In Ukraine, speech and language therapy is gradually developing as part of the international professional community and is grounded in modern evidence-based practice. In the autumn of 2025, the first Master’s program in Speech and Language Therapy was launched in the country. How students are mastering this profession and what knowledge they gain during their studies is explored in this article.
“Despite having 12 years of experience and an established professional reputation, during the program I caught myself thinking that the more you learn, the more you realize how much you still don’t know. About 90% of the information we receive is new to me, and that is incredibly valuable. I can see that this knowledge has practical applications and will truly strengthen my work with patients,” says Nadiia about her studies in the Master’s program in Speech and Language Therapy.
Nadiia is one of the 23 students who began their studies in the Master’s program at Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University.
The educational process includes a wide range of disciplines. For example, during the first semester, students focused on understanding the philosophy of the profession through courses such as “Speech and Language Therapist in Healthcare Settings,” “Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods in Speech and Language Therapy”
Although all students already held Master’s degrees in education—and many had practical experience working in healthcare facilities—they admit that they had previously worked without a full understanding of their professional roles or how their work should be structured. Short courses and training they had taken before were unable to fill this gap or provide sufficient support in daily practice.
The second semester has already begun with clinical disciplines, including Aphasia: Etiology, Types, Assessment and Therapy, Dysphagia, and Motor Speech Disorders: Etiology, Types, Assessment, and Therapy. .
The trainers of these courses include:
• Carole R. Roth-Abramson, PhD, holds a PhD from the University of Colorado and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Neurogenic Communication Sciences and Disorders at the Mayo Clinic (USA), Program Director.
• Oksana Lialka, PhD, holds a joint international doctoral degree in Cognitive Science and Aphasiology from five universities. She studied and defended her dissertation at Newcastle University (United Kingdom).
• Ingeborg Sympelaere, PhD, Head of the Bachelor’s Program in Speech and Language Pathology and Audiology at VIVES University of Applied Sciences (Belgium).
At the beginning of the first lecture of the second semester, delivered by Belgian lecturer Ingeborg Sympelaere, students were also addressed by Paola Pavlenko, National Expert on Health and Social Protection at the Belgian agency for international cooperation Enabel, who emphasized the importance of supporting high-quality education for speech and language therapists in Ukraine.
The practical component of the educational process, starting from the first semester, is supported by assistants from the Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine: Khrystyna Hrytsko, Olena Syva, Larysa Yatskiv, Maryna Shohan, and Yuliia Ozarchuk.
All of them are certified Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) working in the healthcare sector. They clearly understand the importance of this knowledge and therefore coordinate and support students at every stage of their studies, ensuring that theoretical training remains closely connected to practical activities and real working conditions. They also facilitate communication between students and international lecturers and help integrate best international practices into Ukrainian education.
Despite the harsh winter, power outages, and the difficult security situation in the country, students continue to engage enthusiastically with the curriculum. They highlight the convenient learning format and the availability of high-quality simultaneous interpretation during lectures. In addition, students have access to lecture recordings both in Ukrainian translation and in the original language.
The opportunity to obtain this much-needed professional qualification and a high-quality education has been made possible thanks to the support of the Belgian agency for international cooperation Enabel in Ukraine and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
“Lectures are recorded, and I can return to the material and review it several times, which allows me to study complex topics more deeply. For me, this is a huge advantage, as it enables me to learn at my own pace and not miss anything. The courses are delivered by international lecturers in English. At the same time, the program includes a dedicated course in Medical English focused specifically on professional terminology. This helps not only to better understand lectures but also to expand my professional vocabulary,” says Nadiia.
In the daily practice of another student, Liudmyla Rudnik, much of her work involves adults recovering from strokes and traumatic brain injuries, as well as military personnel undergoing comprehensive rehabilitation. This experience motivated her to continue her education, as providing quality care to such patients requires not only general training but also strong clinical reasoning and specialized knowledge relevant to rehabilitation settings.
“I consciously searched for education that would truly be valuable to me. I constantly monitored the information space, university pages, and professional communities to find a program that would meet the real needs of clinical practice. The decisive factor for me was that Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University became the first in Ukraine to launch a comprehensive program in Speech and Language Therapy. When I saw the announcement about admissions and the competitive selection process, I realized this was exactly the opportunity I had been looking for. My motivation to study Speech and Language Therapy was neither accidental nor spontaneous,” Liudmyla says.
Students emphasize that this education is fundamentally different from any training they had previously completed. It develops clinical reasoning, professional maturity, and a clear understanding of the role of the speech and language therapist within the healthcare system.
“We learn to analyze symptoms, work with scientific sources, build hypotheses, and, on this basis, plan individualized therapy using real clinical cases. Importantly, we are trained as autonomous and responsible professionals: we study the legal and ethical aspects of our work and clearly understand our role within a multidisciplinary team. A key component of the program is also clinical practice—a month in a rehabilitation center under the supervision of experienced mentors. This education provides not only knowledge but also confidence in professional decision-making and readiness to work according to modern standards,” shares Liudmyla Rudnik.
The master’s students currently studying Speech and Language Therapy have chosen a challenging yet extremely important profession. It is a new field for Ukraine that requires in-depth training, interdisciplinary knowledge, and continuous practice, as its ultimate goal is to help people restore their ability to communicate after injuries, illnesses, or congenital disorders.
This publication was prepared within the framework of a project supporting the Master’s program in Speech and Language Therapy initiated by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. The program is implemented by Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University in cooperation with the Ukrainian Society of Speech and Language Therapy, in partnership with the Patients of Ukraine Charitable Foundation, as part of the initiative “TRUE. Trauma Rehabilitation for Ukraine.” The project is implemented with the support of the Belgian agency for international cooperation Enabel and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
