BSc Speech and Language Therapy

Use the links below to view lists of courses in related subject areas.

• Speech and Language Therapy
• Public Health
• Speech and Hearing

AAB.

Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken. Where applicants are applying for science and related degrees, this is likely to be made explicit in the offer you will receive.

Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

Please check for specific GCSE/IGCSE subject entry requirements below

ABB.

Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken. Where applicants are applying for science and related degrees, this is likely to be made explicit in the offer you will receive.

Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

Please check for specific GCSE/IGCSE subject entry requirements below

Contextual offers are available for applicants who:

• live in the UK and will be under the age of 21 on 1 September of the year they will start their course; and
• live in an area of disadvantage or with low progression into higher education; and
• have attended a UK school or college for their GCSEs or A-levels (or equivalent qualifications) that has performed below the national average over multiple years.

See our contextual admissions page for full details and to check your eligibility.

BBB.

Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken. Where applicants are applying for science and related degrees, this is likely to be made explicit in the offer you will receive.

Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

Please check for specific GCSE/IGCSE subject entry requirements below

UK refugee/care-experienced offers are available for applicants who:

• have been looked after in care for more than three months; or
• have been granted refugee status by the UK government or have been issued a UK visa under one of the Ukrainian schemes (Homes for Ukraine, Ukraine Family Scheme or Ukraine Extension Scheme).

See our contextual admissions page for full details and to check your eligibility.

35 points overall. 6,6,5 in Higher Level subjects

Applicants studying the International Baccalaureate Career Related Programme (IBCP) should contact the admissions team prior to applying so that their academic profile can be considered.

Applicants must demonstrate a broad general education including three GCSEs/iGCSEs at grade 4/C or above (must include Mathematics). Plus grade 5/B in English Language and 5/B in one of: Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Science.GCSE/IGCSE English Literature will not be accepted in lieu of GCSE/IGCSE English Language.

Please note that if you hold English as a second language IGCSE qualification, we may also require you to offer one of  our acceptable equivalent English Language qualifications  or achieve a higher grade in your IGCSE than the one stated above. Please contact the admissions team in your academic School/Department for clarification.

For applicants whose status has been confirmed as WP+ using the University's Contextual Data Eligibility tool , we will allow an overall reduction of two grades on the full GCSE requirements. Please note, however, that no individual subject should be lower than C/4. This does not apply to English Language because of the nature of the programme and therefore applicants will need to obtain grade 5/B in this subject.

For applicants whose status has been confirmed as WP++ using the University's Contextual Data Eligibility tool , we will allow an overall reduction of four grades on the full GCSE requirements. Please note, however, that no individual subject should be lower than 4/C. This does not apply to English Language because of the nature of the programme and therefore applicants will need to obtain grade 5/B in this subject.

All applicants to the University (from the UK and Overseas) are required to show evidence of English Language proficiency. The minimum English Language requirement for this course is either:

GCSE/IGCSE English Language grade 5/B, or;

IELTS 8.0 with no less than 7.5 in any one component, or;

An acceptable equivalent qualification.

Please note that if you hold English as a second language IGCSE qualification, we may also require you to offer one of  our acceptable equivalent English Language qualifications  or achieve a higher grade in your IGCSE than the one stated above. Please contact the academic School for clarification.

If you need to improve your English language skills to meet the entry requirements for your academic course, the University Centre for Academic English (UCAE) summer pre-sessional courses can help. Check if your academic course offers the option of taking a pre-sessional course on the UCAE page .

The UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) requires that every student requiring a visa to study in the UK must show evidence of a minimum level of English Language (common European Framework (CEFR B2 level) to be granted a Student Route visa (previously known as a Tier 4 visa) to study at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

In addition, our academic Schools/Departments may require applicants to demonstrate English proficiency above the B2 level. Further information about our English Language policy, including a list of some of the English Language qualifications we accept, can be found  here .

Work experience with speech and language therapy service providersis not a requirement for entry to the course.

If you have some practical experience with individuals who have difficulties with communication, or with eating, drinking and swallowing, we strongly encourage you to provide information about it in your personal statement.

Fees for entry in 2026 have not yet been set. For entry in 2025 the tuition fees were £9,535 per annum for home students, and are expected to increase slightly for 2026 entry.

Please note that future inflationary increases will be applied to each subsequent year of the course, subject to government regulations on fee increases.

If this is your second tuition fee loan for an undergraduate course: Students who already have a degree and are planning to undertake a nursing, midwifery or allied health profession subject as a second degree will now also have access to student loans through the student loans system.

See more information about changes to NHS bursaries on the government's website .

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

As per the government announcement, all UK speech and language students on courses from September 2020 will receive a payment of at least £5,000 a year which they will not need to pay back. The funding will be given to all new and continuing degree-level nursing, midwifery and many allied health students from September 2020. More information can be found on the NHS website.

Please note, eligibility criteria for the new funding will be the same as the wider NHS Learning Support Fund payable to students ordinarily resident in the UK and studying at a university in England. Find out about the financial support available to students starting at Manchester.

Find out about the financial support available to students starting at Manchester.

Mature students are some of our most well-equipped learners, bringing skills and attributes gained from work, family and other life experiences.  Students come from a whole array of backgrounds, study every kind of course, undertake full-time and part-time learning and are motivated by career intentions as well as personal interest.  There is no such thing as a typical mature student at Manchester.

The application process is the same as for other prospective undergraduates.  If you require further clarification about the acceptability of the qualifications you hold please contact the academic School(s) you plan to apply to.  Further information for mature students can be found here ( http://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/mature-students/ )

Applicants whose personal statement is specific to another discipline

Because of the high volume of applications we receive, we will not consider those applicants who choose Speech and Language Therapy as a second option and whose personal statement is geared towards a different discipline.

Face-to face interviews are not required for entry to the programme.

We welcome students who are returning to education after a period away from study. Returners typically make up a proportion of students on our course.

If you are returning to education, you should have completed some assessed study at level 3 in the five years prior to the start of the course.

Individual consideration is given to recent academic qualifications or other relevant experience. Preference will be given to applicants who have experience of health-related areas, especially in which there is some anatomy, physiology and/or psychology.

Find out more about life at Manchester as a mature student .

Health screening

The University of Manchester is mindful of the health of both its students and of the public, with whom healthcare students come into contact on placement. If your application is successful, we will require you to comply with a confidential health screening check as advised by the Department of Health to meet your offer conditions.

The health screening comprises completion of a detailed health questionnaire by the applicant and their General Practitioner and also a medical appointment with the University's Occupational Health Department, who will advise on any follow-up vaccination or other intervention which may be indicated.

See Higher Education Occupational Physicians/ Practitioners (HEOPS) Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) Students - Standards of medical fitness to train [PDF] for more information.

See the HCPC guide for more information.

If your application is successful, we require you to comply with an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful you may apply again. Your application will be considered against the standard course entry criteria for that year of entry.

In your new application you should demonstrate how your application has improved. We may draw upon all information from your previous applications or any previous registrations at the University as a student when assessing your suitability for your chosen course. If you are applying for a place for the same year of entry through UCAS Extra, you should provide additional evidence of your suitability for the course. If you are applying through clearing you are required to meet the clearing requirements. In both UCAS Extra and clearing the places will be subject to availability.

All three years of the course involve academic and practical work, including a considerable amount of clinical experience, and we work closely with local service providers, including the NHS,to make sure that we prepare you to meet the highest possible workplace standard.

In the first year, study focuses on developing intellectual skills and understanding of typical speech, language and swallowing.

The second and third years include units on clinical linguistics and phoneticand research. Much of your time is spent studying applied aspects of speech, language, communication and swallowing, as well as approaches to assessment and intervention while also gaining clinical experience.

In particular, you will be required to engage in a number of learning activities to meet the RCSLT (2021) pre-registration eating, drinking and swallowing requirements. You must successfully sign off a minimum of 16 of the 20 competencies and complete 10 hours of direct working with children with EDS issues and 30 hours of working with adults.

You will study foundation science subjects as they apply to speech and language therapy (clinical research, biomedical sciences, phonetics, linguistics, psychology and sociology).

You will also undertake professional orientation and preparation towards your first four-week block clinical placement in the north-west region.

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

Drawing on your clinical experience from Year 1, study focuses on developmental communication and swallowing disorders, as well as those acquired in adulthood.

Study is more clinically focused in clinical linguistics, phonetics and research methods. Professional preparation continues towards your six-week block clinical placement.

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

Apply more critical thinking to your studies as you move towards professional autonomy in your final year. Study builds upon Year 2, considering those living with lifelong disability, as well as acquired neurological disorders and developing advanced research skills in your particular areas of interest.

There is professional preparation towards your final six-week block clinical placement and, looking beyond this, to preparing you for employment as a speech and language therapist.

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

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk .

The Health and Care Professions Council also has some guidance on becoming a healthcare professional with a disability.

For applicants with a disability applying for entry in September 2025 please note:

RCSLT recognise that some students may have a disability, which will potentially affect their ability to work with aspects of the eating, drinking and swallowing (EDS) process. For example, some may have sensory difficulties with sounds and smells, which affect working with food. To support students and HEIs, RCSLT has agreed that for a time-limited period, those with a disability (where their disability has prevented them from achieving the pre-registration EDS competencies) will still be able to graduate. This will be agreed on a case-by-case basis in discussion with the SLT teaching team and the individual student.

This extension has recently been updated to 2028.

Therefore, you are strongly advised to disclose any disability during the application process, where it may affect your ability to work with clients with EDS issues and/or may prevent you from successfully graduating. Please do contact the RCSLT, or our programme directly, to discuss this in greater detail.

This degree has been approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) for regulatory purposes. This means you will be eligible to apply for registration with the HCPC and to become a member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) after graduation.