Find out more about speech-language therapy

Some therapists talk about their work and there is also a brief description of the process for training to become a speech-language therapist and contact details for relevant institutions in New Zealand.

Introduction

There are three accredited speech-language therapy training programmes currently available in New Zealand. These programmes have been accredited by NZSTA. Two of these are undergraduate degrees, and the third is a post-graduate degree. For more information about the individual degrees, see below.

Speech-language therapists generally work in either the health sector, education sector, or in private practice. They work with a broad range of clients, including children and adults, and are involved in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment/management of a variety of communication and swallowing difficulties.

Speech language Therapists talk about their work

For more information about the work Speech-Language Therapists do, or to read stories about individual Speech-Language Therapists, follow the links below:

Healthcare Heroes - Choose your health career (pg 24)
Article from Sunday Star Times - A Day in the Life of a Speech Language Therapist, 21 March 2010
Article from NZ Herald - A Career in Speech-Language Therapy, 20 March 2010
The New Zealand Government's careers page- http://www.careers.govt.nz/
The Health Careers website - includes a profile of a speech-language therapist
Video of a Paediatric Speech-language Therapist at work (2009) - after you click play there is a delay while the video downloads

View flash video

Scholarships

There are a number of scholarships available for those wishing to study speech-language therapy, health scholarships and general scholarships. Eligiblity criteria vary. Go to scholarships for more information

University Programmes

There are three programmes in Speech-Language Therapy currently offered in New Zealand. All three degrees have been accredited by NZSTA.

Massey University, Albany Campus - North Shore City

The University of Auckland

University of Canterbury

Massey University, Albany Campus - North Shore City

The Speech-Language Therapy programme at Massey University is a four year professional degree. The degree combines academic coursework with clinical experiences in Speech-Language Therapy. During the course of the degree, students take part in clinical placements alongside practising Speech-Language Therapists working in Auckland and throughout the country.

For application forms and more information, visit:

http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/study/programme-course-and-paper-search/programme.cfm?action=show_results&submit=Search&prog_id=93316

or contact:

Helen Southwood

H.Southwood@massey.ac.nz

Phone: (09) 414 0800 ext. 41522

College of Education

Massey University

The University of Auckland

The University of Auckland offers a Master of Speech-Language Therapy Practice (MSLTPrac). This course is a full time, two year course of study, which may be of interest to graduates in related subjects such as psychology, education, or linguistics. In addition to undertaking academic and clinical courses, students also complete a research project.

For application forms and more information, visit:

http://www.psych.auckland.ac.nz/slt/mslt.htm

or contact:

Suzanne Purdy

Head of Speech Science

sc.purdy@auckland.ac.nz

Phone: (09) 373 7599 ext. 82073

Philippa Williams

Clinical Director

pm.williams@auckland.ac.nz

Phone: (09) 373 7599 ext. 82726

University of Canterbury

A four year undergraduate degree is offered through the Deaprtment of Communication Disorders at the University of Canterbury. The longest-running degree programme in New Zealand, this courses offers academic and clinical coursework in speech-language therapy. Students participate in clinical placements throughout the semester, with the majority of these experiences taking place within Christchurch.

For application forms, and more information, visit:

http://www.cmds.canterbury.ac.nz/

or contact:

Sue Bradley

Departmental Secretary

sue.bradley@canterbury.ac.nz

Phone: (03) 364 2431

Michael Robb

Head of Department

michael.robb@canterbury.ac.nz

Phone: (03) 364 2987 ext. 7077

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