Audiology

Course Outline
The MSc Audiology is a two year, full-time programme. This new programme in audiology has been designed to qualify students to practice the profession of audiology. The aim of the programme is to educate, train and inspire confident clinicians who can meet the challenges of providing an integrated, sophisticated and scientific approach to assessing and managing the needs of children and adults with hearing and balance disorders.

The programme is full-time over three semesters per year over the two years. Students will attend a mix of lectures and Problem Based Learning (PBL) tutorials which students apply knowledge in a sophisticated way to solve real-life problems efficiently.

Course Practicalities
This programme is full-time over three semesters per year, over two years. Students should expect to attend a mixture of lectures, PBL tutorials, seminars, clinical observations, simulations and supervised clinical work from 9 am to 5 pm daily, with some time dedicated to independent learning, during semesters 1 & 2. In each year of the programme, students will attend two weekly 3-hour Problem-Based Learning tutorials. In addition to the tutorials, there will be approximately 3-4 lectures a day in addition to 6 hours a week of observations, simulations and supervised clinical work. During Semester 3, students will be on work placement for 4-5 days a week. Students need to engage in approximately 1000h of supervised clinical practice to meet professional requirements. Students may need to travel and/or arrange short-term accommodation near the placement sites and students will incur the costs of travel to clinical locations as well as the costs of accommodation. It may also be necessary to undertake clinical placement outside the Republic of Ireland. Students will need to complete a short research proposal and complete a research project of limited scope.

Why Choose This Course
This MSc in Audiology is the first of its kind in the Republic of Ireland to qualify individuals to practice audiology. The programme was developed in response to a call from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and the Health Services Executive (HSE) to provide clinical education in Audiology, following the National Audiology Review by the HSE.

Placement or Study Abroad Information
Practice education in the MSc Audiology is designed to promote integration of theory and practice by providing students with a range of clinical experiences across the programme. The goals are to provide students with:

clinical experience that is problem-based and theory-driven, and which complements the academic curriculum;

a variety of experiences in planning, implementing and evaluating an audiological intervention for people with hearing and balance disorders;

the experience of working with other professionals involved with the management of people with hearing and balance disorders; and
to support students to become independent audiologists.

Practice education will be structured to include weekly clinics during the teaching semester based in new purpose-built in-house Brookfield Audiology Clinic and in designated local audiology clinics around Cork. The students will learn practical skills supervised by Practice Tutors on these sites. During the summer, block placements will broaden experience using nationally available sites around Ireland.

Year 1 (60 credits)
AU6012 Audiological Science and Rehabilitation I (10 credits)
AU6013 Audiological Science and Rehabilitation II (10 credits)
AU6014 Information Literacy and Research Strategies (5 credits)
AU6015 Medical Sciences for Hearing and Balance I (5 credits)
AU6017 Electrophysiology, Acoustics and Amplification I (5 credits)
AU6018 Psychosocial Dimensions of Deafness (5 credits)
AU6019 Human Development, Cognition and Communication Through the Lifespan (5 credits)
AU6020 Practice Education in Audiology I (15 credits)

Year 2 (60 credits)
AU6021 Audiological Science and Rehabilitation III (10 credits)
AU6022 Research Methods for Audiology (5 credits)
AU6023 Medical Sciences for Audiology II (5 credits)
AU6024 Electrophysiology, Acoustics and Amplification II (5 credits)
AU6025 Audiology Research Project (10 credits)
AU6026 Audiological Science and Rehabilitation IV (10 credits)
AU6028 Practice Education in Audiology II (15 credits)

Modules

Further details on the modules listed above can be found in our Book of Modules. Any modules listed above are indicative of the current set of modules for this course but are subject to change from year to year.

University Calendar

You can find the full academic content for the current year of any given course in our University Calendar.

Candidates will hold either a minimum of Second Class Honours Grade I in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) or a postgraduate degree, in any scientific or medical discipline, such as but not exclusively, Anatomy, Biomedical Science, Engineering, Social Sciences, Speech and Language Therapy, Medicine, Nursing and Education.

In exceptional circumstances, candidates without an honours degree may be recommended for entry to the programme under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) after a review of their qualifications and experience by the programme lead. The admission of such candidates will be subject to the approval of the College of Medicine and Health Executive Committee.

Applications will be reviewed on the basis of educational qualifications, relevant work experience and motivation.

Please note that you must submit a motivation statement as part of this application process. The motivational statement should be no longer than 800 words and demonstrate your motivation, relevant previous experience, commitment and suitability in applying for this course.

Short-listed applicants will be invited for an interview and each applicant will be scored again by an interview panel on the basis of educational qualifications, relevant work experience and motivation.

All students accepted onto the programme will need to have evidence of appropriate vaccinations for working in hospital environments and will need to provide evidence of Garda/Police vetting. All students on this programme will require Garda Clearance in order to attend student placements. University College Cork has made arrangements with the Gardaí in relation to Garda Clearance procedures. All candidates who accept places on this programme must complete and sign Garda Clearance Forms and return them to University College Cork. For more information on this process please read the UCC Student Garda Vetting Policy

This programme is subject to the University's Fitness to Practise Policy - full details may be found at https://www.ucc.ie/en/academicgov/aago-policies/fitnesstopractise/

The closing date for non-EU applications is 10 March 2023

How Do I Apply
1. Check Dates: Check the opening and closing dates for the application process in the fact file boxes at the top of the page.

For Irish and EU applicants we operate a rounds system and you can check the rounds closing dates here.
Note that not all our programmes are subject to the rounds system so check the opening and closing dates for your specific programme in the fact file boxes above.

2. Gather Documents: Scanned copies of supporting documents have to be uploaded to the UCC online application portal and include:

Original qualification documents listed on your application including transcripts of results from institutions other than UCC.
Any supplementary items requested for your course if required.

3. Apply Online: Apply online via the UCC online application portal. Note the majority of our courses have a non-refundable €50 application fee.

Any questions? Use our web enquiry form to contact us.

Additional Requirements (All Applicants)
Please note you will be required to provide additional information as part of the online application process for this programme. This will include the following questions:

You may enter the details of professional or voluntary positions held. We strongly encourage you to complete this section with all relevant work experiences that will support your application.

In addition to your previously declared qualifications, please outline any additional academic courses, self-learning and professional training relevant to this programme.

Please describe your motivation and readiness for this programme.

Please upload certifications of achievement.

Deposit
Please note that successful EU applicants will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit of €500 on acceptance of their place.

Deferrals
A maximum of 2 deferrals per year are allowed on this programme. All deferrals are subject to the postgraduate deferral policy.

2 years full-time

Skills and Careers Information
Audiologist work in a variety of settings such as hospitals, community clinics and private clinics with all ages from newborns to the elderly to provide a client-centred approach to intervention and management of hearing loss and balance problems.