新英格兰大学

The Bachelor of Psychological Science provides a thorough grounding in psychology. You study more Psychology units as you progress through each year of the course. This provides an opportunity to explore other areas of interest in the early years of your degree but achieve a thorough grounding in Psychology by the time you graduate. The result is a balanced education, as well as a specialisation in Psychology. The degree includes Psychology units as diverse as Social Psychology (the study of human social behaviour), Biopsychology (the study of the brain), Psychological Assessment (conducting tests of human abilities and skills), and Psychopathology (the study of mental illness). In addition, an optional Minor in Criminology is available within the course.

Students who have already completed a bachelor degree may apply for admission as a Graduate Entry student. This pathway recognises a student's prior learning and by maximising advanced standing provides a fast-track to gaining a psychology qualification. Graduate entry provides an accredited undergraduate sequence in psychology by completing a minimum number of prescribed and listed units in Psychology.

Graduates who have achieved sufficient grades in Psychology units are eligible to apply for the Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Psychology.

Career Opportunities

The Bachelor of Psychological Science allows you to apply for employment positions that use psychological knowledge. Positions are available in a wide range of public, private and non-profit settings. Examples include human service organisations, employment agencies, counselling services, personnel management, market research, and health and community services. For those who want to engage in more specialist work within psychology, depending upon your final grades, the Bachelor of Psychological Science can provide the entry requirement into advanced courses in psychology.

Course Aims

The Bachelor of Psychological Science provides an accredited three year undergraduate sequence in psychology. This involves a thorough grounding in the core areas of psychology, plus an opportunity to explore specialist areas, while also allowing the student to study other areas of interest.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

demonstrate coherent theoretical and empirical knowledge of the core topics of Psychology, including: abnormal psychology, biological bases of behaviour, cognition, information processing and language, individual differences, testing and assessment, learning, lifespan development, motivation and emotion, perception, social psychology, history and philosophy of psychology, intercultural diversity and indigenous psychology;

describe, apply and evaluate the different research methods used by psychologists and demonstrate practical skills in psychological research design, data analysis, and report writing using American Psychological Association (APA) structure and formatting conventions;

critically evaluate psychological literature, question claims that arise from untested assumptions, and recognise the link between theory and practical application of that theory in the world;