Speech Pathology was originally located at the Sturt Campus as part of Sturt College of Advanced Education. In 1991 it became a part of the School of Medicine of the Flinders University of South Australia, and in 1993 planning began for new accommodation in a four-storey southern extension to the School of Medicine. Speech Pathology and Audiology was incorporated into the School of Medicine of Flinders University in 1991. We moved to the new purpose-built facilities at the Flinders Medical Centre in February 1995. In 1997 the university and medical centre departments amalgamated to form a department which is unique in Australia. In 2009, the School of Medicine was reorganised, and the Speech Pathology and Audiology group was placed within the Clinical Effectiveness Cluster
Our vision is to be a major force within the area of communication disorders through the achievement of the highest standards in, and providing an optimal balance between, teaching, research and clinical services combined with flexibility in our response to the needs of students, clients and the community.
The department is the sole academic department in South Australia responsible for teaching and research in speech pathology and audiology. A four-year course leads to the Bachelor of Speech Pathology , with a current intake of approximately 50 students per year. The Master of Audiology and the Master of Speech Pathology are each 2 years full time with an intake of 18 - 20 students per year.
An Honours program is also offered within the four year course. We have a growing number of postgraduate research students (MSc and PhD).
We welcome international students into both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
Staff
The staff currently consists of academic staff, clinical educators, and clinical staff. Staff details for present and past staff can be accessed on the staff page .
Facilities
In February 1995 the Departments of Speech Pathology of the University and of the Flinders Medical Centre moved into this purpose-built accommodation on the top three floors of the new building. The facilities include two group-therapy rooms and three state-of-the-art soundproof audiology rooms, all with facilities for direct student observation. In addition there are 9 individual clinical rooms, all linked by closed circuit video to a central monitoring facility. A sound-treated recording studio is also available for research and clinical work. The Department operates speech pathology and audiology clinics, which provide opportunities for professional practice, research and consultancy.
The department has computer based speech analysis programs which are used by students within their academic studies. The clinical facilities provide one way viewing rooms and video linked rooms where students undertake their first clinical practice under expert supervision. In addition there are three audiology testing rooms, all with one-way viewing facilities, where students, under supervision, learn to assess hearing.
Students have access to a well equipped Medical Library within FMC as well as extensive libraries in other parts of the University. Word processing facilities and various software is available to students in the Computer Assisted Learning Centre within the Flinders Medical Centre. This centre also provides access to the CD ROM interactive programs which support teaching and learning. Students have access to the Internet through the library.
