Case Study for Choosing a Degree / University
Evelyn: I need urgent help. My ultimate goal is to build a career in speech pathology, but I don’t know which pathway to take. The main challenge for me is weighing up the length of study, the career pathway, and the overall experience at each university. I’m considering the following options.
UTS has a really strong reputation. I loved the open day, it had an incredible vibe and culture. But I will need to complete postgraduate study afterwards, which means the overall process will take longer.
The Macquarie degree seems like a direct pathway into my chosen career. It is shorter and streamlined. I can progress to speech pathology much faster.
I wasn’t impressed by the WSU open day and I didn’t really like the vibe at the university.
What are the pros and cons of the various options? I’m really torn between the different pathways.
Option 1: University of Technology Sydney (UTS) - Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology/Medical Science) (3 years) Option 2: Macquarie University (MQ) – Bachelor of Speech and Hearing Sciences (3 years) Option 3: Western Sydney University (WSU) - Bachelor of Speech Pathology (4 years)
How to qualify as a speech pathologist?
To qualify as a speech pathologist in Australia an accredited degree is needed. There are recognised accredited qualifications at both the bachelor and master level.
Students can check for themselves which degrees are accredited by looking on the Speech Pathology Australia website:
For New Zealand students who are interested in qualifying in this field, the accredited qualifications are listed on the New Zealand Speech Therapy Associations’s (NZSTA) website.
Analysing Evelyn’s choices
The most important thing to note is that of the qualifications being considered only the Western Sydney University (WSU) degree is accredited by Speech Pathology Australia(SPA). However the lowest selection rank (ATAR plus adjustments) is a potentially tough to achieve 95.
The Macquarie University qualification seems like it qualifies the graduate to do something related to speech and hearing, but really it doesn’t. Always check the accreditation of a degree. Accreditation is essential for many occupations and this degree isn’t accredited by the SPA. Intentionally or unintentionally the name of a degree can mislead students regarding what careers it qualifies them for. It sounds like Evelyn thinks the 3 year degree will be a quick route to becoming a speech pathologist, but that isn’t the case. To become qualified she will then need to enrol in an accredited master’s degree such as MQ’s Master of Speech and Language Pathology. Like most Master’s degrees in this area, it is 2 years in duration and is domestic fee paying course. The 2025 annual fee is A$35,200 [1]. In contrast undergraduate courses typically have commonwealth Support places (CSP) meaning the government pays part of the fee and the cost per year is often considerably cheaper.
Evelyn might have been too heavily influenced by the UTS open day. Universities often put a huge effort into creating a vibrant open day, but the event doesn’t accurately represent the day to day student experience. If possible, try and visit the campus on a normal day to see what it is like. Also there is no point being overly swayed by a university’s general ranking or reputation. What really matters is things like teaching quality, facilities, and other factors specific to the particular degree under consideration. After completing the Bachelor of Science, Evelyn will still need to complete an expensive master’s degree such as UTS’s Master of Speech Pathology which has a tuition fee of approximately A$45,000 per year in 2025.
Generally speaking it is better to take the most direct path to the desired occupation, this would involve enrolling in an accredited undergraduate degree. This will save not only time, but also a lot of money. A risk of doing another bachelor degree first, due to her preferred university not offering a SPA accredited bachelor, is the risk of receiving poor grades. This makes it impossible to get into one of the master’s degrees. Whereas if you start with the accredited bachelor, even if you scrape through each semester barely passing, you still have the necessary qualification at the end.
A related point is that when it comes to speech pathology, and many other occupations, ranking is insignificant when it comes to the job market. Choosing to take a longer more expensive route because the ranking of the university is higher, is often not a good idea.
If Evelyn can’t get into an SPA accredited undergraduate degree, and needs to complete some other degree before applying for entry into a master’s she should do two things. Firstly she should look at the master’s degrees of interest and see exactly what the admission requirements are. In most cases a wide range of undergraduate degrees are acceptable. Secondly, she should think about a contingency plan if she can’t get into the master’s degree. Together these factors could influence her choice of undergraduate degree.
The best choice for Evelyn is when she is listing her preferences through the university admission centre (UAC) is to prioritise accredited undergraduate degrees including the one at Australian Catholic University (ACU) which she hasn’t considered so far.
Bibliography
[1] “Master of Speech and Language Pathology.” https://www.mq.edu.au/study/find-a-course/courses/master-of-speech-and-language-pathology/ .