical masters programs and is also suitable for those interested in speech research and speech technology. Please note: Students thinking about applying for the Master of Speech and Language Pathology program at the completion of their undergraduate degree are required to have completed eight prerequisite subjects. Details of these subjects can be found here. Career Opportunities A Macquarie course can set your dream career in motion. PROFESSIONS audiologist forensic speech scientist speech, hearing or language researcher speech pathologist speech technologist TESOL practitioner editor or publisher professional roles in health organisations, eg marketing or health advocacy EMPLOYERS Appen Pty Ltd Australian Hearing Cochlear Ltd Hospitals Private clinical practices