Overview

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The Master of Deglutology programme from KU Leuven originated from high demand for professionals specialised in the care of patients with swallowing disorders in the mouth, throat or oesophagus. This interdisciplinary programme will cover all the associated areas of study and equip the student with the necessary tools and experience to enter the workplace with confidence to solve problems and to face the current challenges in clinical care.

This interdisciplinary programme uses a theoretical in-depth, research-based approach to train you as a competent professional in the science of deglutition. You will learn a variety of clinical skills, gain hands-on experience, and develop unique competencies used in clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic settings related to this expanding field.

Strengths & aims

• Train the student as a professional and researcher who is able to bring his/her domain of expertise to a higher level of functionality, using enhanced knowledge and clinical skills in deglutology.
• Build on the expertise that the student will obtain during the deglutology programme - but also on his/her prior medical or paramedical expertise - to prepare the student to improve dysphagia screening and treatment in the larger community.
• Provide the student with specific education so as to prepare the student to move into a job profile involving more advanced clinical research or managerial competencies and thereby help to close the existing gap in the labour market.

Career prospects

Once you obtain this academic master's degree, you will be able to focus on the integrated care of patients with lifelong or newly onset swallowing disorders in the mouth, throat or oesophagus.

You will not only work as a physiologist and a clinician with unique diagnostic (instrumental) and therapeutic skills, but also as a manager, communicator and scientist.

Deglutologists find careers in the life sciences domain in the broadest sense, including health care, academia and industry.