Key points
- The speech and language therapy student population is less diverse than the student population as a whole: speech and language therapy students are predominantly under 20 years of age, white and female.
- 28% of the speech and language therapy student population have declared a disability compared with 16% of all students in higher education (via the HESA student data webpage)
The charts and statistics in our new dashboard present information about the speech and language therapy student population in UK higher education (HE) up to the end of the 2022/23 academic year.
If you are interested in understanding more about the speech and language therapy workforce in general, HCPC published a Diversity Report in November 2023 with a 100% response rate from speech and language therapists. They also publish information about the characteristics of HCPC registrants via their ‘register over time’ dashboard.
Summary of analysis
- There has been a steady increase in the number of SLT students between 2019 and 2023, with the number of undergraduate admissions increasing by 39% and postgraduate admissions increasing by 31% over 5 years
- Female students are overrepresented in speech and language therapy programmes
- There is a greater proportion of white students in the speech and language therapy student population compared with all HE students
- Students with mental health conditions and specific learning disabilities together account for over a half of students with disabilities
- Students from areas where fewer people attend university are underrepresented amongst speech and language therapy students compared to all UK domiciled students.
Note on the data
Statistics originate from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) via Jisc.
They are provided for the purpose of understanding the make-up and diversity of the speech and language therapy profession. All statistics referring to speech and language programmes are rounded according to HESA standard rounding methodology. They remain the property of RCSLT and should not be passed on or published without further permission.
Charts and more detailed findings are presented within the dashboard below.
Data for students enrolled at higher education institutions in Northern Ireland has not been reported for the 2022/23 academic year. The dashboard will be updated when this information becomes available.
