Program

Psychology - 3432

This Program is no longer accepting new enrolments

Program Summary

Faculty: Faculty of Science

Contact: School of Psychology

Campus: Sydney

Career: Undergraduate

Typical Duration: 4 Years  

Typical UOC Per Semester: 24

Min UOC Per Semester: 3

Max UOC Per Semester: 27

Min UOC For Award: 192

Domestic Entry Requirements: See Domestic Entry Requirements

International Entry Requirements: See International Entry Requirements

Award(s):

Bachelor of Psychology

View program information for previous years

Program Description

Important: starting Semester 1 2016 this program has been replaced by 3632 Bachelor of Psychology (Honours). New students in 2016 and onwards should refer to program 3632. Continuing students should refer to the Handbook of the year they commenced their program, accessible here.



Psychology is a discipline of both scientific research and applied practice. As a science, psychology is concerned with the study of behaviour and its underlying mental and neural processes. Topics of study include learning, memory, cognition, perception, motivation, life-span development, personality, social interactions, and abnormal psychology. Psychology has many areas of application, especially in clinical, correctional, counselling, educational, and organisational settings. In addition, people with training in psychology pursue careers in academic research, health research, developmental disabilities and rehabilitation, ergonomics, occupational health and safety, personnel selection, training, and management, vocational guidance, and marketing.

Program Objectives and Graduate Attributes

The four-Stage full-time program leads to the degree of Bachelor of Psychology. At the conclusion of this program, students should be able to:

1) Demonstrate a broad and coherent body of knowledge of psychology, with depth in the underlying principles and concepts;
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the history and philosophy of science and psychology
  • Demonstrate understanding of the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, research methods, empirical findings, and historical trends in the core topics of psychology;
2) Understand, apply and evaluate basic research methods in psychology.
  • Understand the basic characteristics of the science of psychology;
  • Describe, apply and evaluate the different research methods used by psychologists;
  • Demonstrate the capacity to design and conduct basic studies to address psychological questions across a wide variety of domains.
3) Develop and demonstrate critical thinking skills.
  • Recognise the major formal and informal fallacies of human reasoning and question claims that arise from myth, stereotype, pseudoscience or untested assumptions;
  • Use logic, evidence and psychological science to critically evaluate and to develop arguments;
  • Demonstrate a rigorous and objective attitude in thinking and learning about human behaviour.
4) Demonstrate appropriate professional values.
  • Demonstrate sensitivity to diversity in individuals [aspirational: apply that sensitivity in practice, and reflect on the sociocultural, historical, geographical and international contexts that influence beliefs, values and behaviour: i.e., develop cultural awareness and competence];
  • Recognise ethical and moral influences that impact on individuals in a globalized society;
  • Demonstrate knowledge, understanding and application of relevant professional codes including (a) the Australian Psychological Society Code of Ethics and the complementary Ethical Guidelines, (b) relevant values identified within the Australian National Practice Standards for the Mental Health Workforce, and (c) relevant values identified in those institutional codes regarding student behaviour (e.g., intellectual integrity).
5) Develop effective communication skills.
  • Write effectively in a variety of formats and for a variety of purposes (i.e., standard research reports and research proposals; observing ethics of written communication);
  • Demonstrate effective oral communication skills in various formats and for various purposes;
  • Demonstrate interpersonal skills for communicating between individuals and ability to work collaboratively in groups to complete projects.
6) Understand and apply psychological principles to personal, social, organisational and global issues.
  • Understand the links between basic psychological theories and their application (e.g., capacity to explain psychological phenomena using the concepts, language, findings and major theories of the discipline).
  • Apply knowledge of legislative frameworks (including privacy, human rights);
  • Demonstrate a responsibility and capacity for independent learning to sustain personal and professional development in the changing world of the science and practice of psychology.

Program Structure

Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Psychology as a single degree must complete a minimum of 192 Units of Credit (UoC) for the award of the degree.

This 192 Units of Credit is comprised of the following:

TOTAL OF 192 UOC
144 UOC
* 96 UoC of PSYC courses (years 1 to 3); and
* 48 UoC Honours in Psychology
36 UOC
* Free electives: these courses can be taken from any Faculty of the university.
12 UOC
* General Education courses: these courses cannot be Science courses.

Where a student studies the Bachelor of Psychology as part of a dual degree with another UNSW undergraduate degree program, they are required to complete a minimum of 144 units of credit comprised of the required Psychology courses, including 48 Units of Credit of Honours courses. This 144 UOC is in addition to the requirements of the second degree program.

Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
PLUS

30 UOC from level 3 Psychology courses: must include TWO courses from each of the elective groups below.

Note: Not all level III Psychology elective courses are necessarily offered each year.

Elective Stream A:
Elective Stream B:
Stage 4

Semester 1
Semester 2

Academic Rules

Single Degree Program Rules:

Academic rules relating to the Bachelor of Psychology are as follows:
  1. Students must complete a minimum of 192 units of credit (UOC).
  2. Students must follow the program of study as outlined in this Handbook and defined under the Program Structure above, completing a minimum of 144 UOC in Psychology (PSYC#### courses) including 48 UOC in Psychology at Honours level.
  3. Twelve Units of Credit of General Education must be taken and these courses can be taken at any time in the first three stages of a student's program (i.e., General Education must be completed before enrolment in Honours).
  4. Students can take a maximum of 72 UOC of Level 1 courses, including any GEN*#### course, or mainstream Level I course taken to fulfill the 12 UOC General Education requirement.
  5. No student may commence level II courses until 24 units of credit of level I courses have been successfully completed.
  6. Students may commence level III courses upon successful completion of 72 units of credit.
  7. Students will not be allowed to progress to Stage 4 unless they achieve an average of 75% across Psychology courses that they have taken as part of the Psychology major sequence, although students achieving an average of 70% or more may be admitted subject to appropriate research and supervision resources being available and at the discretion of the Head of School. Level 1 elective courses in Psychology such as PSYC1022, PSYC1023, PSYC1024 and PSYC1031 do not count in the calculation of this average.
  8. The final grading for the degree is based on performance in Stage 4 of the degree. Award: Class I or Class II of Division 1, or Class II Division 2 or Class III. If requirements for these classes are not met, students will graduate with the Pass degree Bachelor of Psychological Science (program 3435).
  9. Study Load: This is a four-stage full-time program. In any one session students must enrol in a full study load of 24 UoC in accordance with the requirements of the program. Only in exceptional circumstances will students be allowed to enrol in a reduced program for a Stage.
  10. Academic Standing: Students are required to achieve an average of 70 percent or higher in Psychology courses taken in any Stage (based on the first attempted result for each course). Students not maintaining this level of performance in Stage 1 will be counselled. Students who fail to achieve an average of 70 percent or higher in all Psychology courses taken in Stages 2 and 3 will normally be required to transfer to the Bachelor of Psychological Science (3435, Pass Degree).
Dual Degree Program Rules:

Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Psychology as one part of a dual degree must complete a minimum of 144 Units of Credit (UoC) for the award of the degree. Academic rules relating to the Bachelor of Psychology as one part of a dual degree are as follows:
  1. Students must complete a minimum of 144 units of credit (UOC).
  2. Students must follow the program of study as outlined in this Handbook and defined under the Program Structure above, completing a minimum of 144 UOC in Psychology including 48 UOC in Psychology at Honours level.
  3. No student may commence level II courses until 24 units of credit of level I courses have been successfully completed.
  4. Students may commence level III courses upon successful completion of 72 units of credit.
  5. Students will not be allowed to progress to Stage 4 unless they achieve an average of 75% across Psychology courses that they have taken as part of the Psychology major sequence, although students achieving an average of 70% or more may be admitted subject to appropriate research and supervision resources being available and at the discretion of the Head of School. Level 1 elective courses in Psychology such as PSYC1022, PSYC1023, PSYC1024 and PSYC1031 do not count in the calculation of this average.
  6. The final grading for the degree is based on performance in Stage 4 of the degree. Award: Class I or Class II of Division 1, or Class II Division 2 or Class III. If requirements for these classes are not met, a Pass degree will be awarded.
  7. Study Load: This is a four-stage full-time program. In any one session students must enrol in a full study load of 24 UoC in accordance with the requirements of the program. Only in exceptional circumstances will students be allowed to enrol in a reduced program for a Stage.
  8. Academic Standing: Students are required to achieve an average of 70 percent or higher in Psychology courses taken in any Stage (based on the first attempted result for each course). Students not maintaining this level of performance in Stage 1 will be counselled. Students who fail to achieve an average of 70 percent or higher in all Psychology courses taken in Stages 2 and 3 will normally be required to transfer to the corresponding Bachelor of Psychological Science (3435) dual degree combination.

Fees

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website:  UNSW Fee Website.

General Education Requirements

Students in this program must satisfy the University's General Education requirements. For further information, please refer to General Education in the Table of Contents (see left hand side of this page).

Registration as a Psychologist

The Fourth Year program meets the requirements of a fourth year towards provisional registration as a psychologist nationally (www.psychologyboard.gov.au) and associate membership in the Australian Psychological Society (www.psychology.org.au).

Note: As of 1 July 2010, a single national registration scheme operates for psychologists in Australia, and all practising psychologists must be registered with the Psychology Board of Australia (PBA). The national scheme will allow psychologists to work in any Australian State or Territory.

Area(s) of Specialisation