Psychology (Honours) / Law - 4721
Program Summary
Faculty: Faculty of Law
Contact: http://www.law.unsw.edu.au
Campus: Sydney
Career: Undergraduate
Typical UOC Per Semester: 24
Min UOC Per Semester: 6
Max UOC Per Semester: 24
Min UOC For Award: 288
UAC Code: 426000
Domestic Entry Requirements: See Domestic Entry Requirements
International Entry Requirements: See International Entry Requirements
Award(s):
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Psychology (Honours)
View program information for previous years
Program Description
The Dual award degree Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) / Bachelor of Laws is a 6 year program (full-time) and provides an opportunity to obtain two degrees that would be of interest to students wishing to study both psychology (at honours level) and law. The Law courses satisfy the requirements for the award of the professional LLB degree.The Fourth Year program in Psychology (typically taken in the fifth year of the combined program) meets the requirements of a fourth year towards provisional registration as a psychologist nationally (http://www.psychologyboard.gov.au/) and associate membership in the Australian Psychological Society
Program Objectives and Graduate Attributes
For the Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), please see the program objectives and learning outcomes as listed in program 3632 Psychology(Honours)
Program Structure
Total Unit Requirements
Law compulsory courses - 96 UOC
Law prescribed elective - 6 UOC
Law elective courses - 42 UOC
Psychology Courses - 144 UOC - please see below for further detail
Total 288 UOC
The subject requirements for the Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) are as follows:
Stage 1
- PSYC1001 Psychology 1A (6 UOC)
- PSYC1011 Psychology 1B (6 UOC)
- PSYC1021 Intro to Psych Applications (6 UOC)
- PSYC1111 Measuring Mind and Behaviour (6 UOC)
- PSYC3001 Research Methods 3 (6 UOC)
- PSYC3011 Psychological Applications (6 UOC)
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:
- PSYC3051 Physiological Psychology (6 UOC)
- PSYC3211 Cognitive Science (6 UOC)
- PSYC3221 Vision and Brain (6 UOC)
- PSYC3241 Psychobiol of Memory&Motivat'n (6 UOC)
- PSYC3311 Language and Cognition (6 UOC)
- PSYC3371 Multivariate Data Analysis (6 UOC)
- PSYC3121 Social Psychology (6 UOC)
- PSYC3141 Behaviour in Organisations (6 UOC)
- PSYC3301 Psychology and Law (6 UOC)
- PSYC3331 Health Psychology (6 UOC)
- PSYC3341 Developmental Psychology (6 UOC)
- PSYC3361 Research Internship (6 UOC)
Semester 1
- PSYC4073 Honours Research Project A (12 UOC)
- PSYC4093 Psychology 4A (12 UOC)
- PSYC4083 Honours Research Project B (18 UOC)
- PSYC4103 Psychology 4B (6 UOC)
Students must study Psychology courses in a sequence approved by the Faculty of Science and Law courses in a sequence approved by the Faculty of Law. An approved sequence can be found here:
LAWSA14721 Psychology and Law
General Education Requirements
Honours
High achieving students may be eligible to graduate with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours).
Please visit the Honours in law website for further information about the current Honours policy (applicable to students who commenced the LLB in 2014 or earlier) and the new policy (applicable to students who commenced the LLB from 2015 onwards).
Honours in Bachelor of Psychology (Honours)
Stage 4 of the Bachelor of Psychology(Honours) program, comprises an honours year consisting of completion of a 30 unit of credit independent research project completed under the guidance of an academic supervisor, and 18 units of credit of advanced level coursework. The research project may be undertaken in most areas of psychology including: psychopathology; behavioural neuroscience; cognitive science; cognition and perception; forensic psychology; organisational psychology; and social, personality and developmental psychology. Students can indicate their preferred research areas but cannot be guaranteed the supervisor of their choice. The Honours coursework requirement includes content that encompasses history, professional ethics, evidence-based practice and advanced coverage of selected contemporary issues in psychology that reflect the expertise and research specialisations of School staff.
The research project culminates in and is assessed by a written thesis. This thesis is assessed independently by two academics, neither of which is the student's supervisor. Where there is a discrepancy in the marks between the two assessors, a third assessor may be engaged.
At the completion of their Honours program students will be awarded an honours grading as follows:
- Honours Class 1: mark of 85 or greater;
- Honours Class 2 Division 1: mark from 75 to 84;
- Honours Class 2 Division 2: mark from 65 to 74;
- Honours Class 3: mark from 50 to 64.
Academic Rules
Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Psychology(Honours) 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 (Honours) as one part of a dual degree are as follows:
- Students must complete a minimum of 144 units of credit (UOC).
- 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.
- No student may commence level II courses until 24 units of credit of level I courses have been successfully completed.
- Students may commence level III courses upon successful completion of 72 units of credit.
- Students will not be allowed to progress to Stage 4 (Honours) unless they achieve an average of 75% or higher across Psychology courses that they have taken as part of the Psychology major sequence, i.e. level 1 elective courses in Psychology such as PSYC1022, PSYC1023, PSYC1024 and PSYC1031 do not count in the calculation of this average. Students achieving an average of 70%-74.99% across Psychology major courses may be admitted subject to appropriate research and supervision resources being available and at the discretion of the Head of School. Students with an average of less than 70% across all Psychology major courses will normally not be admitted. Students not gaining admission into Honours are required to transfer to 4722 Psychological Science / Law.
- The final grading for the degree is based on performance in Stage 4 (Honours) of the degree. Award: Class I, Class II of Division 1, Class II Division 2, or Honours Class 3. Students who achieve less than 50% in the Honours program will be awarded the Pass degree, Bachelor of Psychological Science.
- 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.
- 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 4722 Bachelor of Psychological Science/ Law.
For Academic Rules relating to the Bachelor of Laws component of this dual law degree program, please refer to program 4701. Although 4701 program is no longer on offer, all dual law students enrolled in the LLB will need to comply with the rules stated here.
A direct link is given below:
Bachelor of Law 4701
Fees
Professional recognition
The Fourth Year program of the Bachelor of Psychology(Honours) (typically taken in the fifth year of the dual program) meets the requirements of a fourth year towards provisional registration as a psychologist nationally (http://www.psychologyboard.gov.au/) and associate membership in the Australian Psychological Society
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