This Master’s degree (verified by the Ministry of Education and Science) offers a scientific training according to what the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) demands.

The academic interest of the Master’s degree follows the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) regulation and is driven by the profesional and social demand of our immediate surroundings.

In a Higher Education European scope, in Belgium, Denmark, Great Britain, Finland, Portugal, Switzerland and Sweden, as well as in our country, since the graduates in Speech Therapy have the possibility of receiving information of Postgrade and/or Doctorate (study of 31st December 2007 of the Comité Permanent de Liaison des Orthophonistes ‐Logopèdes de l’Union Eurpéenne ‐CPLOL‐), according to the standards for the Master’s degree training established by the QAA ‐Academic Assurance Agency for Higher Education. In the reunion which took place at London, February 17 2006, this organization emphasises in the Post‐Graduate training professional vocation. Thus, Master’s degree follows the standards developed in the rest of Europe for this level of training, both in competences and structure of the specialized practical training. This Master’s degree covers a necessary postgraduate slot for speech therapist, profession in which it is advisable to have a specialized training. With regard to the contents addressed in the different international masters, there is a large variability. These contents are subject to the previous training in each country. Specialization is focused on population, specific aspects and research. For example, the Master’s degree on Audiologist which offers the University of Southern (Denmark) is focused on hearing aspects while the one from University of Gent (Belgium) is focused on voice aspects; cochlear implants, development, functional plasticity, neuroscience and research.

The Universitat de València offers a new proposal that is adjusted to the demands of the professional environment. This Master’s degree gives to the Speech therapist an acces to a continous training in the competences of his or her profession. This Universitat de València proposal offers to the future Speech Therapy graduates a Postgraduate and 

Doctoral training in the specific field of their profession, being tutoring by experts on the fields of language, speech, voice and audition, never by Speech therapists. The faculty is setting up by the staff of the departments that deal with theoretical subjects which are related to Speech Therapy.  Speech therapists contribute to the graduates training by interships training or by the assistant professor. This Master’s degree offers the possibility of getting an specific doctorate, opening the door to the teaching and researching staff. This training will set out two essential benefits: on the one hand, it improves the quality of future Speech therapists and on the other hand, it puts into practice those research areas which mean a progress in the Speech Therapy practice.

The level of specialisation of the achieved competences includes a scientific interest, providing the student with the possibility of complementing his or her training with methodological and scientific aspects, the opportunity of carrying out a Doctorate and to favour the scientific productivity on this field, as well as in the rest of Europe.

In Europe, university training for researching activities of speech, language, voice and hearing specialists is given in three programs in Belgium, 2 in Germany, 5 in Holland, 3 in Switzerland and the ones that are given in Grat Britain, Ireland, Finland and Sweden (Standing Liaison Commitee of E.U Speech and Language Therapists and Logopedists ‐CPLOL‐, 31st December 2007). A large research activity in research teams, some of them are registered in the Standing Liaison Commitee of E.U Speech and Language Therapists and Logopedists (http://membres.lycos.fr/cplol/en/recherche.html). The organisation is assembled by international bodies such as: AAA (American Academy of Audiology), ASALFA (Asociación Argentina de Logopedia, Foniatría y Audiología), ASHA (American Speech‐Language‐Hearing Association), Asociación Iberoamericana de la Tartamudez, BIAP (Bureau International d'AudioPhonologie), CPLOL (Comité Permanent de Liaison des Orthophonistes / Logopèdes de l'Union Européenne). The scientific activity is spread by scientific journals  (Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, fusionadas actualmente en Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, American Journal of Speech‐Language Pathology, Journal of Speech and Language Pathology and Applied Behavior Analysis, Speech pathology and therapy, etc.), among others journals like Brain and language, Journal of Memory and Language, Language and speech, etc.

In our country, this demand is not fulfilled. The limited scientific productivity in this field (only 140 registers appears in TESEO binding the terms “Speech language pathology” and “Speech pathology and correctness pathology” together without consider voice, hearing and speech) arrives from other training paths with similar interests.

Speech Therapy is recognised as a medical profession according to the Law 44/2003 on the Organisation of Health Professions. In the last few years, an ongoing institutionalisation of Speech Therapy has been appreciated in hospitals and social services as well as in private sectors in cooperation with healthcare system and education system.  The only blank space regarding to the Speech therapists labour insertion is related to the impossibility of accessing to the public sector for their professional exercise. In spite of that, most of the Speech therapists develop their work on primary school students through a wide range of methods. Nowadays, there is a number of Professional Colleges of Speech and Language Therapists (Colegios Profesionales) in Spain, which are represented by the General Council of Speech Therapists (Consejo General de Colegios de Logopedas) as well as some associations such as AELFA (Asociación Española de Logpedia, Foniatría y Audiología), ALE (Asociación de Logopedas de España) and ADUL (Asociación de Diplomados Universitarios en Logopedia).  These and other organisations, along with the Porfessional Colleges, are a symbol of the strength and dynamism of the profession.

Among this collective, there is an intense training demand that prepares the varied casuistry that the speech therapist must face during his or her professional work. The Speech Therapy White Paper, proposed by ANECA, an only professional profile is conceived. But a large diversification of the professional fields is recognized as well as the large specialisation of its competences.

At a European level, this diversification and the need of a specialisation is a reality. In this regard, QAA ‐Academic Assurance Agency for Higher Education recognises that the Speech therapists deal with the all the therapeutic aspects in regard to communicaton disorders of people of all ages, those which are characteristic of physical, cognitive, linguistic, psychological or social aetiology. Most of Speech Therapists have a large range of roles: consultant, educator, facilitator and researcher. It can be a direct therapy, face to face with the patient, or indirect, working with the family, teachers, etc. Moreover, among their competences the need of researching about Speech Therapy issues and use the instruments of his or her profession are specified.  This approach agrees with the one of other Speech Therapy international bodies (Comité Permanent de Liaison des Orthophonistes‐Logopèdes de l’Union Européenne (CPLOL) and Scope of Practice in Speech‐Language Pathology de la American Speech‐Language‐Hearing Asociation (ASHA).

As it is said in Article 7f of Law 44/2003 of the Regulations Of Health Professions: “The holders of university diplomas in Speech Therapy develop the activities in regard to the prevention, evalutation and recovery of the disorders related to hearing, phonation and language throught those specific techniques of their discipline”. The 1277/2003 Royal Decree “U.61”:”... A Speech Therapists is responsible for the prevention, study and correction of languages disorders”. On the other hand, the College of Speech Therapists in Catalonia ( Col∙legi de Logopedes de Catalunya) defines speech therapists as: “Therapists that assumes the responsability of the prevention, evaluation, treatment and scientific studies of human communicative disorders. In this context, communication includes all those functions associated to comprehension, writing and speaking skills, as well as all those non‐verbal  communication”. According to this professional profile, it is applicable to those communicative disorders which are related to language, speaking and hearing skills. Thus, we can say that this profesional profile binds a wide range of possibilities together, making this academical offer indispensable.

It is therefore entirely appropriate for us to start the Master's Degree in Speech Therapy Intervention Specialisation at Universitat de València:

• Currently, a progressive institutionalization of speech therapy has been appreciated and its social demand is constantly growing.
• Traditional practices have expanded prominently in the professional exercise, paying attention to an increasing demand and issues about varios groups through different modalities of services.
• The diversification of actions has been promoted by the incorporation of people from other countries with language difficulties, language learning problems and speech in the educational system.
• Among this group of professionals, there is a powerful formative demand that prepares to deal with the varied number of problems faced along the professional development.
• This fact has long been recognised by EEES, both academical and professional level by international organizations and universities.
• In the academic level, postgraduate education will encourage graduates in the Degree in Speech Therapy to participate in the education of future speech therapist as a part of university teaching staff.
• This participation will result in an improvement in education both theoretical and practical level.
• The proposed training in this Master will encourage research and progress in the understanding of the profession, according to the speech therapist recognized competencies and the existing resources in the rest of Europe.

2.1.2 Standards for the Professional Practice

Speech Therapy is recognised as a medical profession according to the Law 44/2003 on the Organisation of Health Professions.
Professional activity is regulated by the Royal Decree 1277/2003, which orders the authorisation for healthcare centres.
B.O.E (Official State Bulletin). Thursday 26th March 2009. Order CIN/726/2009, 18th of March, in which requirements for the verification of the official undergraduate degrees that allow the exercition of Speech Therapy profession are established.
B.O.E (Official State Bulletin). Tuesday 17th February 2009. Resolution 5th February 2009, Scretariat of State for Universities, in wich the Agreement of the Council Ministers is published, by which the conditions in order to obtain a degree that allow the exertion of Speech Therapy profession are established.