Bachelor of Arts (Psychology)
2027 Deakin University Handbook
| Year | 2027 course information |
|---|---|
| Award granted | Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) |
| Course credit points | 24 |
| Deakin course code | A301 |
| Course version | 2 |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts and Education |
| Course information | For students who commenced from 2023 onwards |
| Campus | Offered at Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Duration | 3 years full-time or part-time equivalent |
| Course map - enrolment planning tool | The course map for students commencing from Trimester 1 2027 will be available soon Course maps for commencement in previous years are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser in Student Central. |
| CRICOS 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
- Articulated courses
- Course learning outcomes
- Course rules
- Majors
- Course structure
- Work experience
- Research and research-related study
- Fees and charges
Course overview
Become an expert in why people think, feel and behave the way they do. Deakin’s Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) gives you the perfect mix of skills sought by employers in one degree, with exposure to two distinct areas of interest and over 30 study areas to choose from.
Build transferable skills through experiential learning. Work in teams during industry placement, develop critical analysis through work-integrated learning and build valuable life skills through global experiences. Combine this with in-depth study in psychology as a scientific discipline and learn about human behaviour and personality. Undertake 140 hours of practical industry placement in your final year of study to flex your new skill set and grow your professional network. As a graduate you may opt to undertake further studies leading to registration.
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). You will then need to undertake further study through a masters or doctorate course to pursue general registration with PsyBA and work as a registered psychologist.
If your passion isn’t 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.
Articulated courses
| Bachelor of Arts (Honours) (A400) |
Course learning outcomes
| Course Learning Outcomes |
|---|
| 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. |
| Demonstrate highly developed skills in oral, written and electronic communication and the ability to communicate research outcomes, and produce scholarly papers. |
| Research, analyse, synthesise and disseminate information using a range of appropriate technologies and resources in a rapidly-changing global environment. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Demonstrate autonomy, responsibility and accountability for personal actions and a continued commitment to learning in personal, professional, and scholarly contexts. |
| Work and learn collaboratively with colleagues, other professionals and members of the wider community. |
| 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
Note – From 2026, Deakin commenced introducing Graduate Attributes (GAs), which define the distinctive characteristics of a Deakin graduate. You may notice some courses still refer to Graduate Learning Outcomes (GLOs) during this transition period.
Course rules
To complete the Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) you must pass 24 credit points. This includes:
- DAI001 Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0-credit-point compulsory unit) in your first study period
- 10 credit points of core psychology units
- 1 arts major (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.
Most units are equal to one credit point. As a full-time student you will study four credit points per trimester and usually undertake two trimesters per year.
Students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements.
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 |
| Animation | Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Online |
| Anthropology | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Arabic | Minor | Online~ |
| Chinese | Minor | Online~ |
| Criminology | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Design Thinking | Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Digital Cultures | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), 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 |
| Global Challenges | Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online^~ Note: Offered to continuing students only |
| History | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Indigenous Studies | Major and Minor | Online |
| Indonesian | Minor | Online~ |
| International Relations | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waterfront (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), 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), Online^ |
| Social Media | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Online |
| Sociology | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Spanish | Minor | Online~ |
| Sport and Society | 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 |
| UX* Design | Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Visual Arts and Photography | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne) |
| Visual Communication Design | Major and Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Web Design | Minor | Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
*UX refers to User Experience
^Waurn Ponds (Geelong) offering offered to continuing students only
~ Burwood (Melbourne) offering offered to continuing students
Interested in majoring in psychology? Consider a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology)
Course structure
Core units
Compulsory 0-credit point module
To be completed in the first trimester of study:
| DAI001 | Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin |
Level 1
| HPS117 | Introduction to Psychology: Biopsychosocial Perspectives |
| HPS118 | Introduction to Psychology: Cross-Cultural and Indigenous Perspectives |
HPS111 Introduction to Psychology: Human Behaviour [No longer available for enrolment]
HPS121 Introduction to Psychology: Individual and Social Development [No longer available for enrolment]
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
You may be able to study available units in the optional third trimester to fast-track your degree, however your course duration may be extended if there are delays in meeting course requirements, such as completing a placement.
Research and research-related study
Independent research components are embedded across a number of units.
Fees and charges
Tuition fees will vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study, your study load and/or unit discipline.
Your tuition fees will increase annually at the start of each calendar year. All fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD) and do not include additional costs such as textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment, mandatory checks, travel, consumables and other costs.
For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current students website.
Further information
Contact Student Central for assistance in course planning, choosing the right units and explaining course rules and requirements. Student Central can also provide information for a wide range of services at Deakin. To help you understand the University vocabulary, please refer to our Enrolment codes and terminology page.