Research Degree Programs

Facilities and Resources to Support Student Research

The Discipline offers a range of research degree programs that can meet the interests of most individuals wanting to study in the areas of human communication sciences and/or communication disorders.

The academic staff of the Discipline has an extensive background in research and expertise in diverse areas which will accommodate a wide range of students’ research interests.

The Discipline’s large on-campus Communication Disorders Treatment and Research Clinic, which provides clinical services to communicatively impaired children and adults and clinical education for students, serves as a dynamic research laboratory for the research activities of students and academics.

The Speech Science Laboratory supports research activities with its modern technology. Computing facilities are readily available to research students throughout the Discipline.

If you can't find what you are looking for on these pages plus the links - contact the Faculty of Health Sciences first, then if you have more questions you can contact the Discipline's

Master of Applied Science (Communication Sciences and Disorders) - Course Code SC052

For continuing students only.

Admission to this research degree program is open to individuals with backgrounds related to human communication sciences and/or communication disorders. Such backgrounds might be speech pathology, audiology, psychology, linguistics, education, and computer studies. The program is designed to prepare individuals to pursue their career objectives as professional specialists, administrators, academics, or researchers in communication sciences or disorders.

Subject to available supervisory assistance and research facilities, students select their research topics to match their interests and in conjunction with their research supervisors. Completion of the program requires submission of an acceptable thesis.

The course can be taken on either a full- or part-time basis. No specific coursework is required of students, although individual students may be advised or required by their research supervisors to audit or formally enrol in selected subjects in order to assist them with their particular research topics. The design of the program means there is generally considerable flexibility in scheduling times spent on campus.

Students enrolled in this research degree program are exempt from HECS for a specified number of semesters, determined by the University. Information about HECS exemptions can be obtained from the Faculty. Other financial assistance for students in this program is sometimes available in the form of employment as a research assistant or, for students who are qualified speech pathologists, as a Clinical Educator/Clinical Supervisor.

Full details can be found in the Faculty of Health Sciences Handbook, Chapter 25

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - Course Code SB019

Duration: 3-4 years full-time, 6-8 years part-time.

The PhD is designed to provide graduates with the opportunity to undertake in-depth study in a specialised area. The PhD degree is important for academic appointments as well as for research appointments in government and industrial research and development organisations.

At the PhD level students work in consultation with their primary research supervisor and one or more associate supervisors to develop and conduct a line of research in an area relevant to communication sciences and/or disorders.

Admission is available to individuals with a wide range of backgrounds relevant to the human communication sciences and/or communication disorders who have had previous research experiences, such as an honours degree, a research master's degree, or other equivalent preparation.

Because of the expertise of the Discipline's academics and the extensive facilities of the Discipline and University, many different areas of research interests of students can be accommodated.

Enrolment can be either full- or part-time. No specific coursework is required of all students, although individual students may be advised or required by their research supervisors to audit or formally enrol in selected subjects in order to assist them with their particular research topics. The design of the program means there is generally considerable flexibility in scheduling times spent on campus.

Students enrolled in this research degree program are exempt from HECS for a specified number of semesters, determined by the University. Information about HECS exemptions can be obtained from the Faculty. Several other forms of financial assistance may be available, including Australian Postgraduate Awards, University Postgraduate Awards, and sometimes in the form of employment as a research assistant or as a Clinical Educator/Clinical Supervisor.

Full details can be found in the Faculty of Health Sciences Handbook, Chapter 25 or on the University’s Course Search database