Ryan dos Santos Meechan

“I have always been interested in how people understand language. When completing my Masters of Speech Language Therapy (Prac), I found I engaged more with the theory and research aspects of the programme. I had a lot of questions that have yet to be answered.

“I chose to pursue a PhD as I’d rather spend the rest of my life answering, or at least trying to answer, questions that pique my curiosity than not knowing or waiting for someone else to answer them. Plus, language research, reading papers, and writing are my passions, so I get to do what I love as work and not have to wait for the weekend to do what I love like most jobs.

“As my research is clinically related, I am able to carry out research that has clinical applications to better our understanding of communication impairment and improve therapeutic intervention.

“My department is relatively small, so I have gotten to know everyone well. It’s a very supportive environment, and there are many opportunities for students to try new things, grow, and learn outside the scope of their PhD project.

“For people considering higher education with specific regard to Speech Language Therapy, A PhD is a research degree, not an advanced practitioner degree. Earning your PhD doesn’t necessarily translate into improved clinical work and skills. However, it will equip you with the research skills to understand and produce evidence-based research with clinical applications.”