Overview

Non-Clinical Exit Pathway for Students not proceeding to Third Year Speech and Language Therapy

The Diploma in Speech and Hearing Sciences, NFQ Level 6, is an alternative diploma pathway for students who do not satisfy the pass standard for the practice placement module SL2008. For students who do not pass SL2008 in Year 2 of the BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapy at either the Summer Examinations or the Autumn Supplemental Examinations or at the first attempt in a Repeat year, the student will re-register for the alternative pathway. Such students may opt to register instead for the non-clinical Diploma in Speech and Hearing Sciences. To complete the Diploma in Speech and Hearing Sciences, a student must pass all modules (except SL2008) for the second BSc Speech and Language Therapy Examinations and achieve a pass in the independent study module SL2002 (10 credits). The Diploma in Speech and Hearing Sciences does not confer eligibility to practice as a Speech and Language Therapist.

Programme Requirements

For information about modules, module choice, options and credit weightings, please go to Programme Requirements. 

Programme Requirements

Examinations

Full details and regulations governing Examinations for each programme will be contained in the Marks and Standards Book and for each module in the Book of Modules.

Programme Learning Outcomes

Programme Learning Outcomes for Diploma in Speech and Hearing Sciences (NFQ Level 6, Minor Award)
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Describe typical and atypical language, speech and swallowing throughout the lifespan;
• Compare and contrast current literature evaluating the fields of physics, linguistics, psychology, anatomy, physiology and health sciences relating to the treatment, management and prevention of disorders of communication and swallowing;
• Effectively transcribe and analyse speech, language and swallowing samples using various transcription and analytic methods.

*** Only for Incoming First Years, Repeat First Years, Second Years and Repeat Second Years 2025/2026 ***
*** Click here for Marks and Standards for all other years ***

Marks and Standards

These Marks and Standards should be read in conjunction with the Programme Requirements and the Book of Modules.

Fitness to Practise

All students on programmes subject to Fitness to Practise in UCC will be required to comply with the Fitness to Practise Policy and meet the relevant Fitness to Practise standards, in order to progress to the next year of his/her/their programme. Click here for a list of programmes subject to the Fitness to Practise Policy.

First Year - Marks and Credits

Students are required to take modules to the value of 60 credits.
Total Marks for year: 1200.

First Year - Pass and Progression Criteria

To pass first year and progress to second year, students must have satisfied the Fitness to Practise requirements and must achieve:

1. An aggregate mark of 50% across all modules, and
2. A pass mark in modules to the value of 60 credits.

Second Year - Marks and Credits

Students are required to take modules to the value of 60 credits.
Total Marks for year: 1200.

Second Year - Pass and Progression Criteria

To pass second year, students must achieve:

1. An aggregate mark of 50% across all modules, and
2. A pass mark in modules to the value of 60 credits.

Award of Honours in the Diploma Award

An honours classification is awarded for the final diploma using the final year examination results and marks carried forward from the penultimate year. The aggregate of 33.33% of the penultimate year marks plus 66.67% of the final year marks will be used to calculate the final diploma award.

Honours will be awarded as follows:

1. First Class Honours: ≥ 70%
2. Second Class Honours, Grade I: ≥ 60% and <70%
3. Second Class Honours, Grade II: ≥ 55% and <60%
4. Pass: ≥ 50% and <55%

Examination Boards

• Provisional marks for Semester 1 examinations are released in January/February of each year. These marks are subject to approval at the University Examination Board.
• Marks for all modules taken in Semester 1 and 2, including those wholly assessed by Continuous Assessment, will be presented to the University Examination Board at the end of Semester 2.
• Marks for SL2002 will be presented to the next available University Examination Board.

Supplemental Examinations and Assessment

• Students who fail to achieve the progression standard for the year at the Summer Examination Board must complete Supplemental Examinations and/or Continuous Assessment for those specific module(s), where there is provision to do so.
• Please refer to the Book of Modules for requirements governing the Supplemental Examination and Assessment for individual modules. Note: For some modules there is no Supplemental Examination and Assessment.
• The marks achieved in the Supplemental Examinations and/or Continuous Assessment of a repeat module are considered at the Autumn Examination Board.
• The actual mark achieved by the candidate in the Supplemental or Repeat Year Examination will be recorded on the student record (Academic Transcript).
• The maximum mark that will be taken into account for aggregation and progression purposes is a pass level, unless the student has been granted a cap waiver or deferral by the University Mitigation Committee, or a University Examination Board, or has been approved to defer the previous attempt by the University Mitigation Committee.
• At the Autumn Examination Board, marks from all passed modules approved at the Summer Examination Board are carried forward and are combined with the marks achieved in Supplemental Examinations and/or Assessments. The pass and progression criteria are applied to the aggregate mark achieved.

Note: The mark achieved at the last examination/assessment attempt is the mark that is included in the calculation of the aggregate mark for pass and progression purposes.

Exemptions

All passed modules carry an exemption, which is limited to a period of five academic years (or two in the case of Computer Science modules) subsequent to the award of the exemption.

Repeat Year Examinations

Students retain module exemptions, if any, and must repeat all failed/absent modules. The pass and progression criteria are then applied to the combination of full marks achieved in modules passed at the first attempt, plus capped marks achieved in modules in the Repeat Year Examinations.​

Note: For students selecting different modules not previously taken, there are no restrictions on the marks awarded for those modules at the first attempt in a repeat year. The selection of different modules by the student means that the student foregoes any previous marks achieved in the original modules (including previously passed modules).

A maximum of two attempts at the examination requirements in any module will be allowable during the repeat year.

Two Year Rule

Students must pass/progress within two academic years of first registration for each year of the programme. After failing a resit examination, students may be allowed to repeat the year. Any individual year can be repeated only once, however, a maximum of two failed years may be repeated during a student’s programme of studies. Thus, students exiting with the Diploma in Speech and Hearing Sciences must do so within 5 years of registering for the First Year of the BSc (Hons) in Speech and Language Therapy.

Terms and Definitions

Programme Description

• The programme description is outlined in the Programme Requirements tab.

Module Descriptions/Assessment

• Module descriptions, including the pass standard for a module, special requirements to pass a module, and assessment elements and their weightings, are contained in the Book of Modules.

Marks and Credits

• A maximum of 100 marks may be awarded for every five credits of a programme.
• Some modules are assessed on a Pass/Fail basis only, i.e. marks are not awarded.

Pass and Progression

• Progression is defined as the permission granted to a student to register in the subsequent academic year for the next set of modules within his/her/their programme of study.
• Compensation is defined as the process by which a student, who fails to satisfy some of the regulations for credit in a specific module, is nevertheless recommended for credit to be awarded on the grounds that the failure is offset by his/her/their performance in the other modules on his/her/their programme of study.