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. 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: Audiology for Adults:
• Audiological Science & Rehabilitation
• Information Literacy & Research Strategies
• Medical Sciences for Hearing & Balance
• Electrophysiology, Acoustics & Amplification
• Psychosocial Dimensions of Deafness
• Human Development, Cognition, and Communication Through the Lifespan
• Practice Education

Year 2: Audiology for Children and Balance Disorders:
• Electrophysiology, Acoustics & Amplification
• Audiological Science & Rehabilitation
• Research Methods
• Audiology Research Project
• Medical Science for Audiology II
• Practice Education

Requirements
• 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 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.

• This programme is subject to the University's Fitness to Practise Policy available at https://www.ucc.ie/en/academicgov/aago-policies/fitnesstopractise/

English Language Requirements
Applicants that are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university approved English language requirements available at https://www.ucc.ie/en/study/comparison/english/postgraduate/

For applicants with qualifications completed outside of Ireland
Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements, available at https://www.ucc.ie/en/study/comparison/

International/non-EU applicants
For full details of the non-EU application procedure please visit our how to apply pages for international students. In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.

Not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above.

For more information please contact the International Office.

Closing Date: Non-EU Closing Date: 11 March 2022

Open for EU applications, check rounds closing dates under
How to Apply - Application Date Weblink below.

How Do I Apply
1. Choose Course
Firstly choose your course. Applicants can apply for up to two courses under one application. Details of taught courses are available on our online prospectus.

2. Apply Online
Once you have chosen your course you can apply online at the online application portal. Applicants will need to apply before the course closing date. There is a non-refundable €50 application fee for all courses apart from the Education - Professional Master of Education - (Secondary School/Post-Primary Teacher Training) which has a €100 application fee.

Applicants for the Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health Nursing must apply on the PAC website when the programme opens for applications.

3. Gather Supporting Documents
Scanned copies of the following documents will need to be uploaded to the online application portal in support of your application. Applicants may need to produce the original documents if you are accepted onto a course and register at UCC.
• Original qualification documents listed on your application including transcripts of results from institutions other than UCC
• Any supplementary items requested for your course.

Please log into the online application portal for more details.

4. Application processing timeline
Our online application portal opens for applications for most courses in early November of each year. Check specific course details.

5. Rounds
For courses that are in the rounds system (Irish and EU applicants), please check the rounds closing dates.

Deferrals
Please note from 2019 onwards, a maximum of 2 deferrals per year are allowed on this programme. All deferrals are subject to the postgraduate deferral policy.

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.

2 years Full-Time

The programme is full-time over three semesters per year over the two years.

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