MSc Audiology / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course description

"Manchester was the only choice for me - I was already living in the city and had heard it was one of the best places to study the subject in the country, if not in Europe.

"My experience of going back to university at the age of 31 was fantastic, as not only did I have a great deal of respect and awe for the institution in which I was studying, but I was also comparatively much more motivated to learn than the first time I went to university!"

Dave Jay / Pre-registration Clinical Scientist and MSc Audiology graduate

This Audiology course is aimed at anyone who wants to acquire or expand their knowledge of audiology. Advanced and Paediatric pathways are particularly well-suited for practising audiologists who want to prepare for advanced roles in clinical management, clinical practice, teaching and research.

The course consists of a mixture of audiology-specific units and those shared with health professionals from a range of other disciplines, enabling you to tailor the course to your own interests.

You may choose from the following pathways:

Audiology (general)

This pathway provides a conventional audiology curriculum with fixed units worth 120 credits:

  • Auditory Science;
  • Adult Auditory Assessment;
  • Adult Auditory Management & Rehabilitation;
  • Paediatric Audiology;
  • Vestibular Assessment & Management;
  • Professional Practice;
  • Research Methods.

For those wishing to do an MSc, there’s also a 60-credit dissertation unit.

Audiology (advanced)

This bespoke curriculum is those in advanced audiology roles in clinical management, clinical practice, teaching and research if you are already a practising audiologist.

There are 15 units and you can choose a selection from:

  • Customary audiology units: Auditory Science; Adult Auditory Assessment; Adult Auditory Management and Rehabilitation; Paediatric Audiology; Vestibular Assessment and Management.
  • Specialist optional units such as Neurosensory Sciences, Clinical Applications in Neurosensory Sciences, Adults with Complex Needs.
  • Multi-disciplinary optional units such as: Dementia - A Person Centred Approach to Enhancing Care, Support; Well-being or Health Policy, Strategy and Leadership.
  • Paediatric optional units: Effective Amplification in Infants and Children; Language Acquisition; Developing Deaf Child; Paediatric Assessment; Children with Complex Needs; Changing Paediatric Hearing
For those wishing to do an MSc dissertation, there’s also a 60-credit dissertation unit and Research Methods (15 credits) is mandatory.

Audiology (paediatric)

This pathway offers a bespoke curriculum for paediatric audiology roles if you are already a practising audiologist.

You can choose any of the bespoke curriculum provided at least 75-credits are from paediatric units.

Paediatric units include:

  • Effective Amplification in Infants and Children;
  • Language Acquisition;
  • Developing Deaf Child;
  • Paediatric Assessment;
  • Children with Complex Needs;
  • Changing Paediatric Hearing.

For those wishing to do an MSc dissertation, there’s also a 60-credit dissertation module and Research Methods (15 credits) is mandatory.

You may choose to complete 60 credits for a PGCert (exit award) or 120 credits for a PGDip. If your application onto the programme is successful, it is important you contact the programme team as soon as possible to discuss the units you wish to study, so an individualised timetable can be arranged.

On successful completion of 120 credits, progression to the full MSc qualification allows you to explore, in depth, a specific aspect of audiology practice, policy, research or education in a 60-credit, 12,000 to 15,000-word dissertation.

Aims

This course aims to:

  • enable you to critically evaluate and apply aspects of contemporary audiology and healthcare practice, policy, research and education;
  • foster positive values and attitudes that recognise and respect individual and cultural diversities and challenge discriminatory practice;
  • equip you with in-depth knowledge, understanding and skills to critically evaluate research and the evidence base for audiology practice that promotes optimal health and involves service users and carers in the delivery of care;
  • develop your abilities and skills in critical reflective practice, problem solving and creative ethical decision-making;
  • contribute to innovation, change and quality improvement in audiology and healthcare practice at both individual and organisational levels by equipping you with a systematic and critical understanding of relevant knowledge, theoretical frameworks and advanced skills;
  • enhance your career development and lifelong learning to support safe practice and the maintenance and enhancement of appropriate standards of audiology practice.
Additional aims for the MSc are to enable you, through the systematic, in-depth, exploration of a specific area of audiology practice, policy, research or education to extend your knowledge, understanding and ability to contribute to the advancement of audiology knowledge and practice at an individual and/or organisational level.

Special features

Inter-professional learning

You will have the opportunity to attend some professional practice lectures and workshops.

Wide range of units

In the Advanced and Paediatric pathways you can choose from a variety of units to customise the course to suit your own interests.

Research experience

You will be required to design and complete a research project as part of the course, helping develop your research skills and giving you the opportunity to focus on a specific area of interest within audiology.

Expert teaching

This course is led by members of the Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness (ManCAD), an internationally recognised multi-million pound hearing research programme. Manchester's hearing health research is benefiting as part of a £59 million investment through the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre, so MSc students will benefit greatly from studying in an intensive and high-quality research environment.

Additional course information

  • Reading list

The following books have been suggested by staff members for pre-course/core reading.

Introductory/background reading:

  • Welling, D and Ukstins, C (2013) Fundamentals of Audiology for the speech-language pathologist. Jones and Bartlett Learning.

This is a basic textbook that would be suitable for those with no prior knowledge of audiology or the auditory system. The following chapters are recommended:

  • Chapter 2: Sound and Hearing
  • Chapter 5: Pure Tone Audiometry and Masking
  • Chapter 9: Interpretation of Audiometric Results (please note audiogram symbols are from the USA; the UK uses slightly different symbols)

Other recommended introductory/background reading includes:

  • Tate-Maltby, M and Knight, P (2000), Audiology: An Introduction for Teachers and Other Professionals
  • Taylor, G and Bishop, J (1991), Being Deaf: The Experience of Deafness, Pinter Publishers, ISBN 0861871766

Some useful core textbooks:

  • Katz J (2009). Handbook of Clinical Audiology.( 7th Ed). Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia
  • Galfand, S (2009) Essentials of Audiology (4th Ed). Thieme Medical Publishers, New York
  • Dillon, H (2012) Hearing Aids (2nd Edition). Boomerang Press: Sydney

Teaching and learning

Many of the staff involved with this course are actively involved in either scientific or pedagogical research. Where possible, members of staff teach course units related to their research interests, so they are able to keep their teaching informed and up-to-date.

A large number of the teaching staff are also clinically trained audiologists, hearing therapists or hearing scientists.

We use a range of teaching and learning methods, including lectures, small group work, student-led seminars, problem-based learning and online learning.

In addition, you will be required to undertake independent study to further develop and consolidate your learning.

To develop clinical skills, you will be required to undertake practical skills training as part of the course.

Find out more by visiting the postgraduate teaching and learning page.

Coursework and assessment

You will be assessed using a variety of methods within individual units and across the course as a whole.

All assessments require you to integrate knowledge and understanding, and apply this to your own practice relevant to the outcomes of each unit.

Assessment methods include:

  • essays
  • case studies
  • assessed seminar presentations
  • literature reviews
  • written examinations
  • multiple choice exam questions

The full MSc qualification requires an extended written piece of work (12,000-15,000 words) that focuses on a specific aspect of audiology practice, policy or research in the form of an extended literature-based review.

A substantial and mandatory component of the MSc involves the design and completion of a high-quality research project. The research project component represents 33% of the MSc (600 hours or four months' full-time study).

The project is completed under supervision in an area related to audiology. The research project is an opportunity for you to consolidate much of your previous learning and to pursue a specialist area of interest.

Course unit details

Taught units can be studied in any order except where there are specific pre-requisites.

Not all optional units may run each year and will be subject to minimum numbers. You will meet with your course director to plan out a pathway that meets your needs.

Part-time students on the PGDip or MSc course will need to complete 60 credits per year as required for the award.

Attendance at the university will vary depending on which units you choose to take. Some units are delivered online, some face-to-face over a number of days, and others are delivered via traditional lectures on a weekly basis.

Please note this is not an online course and attendance at the university will be required.

An exit award of PGCert is available to students exiting after completing 60 credits. This must include at least 15 credits of audiology-specific units from those available.

A maximum of 30 credits of individual course units can also be studied on a standalone basis.

Course unit list

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Vestibular Assessment and Management PCHN60022 15 Mandatory
Auditory Science PCHN60041 15 Mandatory
Paediatric Audiology PCHN60052 15 Mandatory
Professional Practice PCHN60060 15 Mandatory
Research Methods and Statistics PCHN60170 15 Mandatory
Dissertation PCHN61610 60 Mandatory
Adult Auditory Rehabilitation and Management PCHN64250 30 Mandatory
Adult Auditory Assessment PCHN69411 15 Mandatory

Scholarships and bursaries

For the latest scholarship and bursary information please visit the fees and funding page.

What our students say

'I am working for hearing device company Cochlear in clinical technical support. I am responsible for helping doctors and patients solve clinical problems related to cochlear implants, and for carrying out scientific research into cochlear implants and audiology. I was able to get such a satisfying job because of the MSc.'

Lin Wu. Read Lin's blog.

'The staff at the University are supportive and inspiring and I found that they invested so much effort and time to help us succeed.'

Wen-Hui Hsieh. Read Wen-Hui's blog.

'I chose to study at Manchester due to its excellent reputation and the fact that the MSc course has modular elements. I was able to tailor this to my interests and needs and learn at a pace to fit in with funding and time constraints.'

Ben Gillett. Read Ben's blog.

Facilities

You will use high-quality laboratory equipment and facilities for the teaching of practical skills. You will have access to these facilities outside of timetabled sessions to facilitate individual practice of procedures that carry minimal risk.

You will also be able to access a range of facilities throughout the University.

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service .

CPD opportunities

We offer individual units from this MSc as standalone courses for continuing professional development.