Major in Speech Sciences
Students majoring in Speech Sciences should be aware that North American graduate programs in Speech Pathology and Audiology have varying prerequisites, and that a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Speech Sciences from UBC will not necessarily qualify them for immediate admission to a graduate program. Students should investigate prospective graduate schools and consult the Linguistics Undergraduate Advisor early in their program. See The School of Audiology and Speech Sciences for the required prerequisites for the two-year Master’s program at UBC.
Students must take at least 45 credits in Linguistics and related areas, subject to the following requirements:
Language requirement:
Note: If you are declaring a major or Honours in Speech Sciences for September 2024 or later, there will be a new language requirement, rather than the major description that is currently stated in the calendar. The new requirement is as follows:
Speech Sciences majors are required to complete 6 credits of coursework in a single language other than English. [NB: This brings the total number of credits to 51, but see note below about double-counting with the new Faculty of Arts breadth requirements.]
Courses may be taken in any non-English language and at any level. If a student has prior experience with a language through life experience or past coursework, they are responsible for coordinating with the relevant language department to determine placement in an appropriately leveled course.
Courses taken toward the language requirement must be focused on learning or using the language in question. Courses that include a note that says “in English” or “in translation” in the course name / description cannot be used towards the language requirement.
The language requirement is intended to give students concrete experience of developing competence in a language as an adult while also taking courses in linguistic analysis, to complement both experiences. Hence, these credits must be completed by all Linguistics students as part of their BA and cannot be waived based on existing language competency.
Courses taken to complete the Speech Sciences language requirement may simultaneously be used to fulfil a student’s Faculty of Arts Ways of Knowing Breadth Requirements.
If you have any questions about how the Language Requirement applies in your situation, please feel free to ask via the form on https://linguistics.ubc.ca/undergraduate/advising/, or book an appointment with an advisor to discuss your situation.
Recommended Courses:
- LING 100 or 101;
- BIOL 153 or 155;
- PHYS 100 or 101;
- PHYS 341;
- PSYC 101 and 102 (or PSYC 100)
Note: 100-level LING courses do not count toward Honours, Major or Minor programs in Linguistics or Speech Sciences. “Recommended” courses are additional courses that may help you better understand and succeed in the required courses for the program. There’s no necessity that you complete any or all of them; they are simply ones that you may find helpful, especially if your own background is somewhat weaker in those areas. Note that as above, students who are applying to graduate programs in Speech Language Pathology may need to complete other courses (in particular, advanced Psychology and Anatomy courses), for which some of the above recommended courses are pre-requisites.
Required Courses:
- all of LING 200, 201, 209 and 222; and
- both LING 333 and STAT 203; and
- all of LING 300, 311, 313, and 314; and
- LING 447; and
- either LING 451 or 452; and
- an additional 9 credits of LING courses numbered 300 or higher (possibly including additional sections of LING 447). These 9 credits may include any LING courses numbered 300 or higher and any of the pre-approved upper-level courses in related areas listed on the Department of Linguistics website. Courses not listed on the website must be approved by the Linguistics Undergraduate Advisor. Students intending to apply for admission to a graduate program in Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology can use these credits to meet admission eligibility requirements for specific programs they will be applying to (e.g., AUDI 402, AUDI 403, PSYC courses).
Note: undergraduate students may enrol in graduate-level courses if they meet the requirements; see www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/index.cfm?tree=12,204,342,1530 and www.grad.ubc.ca/forms/enrolment-undergraduate-students-graduate-course for more information. Such courses can count toward upper-level credit requirements (i.e., as courses numbered 300 or higher).