About HCS

The University of Sheffield's Department of Human Communication Sciences is concerned with teaching and research into normal interpersonal communication, communication impairment, and the remediation of communication impairment.

We offer undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in both clinical and non-clinical subjects. Furthermore we offer Continuing Professional Development qualifications by distance learning as well as postgraduate research degrees.

The Philippa Cottam Communication Clinic is housed in the department. The clinic opened in 1992 and provides in-house clinical teaching and research facilities.

A World Leading Research Department

In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) the Department was recognised as a world class centre for the study of Human Communication Sciences with 60% of its research graded in the top 4* (world leading) and 3* (internationally excellent) categories.

Teaching of the highest quality

The department has a national reputation in clinical education and related professional studies.

We offer both clinical and non-clinical undergraduate degrees. At postgraduate level we offer clinical, non-clinical and Continuing Professional Development qualifications.

The teaching in the department is innovative and informed by current research. In 2005, as part of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for Higher Education's review of health care programmes we achieved the highest possible grades in all categories. For both the undergraduate BMedSci (Speech) and postgraduate MMedSci (Clinical Communication Studies) programmes we achieved ratings of "Confidence" in Academic and Practitioner standards and "Commendable" for the Quality of Learning Opportunities (including effectiveness of teaching and learning and provision of learning resources).

Read the QAA report (pdf)

Wide ranging academic excellence

We are one of the most active centres for research into human communication in the UK. The department has 18 academic members of staff from a wide variety of backgrounds. Their qualifications include speech and language pathology and therapy, linguistics, phonetics, psychology, education and computer science.

Our staff have research interests in the evaluation of speech and language therapy, development disorders of speech and language, clinical linguistics and the cognitive neuroscience of speech and language.