Bachelor of Arts (Psychology)
2024 Deakin University Handbook
| Year | 2025 course information |
|---|---|
| Award granted | Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) |
| Deakin course code | A301 |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts and Education |
| Campus | Offered at Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong) |
| Online | Yes |
| Duration | 3 years full-time or part-time equivalent |
| Course Map - enrolment planning tool | This course map is for new students commencing from Trimester 1 2025. This course map is for new students commencing from Trimester 2 2025. Course maps for commencement in previous years are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser in Student Central. |
| CRICOS course code | 077384J Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong) |
| Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition | The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 7 |
Course sub-headings
- Course overview
- Professional recognition
- Career opportunities
- Participation requirements
- Mandatory student checks
- Course Learning Outcomes
- Course rules
- Majors
- Course structure
- Work experience
- Research and research-related study
- Fees and charges
Course overview
Study the Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) and gain insight into why people think, feel and behave the way they do. At the same time, you will also open the door to a world of opportunity through your study in the arts.
Learn the perfect mix of skills sought by employers by studying one degree, with exposure to two distinct areas of interest. Combining your passions in psychology and the arts can broaden your career options and make you more employable once you graduate.
The added benefit of an arts degree at Deakin is the transferable skills you build through experiential learning. Learn to work in teams during industry placements, develop critical analysis through work-integrated learning, and build valuable life skills through international experiences. Combine this with in-depth study in psychology as a scientific discipline and learn about human behaviour and personality.
Why not study psychology your way, with more flexibility and diverse opportunities?
You will explore diverse areas of psychology including:
- behavioural and clinical neuroscience
- child and adolescent psychology
- cognitive psychology
- forensic psychology
- human social behaviour
Our School of Psychology is one of the largest in Victoria. It has strong partnerships with industry, including collaborative activities with government agencies, public and private organisations, hospitals and other universities.
These partnerships ensure that your degree remains relevant to industry and workforce needs. You will be in high demand by employers who want graduates that are ready to face problems with confidence.
You will get the chance to build real-world experience by electing to undertake the Psychology at Work (Internship) unit in your final year of study. This gives you 140-hours of practical industry placement, strengthening your employment prospects. The Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) is also recognised for registration purposes by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC).
As a student in the Bachelor of Arts (Psychology), you will also choose an area of study in the arts to build your future-focused degree, choose from disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, communication, languages, and the creative arts.
With specialist knowledge in your chosen arts discipline, you will learn how to apply critical, creative and strategic thinking to real-world issues. You will also develop the essential skills in communication, critical thinking and problem solving that employers are looking for.
If you are intending to become a psychologist, this course is a pathway to a fourth year level of study (honours or graduate diploma level). After completing a fourth year of study, you will be eligible to apply for provisional registration as a psychologist. Students wishing to become fully registered psychologists can then apply to continue their study by undertaking one of the following:
- Master of Psychology (Clinical)
- Master of Psychology (Organisational)
- Master of Professional Psychology
- Doctor of Psychology (Clinical).
Professional recognition
The Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) degree at Deakin meets the requirements of the Psychology Board of Australia (PBA) translating into excellent job and career opportunities for our graduates. Upon graduation of this degree, you'll have gained a three-year undergraduate psychology sequence that is accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) and recognised for registration purposes by the PBA, enabling you to undertake additional study in pursuit of provisional registration.
Career opportunities
As a Deakin Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) graduate you will develop some of the most important skills a student can gain at university. Through your study in the arts, you will build valuable and transferable career skills, making you highly employable within many industries. The range of disciplines on offer also lets you follow your passion and develop the specialist skills to pursue the career you want. You will be able to take your degree into a range of careers, including:
- administration
- advertising
- business
- communications
- community organisations
- criminal justice
- education
- galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAM)
- government
- human rights
- journalism
- management consulting
- media
- not-for-profits
- performing and visual arts
- photography
- policing
- policy development
- politics
- public relations
- publishing
- research
- tourism.
Following the completion of your major in psychology, taking the next step towards becoming a psychologist involves applying for an honours year (e.g. Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours)). Once completed, you can then apply for provisional registration as a psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA).
If your passion isn’t to complete further study to become a registered psychologist, there are still many diverse career options available, including:
- child protection
- counselling
- family support
- human services
- marketing
- not for profit aid
- public health
- social work
If you choose to pursue full registration as a psychologist, you may find employment in a variety of roles, including:
- clinical psychologist
- cognitive neuroscientist
- counsellor
- criminal psychologist
- educational and developmental psychologist
- family therapist
- forensic psychologist
- health and community psychologist
- organisational psychologist
- rehabilitation counsellor
- sport and exercise psychologist
- youth psychologist
These positions can be found in:
- private clinics and practices
- public and private hospitals
- corporate organisations
- schools and universities
- government departments and agencies
- sporting clubs and institutes
- social research organisations
For more information go to DeakinTALENT.
Participation requirements
Reasonable adjustments to participation and other course requirements will be made for students with a disability. More information available at Disability support services.
Mandatory student checks
Any unit which contains work integrated learning, a community placement or interaction with the community may require a police check, Working with Children Check or other check.
Transition to University study
The faculty offers two units AIX160 Introduction to University Study and AIX117 Professional Writing for Work [No longer available for enrolment] which are specifically designed to ease the transition into university study. New students are encouraged to enrol in one or both of these units in their first year.
Course Learning Outcomes
| Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes | Course Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|
| Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities | Demonstrate a broad and coherent body of knowledge in the Arts disciplines, with depth in the underlying principles and concepts in one or more disciplines or areas of practice. |
| Communication | Demonstrate highly developed skills in oral, written and electronic communication and the ability to communicate research outcomes, and produce scholarly papers. |
| Digital literacy | Research, analyse, synthesise and disseminate information using a range of appropriate technologies and resources in a rapidly-changing global environment. |
| Critical thinking | Use critical and analytical thinking and judgement in selecting and applying appropriate theories and methodologies to evaluate information and knowledge about society, culture and the arts. |
| Problem solving | Apply cognitive, technical and creative skills to generate solutions to unpredictable and sometimes complex problems in the Humanities, Social Sciences and the Creative Arts, including cross-disciplinary approaches. |
| Self-management | Demonstrate autonomy, responsibility and accountability for personal actions and a continued commitment to learning in personal, professional, and scholarly contexts. |
| Teamwork | Work and learn collaboratively with colleagues, other professionals and members of the wider community. |
| Global citizenship | Demonstrate an awareness of ethical issues, cultural diversity, and social responsibility when engaging in scholarship and professional roles in the local, national or international community. |
Approved by Faculty Board June 2014
Course rules
To complete the Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) students must pass 24 credit points and meet the following course rules to be eligible to graduate:
- DAI001 Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0-credit-point compulsory unit) in their first study period
- 10 credit points of core psychology units
- 1 arts major (minimum 8 credit points)
- 2 credit points of arts units
- 4 credit points of open electives
- a maximum of 10 credit points at level 1
- a minimum of 6 credit points at level 3 or above
Students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements. See the enrolment codes and terminology to help make sense of the University’s vocabulary.
Majors
A major sequence is made up of 8 credit points in a particular area of study taken over the three levels of your course. Each unit is usually worth 1 credit point.
Please check the rules of each major sequence to see which units you need to complete to achieve the required credit points.
Students are required to complete one Arts major sequence from the following list:
| Area of Study | Type of sequence | Availability |
| Anthropology | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Arabic | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Online |
| Chinese | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Criminology | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Education | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Online |
| English - Children's Literature | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| English - Creative Writing | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| English - Literature | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Film and Television Studies | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Online |
| Gender and Sexuality Studies | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| History | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Indigenous Studies | Major and Minor | Online |
| Indonesian | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| International Relations | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Media and Communication | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Media Studies | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Online |
| Middle East Studies | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Performing Arts | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne) |
| Philosophy | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Politics and Policy Studies | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Public Relations Studies | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Religious Studies | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Social Media | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Sociology | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Spanish | Major and Minor | Major: Burwood (Melbourne), Online Minor: Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Sport Journalism | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Strategic Advertising | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Online |
| Visual Arts and Photography | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne) |
| Visual Communication Design | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
Course structure
Level 1
| DAI001 | Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin |
| HPS111 | Introduction to Psychology: Human Behaviour |
| HPS121 | Introduction to Psychology: Individual and Social Development |
Level 2
| HPS201 | Psychology Research Methods (Introductory) |
| HPS202 | Developmental Psychology (Child and Adolescent) |
| HPS203 | Cognitive Psychology |
| HPS204 | Social Psychology |
Level 3
| HPS301 | Psychology Research Methods (Intermediate) |
| HPS307 | Personality Psychology |
| HPS308 | Psychopathology |
| HPS310 | Biological Psychology (Brain and Behaviour) |
Work experience
Take your learning beyond the classroom by doing a professional work experience placement and/or internship as part of your degree, Work Integrated Learning.
Course duration
Course duration may be affected by delays in completing course requirements, such as failing of units or accessing or completing placements.
Further information
Student Central can help you with course planning, choosing the right units and explaining course rules and requirements.
- Contact Student Central
Research and research-related study
Independent research components are embedded across a number of units.
Fees and charges
Fees and charges vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study, and their study discipline or your study load.
Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.
For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current students website.