Hearing Balance & Communication

Course Outline
The MSc in Hearing Balance and Communication is the only degree of its kind in Ireland. The degree aims to provide opportunities to acquire state of the art knowledge and skills in the field of hearing and balance related difficulties. This MSc is unique in incorporating a focus on communication and how it is affected by hearing loss across the lifespan. A mission of the programme is to engage professionals in expanding and progressing their professional capacities in order to contribute to improved care of patients and their families.

Taking an interdisciplinary approach with expert facilitators from a wide range of disciplinary and clinical backgrounds, course content includes the nature and etiologies of hearing and balance disorders in the pediatric and elderly population; behavioural and objective assessment of hearing loss in children and adults; cochlear implants and implantable devices, as well as habilitation for adults, including those with complex needs. A further unique focus of the course is the nature and management of tinnitus and hyperacusis.

The MSc in Hearing Balance and Communication is offered on a part-time basis only. A range of elective modules allows students to tailor their studies to their own professional and personal interests. At all times the emphasis is on critical appraisal of research evidence. Please note that no part of the programme for a Post Graduate Certificate, Diploma, or MSc in Hearing, Balance and Communication, confers clinical competiences or eligibility for professional practice or registration in health or social care professions.

Why Choose This Course
The MSc in Hearing Balance and Communication is the only degree of its kind in Ireland. The degree aims to provide opportunities to acquire state of the art knowledge and skills in the field of hearing and balance related difficulties. This MSc is unique in incorporating a focus on communication and how it is affected by hearing loss across the lifespan. A mission of the programme is to engage professionals in expanding and progressing their professional capacities in order to contribute to improved care of patients and their families.

The course content will be delivered in modules of between 5 and 30 credits. Students enrol in modules to the value of 40 credits in Year 1 and 50 credits in year 2. There are 3 semesters per calendar year. Students will complete four core courses, a research project, and four electives over the two years.

Core modules
Students take 70 credits as follows:

CT6100 Balance: Assessment and Management in Adults (10 credits)
MH6014 Advanced Research Methods for Healthcare Professionals (10 credits)
CT6101 Tinnitus and Hyperacusis: Assessment, Etiology and Management (10 credits)
CT6200 Communication and Hearing in Paediatric and Adult Populations (10 credits)
CT6201 Research Project (30 credits)

Elective Modules
In addition to the core modules, students chose four other modules to the values of 20 credits from the following:

CT6102 Objective Assessment of Hearing: Principles of Auditory Evoked Potentials in Paediatric and Adult Populations* (5 credits)
CT6103 Advanced Practices in Paediatric Assessment of Hearing (5 credits)*
CT6104 Advanced Diagnostics of Otological and Neuro-otological Pathologies in Adults with Hearing Loss (5 credits)*
CT6105 Hearing Balance and Communication: Impact on Quality of Life in the Elderly Population (5 credits)
CT6106 Cochlear Implants, Implantable Hearing Devices, and Impact on Communication for Children and Adults (5 credits)
CT6107 Psychological Management of Tinnitus: Principles of CBT and Mindfulness (5 credits)
CT6108 Auditory Rehabilitation in the Hearing-Impaired Adult Population (5 credits)
CT6109 Independent Study (5 credits)
Other: In consultation with the Programme Director, one 5 credit module may be taken from other programmes at UCC, in related disciplines, for a total of 5 of the 90 required credits. Such electives will be approved on a case-by-case basis and are dependent on the permission of the relevant department and module coordinator, timetabling and workload considerations.

*restricted to students with recognised prior clinical experience in diagnostic audiology.

In accordance with UCC's policy on Recognition of Prior Learning, a student who has successfully completed modules for Continuous Professional Development within the MSc in Hearing Balance and Communication programme, and/or has completed relevant university postgraduate modules in a cognate area at similar NFQ level (subject to approval of the Programme Team), and who meets the entry requirements for the MSc in Hearing Balance and Communication, can apply to register for the MSc in Hearing Balance and Communication with exemptions granted for modules taken within the previous five years.

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.

Requirements
- Candidates will hold either a Second Class Honours Grade I in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) or a Postgraduate Degree (NFQ, Level 9 or equivalent), in any scientific or medical discipline, such as but not exclusively, Audiology, 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 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 School of Clinical Therapies.

- Under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), applications will be reviewed on the basis of educational qualifications, relevant work experience and motivation.

- A motivational statement is part of this application process. The motivational statement should be no longer than 800 words and demonstrate 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 by an interview panel on the basis of educational qualifications, relevant work experience and motivation.

English Language Requirements
Applicants that are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university approved English language requirements.

For applicants with qualifications completed outside of Ireland:
Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements, please find our grades comparison by country here.

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: 15 April 2022.

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.

Questions on how to apply?
Please 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 certification of current registration with the appropriate professional body.

Please upload relevant certificates 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.

The closing date for non-EU applications is 15 April 2022.

Assessment is wholly by continuous assessment, consisting of written assignments, both live and online presentations, online activities such as discussion groups and e-portfolios, blogs, podcasts and reflective journals.

The course involves approximately 100 hours of learning per 5 credits, of which 80 hours are self-directed learning and reading, for a total of 1800 hours.

2 years Part-time

Course Practicalities
This programme is part-time over two calendar years, with three semesters per year. On-site contact time is concentrated in two-three day (5 credit modules) and three-four day (10 credit modules) periods. There will be five or six contact periods in Year 1 and four or five in Year 2.
Students attend for induction in the beginning of September of year 1. Contact times are limited to September, December, January, April and May.

Start Date: 7 September 2020