The Student Room Group

BSC or MSC Speech therapy?

Hi! I am currently training to teach but I am not sure it is for me (love working with young people, but the behaviour management can be really challenging.)

I have also been really interested in changing into speech & language therapy and I feel training to teach has helped me develop some transferable skills for SLT.

My question is, for those who are doing or have studied speech therapy, what is the difference between the undergraduate & postgraduate course? Which would you recommend? What is the course like? I am interested in either UCLAN or Manchester met.

My concern about doing the undergraduate course would be my age (I’m 23 so I’d be a lot older than the undergraduate students) and obviously it’s another year of student loans to take out, but I’ve read that the work load is a lot better compared to the MSC.

What are your thoughts? What would you recommend?
(edited 2 months ago)
Original post by elliew200118
Hi! I am currently training to teach but I am not sure it is for me (love working with young people, but the behaviour management can be really challenging.)

I have also been really interested in changing into speech & language therapy and I feel training to teach has helped me develop some transferable skills for SLT.

My question is, for those who are doing or have studied speech therapy, what is the difference between the undergraduate & postgraduate course? Which would you recommend? What is the course like? I am interested in either UCLAN or Manchester met.

My concern about doing the undergraduate course would be my age (I’m 23 so I’d be a lot older than the undergraduate students) and obviously it’s another year of student loans to take out, but I’ve read that the work load is a lot better compared to the MSC.

What are your thoughts? What would you recommend?

Both courses will get you to the same point when you graduate - a band 5 position in the NHS. A pre-reg masters is a condensed version of the three-year undergrad course. Your age won't matter as healthcare courses attract a lot of mature students so there will be mix of students on your course.

With regards to finance, a few things to bear in mind. Both courses should attract undergraduate funding so you would be eligible for maintenance and tuition fee loans. As you intend to study at a uni in England, you would also be able to apply to the NHS Learning Support Fund for the annual training grant and other benefits.Check the fees being charged for the masters - UCLAN charges £11,000 per year, which is above the £9,535 tuition fee loan that will be paid by student finance. You would need to pay the difference to the uni.
Reply 2
Original post by elliew200118
Hi! I am currently training to teach but I am not sure it is for me (love working with young people, but the behaviour management can be really challenging.)
I have also been really interested in changing into speech & language therapy and I feel training to teach has helped me develop some transferable skills for SLT.
My question is, for those who are doing or have studied speech therapy, what is the difference between the undergraduate & postgraduate course? Which would you recommend? What is the course like? I am interested in either UCLAN or Manchester met.
My concern about doing the undergraduate course would be my age (I’m 23 so I’d be a lot older than the undergraduate students) and obviously it’s another year of student loans to take out, but I’ve read that the work load is a lot better compared to the MSC.
What are your thoughts? What would you recommend?

I am a SLT / lecturer. But as a prospective student, I faced the same decision whether to apply to the undergraduate or master's route. I went with the undergraduate route for a better work-life balance.

Just to reassure you, I actually did a research class recently where I polled the average age of undergraduate students and it was 22-23 off the top of my head. I teach students in their 30s, 40s and I think there is even one in their 50s. So you would stand out at all in an UG class.

I teach across several programmes and my perception / student feedback is that the workload on the masters is
much higher which makes sense. There is simply less contact time to go through the same material so there is more focus on students going through pre- and post-session work independently. Again this makes sense as they all come with relevant degrees and don't need to be taught generic study skills like a school leaver would. Class sizes on most courses are usually much smaller than equivalent UG cohorts so you will get to know your cohort and staff better / vice versa. Admissions wise - much more competitive to get on the masters so maybe consider both?

I don't think there is a better option per se, especially since lots of the UG courses have moved from 4 to 3 years, so it will be very personal to you whether that extra year makes any difference. I suspect not at your age.
(edited 2 months ago)

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