Bachelor of Psychology (Honours)

2019 Deakin University Handbook

Note: You are seeing the 2019 view of this course information. These details may no longer be current. [Go to the current version]

Year	2019 course information
Award granted	Bachelor of Psychology (Honours)
Course Map	This course map is for new students commencing from Trimester 1 2019. This course map is for new students commencing from Trimester 2 2019. This course map is for new students commencing from Trimester 3 2019. Course maps for commencement in previous years are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser.
Campus	Burwood (Melbourne) Waurn Ponds (Geelong)
Cloud Campus	Yes
Duration	4 years full-time or part-time equivalent Course available to local students only
Deakin course code	H345
Approval status	This course is approved by the University under the Higher Education Standards Framework.
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

Study the mind and its processes, behaviour and mental states. With increasing focus on mental health in contemporary society, career prospects for psychology graduates are strong and varied. The honours year included in this course prepares you for provisional registration as a psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia (PBA), and sets you on the pathway to full registration.

Do you want to understand human behaviour, personality and emotion, and use those skills to help people?

This course differs to the Bachelor of Psychological Science and the Bachelor of Arts (Psychology), as it provides you with the opportunity to complete honours in psychology as part of your final year, enabling you to register as a provisional psychologist with the PBA.

You can then pursue two distinct paths: further study in pursuit of full registration as a psychologist, or employment that doesn’t require registration, such as:

counselling
social work
youth work
careers counselling
life counselling
mental health rehabilitation
marketing
social research
human resources management
developmental psychology.

Psychology is about understanding human personality, behaviour, emotion, underlying mental processes and the factors that lead people to differ in the way they think and behave. This course will equip you with the skills and strategies to be able to help people, no matter which area of psychology you pursue.

Deakin is the only university in Victoria where you can study specialist psychology majors during your undergraduate degree. Start following your passion sooner with a major in Child and Family, Organisational Studies or Forensic Studies.

In addition to your chosen major sequence, you will cover a number of broad areas of psychology, including:

behavioural and clinical neuroscience
child and adolescent psychology
cognitive psychology
forensic psychology
psychopathology
relationships and the psychology of groups.

To gain full registration, Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) graduates complete either one of the following:

two years of supervised practice
two years of postgraduate study, with some supervised practice, specialising in a particular area of psychology that appeals to your interests and career aspirations.

Students wishing to become fully registered psychologists can apply to continue their study by undertaking one of the following Deakin postgraduate courses:

Deakin’s School of Psychology is one of the largest and most progressive psychology departments in Australia. The School 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’ll be in high demand by employers who want graduates that are ready to face problems with confidence.

During this course you will get the chance to build real-world experience by electing to undertake the Psychology at Work (Internship) unit in your third year of study, giving you 140 hours of practical industry placement, strengthening your employment prospects.

¹There is a quota on honours places and successful applicants must achieve at least a mid-credit (65%) for Research Methods B and a sufficient mark for their remaining level-2 and level-3 psychology core units.

Indicative student workload

As a student in the Faculty of Health you can expect to participate in a range of teaching activities each week. This could include classes, seminars, practicals and online interaction. You can refer to the individual unit details in the course structure for more information. You will also need to study and complete assessment tasks in your own time.

Professional recognition

All of the psychology courses offered at Deakin meet the requirements of the PBA and the Australian Psychological Society (APS), translating into excellent job and career opportunities for our graduates. Deakin’s Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) is accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC).

Career opportunities

If you are ready to take your psychology career further, the option to become a fully registered psychologist is available by undertaking a master’s or doctorate qualification in psychology.

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
mental health officer
organisational psychologist
rehabilitation counsellor
social worker
sport and exercise psychologist
youth psychologist.

The contexts in which you work may include:

private clinics and practices
public and private hospitals
business corporate organisations
schools and universities
government departments and agencies
community sporting clubs and institutes
various social research organisations.

If your passion is not to complete further study to become a registered psychologist, there are still many diverse career options available, including child protection, family support, human services, marketing and communications, not-for-profit aid, public health, social work and youth work.

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. Refer the relevant unit guide.

Pathways

This course provides a pathway to higher degree by research courses and other postgraduate coursework programs, including PhD

Registration as a Psychologist

The current requirements for registration as a provisional psychologist include the completion of four years of academic study of psychology that is recognised by the Psychology Board of Australia. The academic program usually consists of an approved undergraduate psychology sequence followed by an approved fourth-year of study, such as Deakin’s Graduate Diploma of Psychology or honours in psychology.

Following successful completion of an approved fourth-year of psychology study, you may apply for provisional registration with the Psychology Board of Australia and associate membership of the Australian Psychological Society (APS). Deakin’s Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) can lead directly to provisional registration provided the honours year is completed within this four-year course.

In order to gain full registration, provisional psychologists must then complete either two years of supervised practice, or a minimum two years of further study, which may include: Master of Psychology, Doctor of Psychology or a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) (with supervised practice completed outside the degree).

Note: This course is currently accredited as at the date of publishing.

Alternative exit

Bachelor of Psychological Science (H344)

Fees and charges

Fees and charges vary depending on your course, your fee category and the year you started. To find out about the fees and charges that apply to you, visit the Current students fees website.

Course Learning Outcomes

Graduate Learning Outcomes	Course Learning Outcomes
Discipline Specific knowledge and capabilities	Demonstrate understanding of advanced knowledge (theoretical, empirical and practical) in the areas of psychological assessment, counselling, advanced research methods and research practice.
Communication	Demonstrate clear written and oral communication skills in order to convey complex psychological knowledge and ideas to laypeople and professionals.
Digital Literacy	Apply advanced skills to select appropriate digital tools to source, interpret, adapt, collate, analyse and disseminate discipline specific information in psychology to a variety of audiences relevant to pre-professional practice of psychology.
Critical thinking	Competence in the design and conduct of research, critically evaluate, synthesise and integrate complex scientific evidence, and apply this knowledge to assessment, counselling and case management that demonstrate evidence-based pre-professional practice in the field of psychology.
Problem Solving	Respect and use critical and creative thinking, sceptical inquiry and the scientific approach to solve problems related to research and applied skills (psychological assessment, counselling and case-management) in the field of psychology.
Self-management	Display high level self-management through reflection, continual improvement and learning that reinforces the importance of responsibility and accountability for pre-professional development in the field of psychology.
Teamwork	Communicate effectively in a variety of formats and in a variety of contexts with diverse ethnic and cultural partners and teams.
Global Citizenship	Demonstrate, report and apply ethical principles to understand how to work productively in the field of psychology within diverse social, cultural and environmental contexts by collaborating and communicating in a self-reflective and culturally sensitive manner.

Course rules

To complete the Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) students must attain 32 credit points. Units (think of units as 'subjects') may be worth 1 or 4 credit points - check each unit for its credit point value in the course structure below. Most students choose to study 4 credit points per trimester and usually undertake two trimesters each year.

The course comprises a total of 32 credit points which must include the following:

At least 21 must be Psychology (i.e., ‘HPS’) units
At level 1, three Psychology units, HPS111, HPS121 and HPS104, and two foundation health units, HBS107 and HBS110, are compulsory.
At level 2, HPS201, HPS202, HPS203 and HPS204 are compulsory.
At level 3, HPS301, HPS307, HPS308 and HPS310 are compulsory
An additional three health electives across levels 2 and 3 must also be completed. These can be in the form of a level 2 or 3 psychology elective (HPS2XX or HPS3XX), plus either two more level 3 psychology electives (HPS3XX and HPS3XX) OR one level 3 psychology elective and one general level 3 health elective (HPS3XX and HXX3XX).
No more than 10 credit points may be taken at level 1
Students must complete a minimum of 7 credit points at each level.
A maximum of 8 credit points (electives) may be taken outside the Faculty of Health

In summary, Bachelor of Psychological Science students must complete three Psychology (HPS) units at level 1, four at level 2, five at level 3 and one at level 2 or level 3.

All commencing Faculty of Health Undergraduate and Postgraduate course work students are required to complete HAI010 Academic Integrity in their first trimester of study (0 credit point compulsory unit).

Students may choose to accelerate their progress through the course by selecting from the following units that are normally offered in Trimester 3: HBS110, HBS107, HPS104, HPS111, HPS121, HPS201, HPS202, HPS203, HPS204, HPS206 (psychology elective unit), HPS301, HPS307, HPS308 and HPS310.

Following successful completion of the first 3 levels of the course (i.e., at the completion of 24 credit points), students will be considered for progression to the level-4 ‘honours’ year of the course.

There is a quota on honours places and successful applicants must achieve at least a mid-credit (65%) for Research Methods B and a sufficient mark for their remaining level-2 and level-3 psychology core units (a ‘minimum mark’ is calculated each year based on the previous year’s competition for places and the academic merit of the cohort of students who apply).

Failure to achieve an honours place results in an alternative exit from H345 with course H344 Bachelor of Psychological Science. In this case you may apply for a fee-paying alternative to honours: course H650 Graduate Diploma of Psychology. Students who do not wish to complete the honours year may also opt for this alternative exit.

The six units HPS431, HPS432, HPS433, HPS434, HPS435 and HPS436 comprise the honours sequence in psychology.

Total coursework weighting at fourth level is 50%. The research thesis at fourth level is completed across the entire level and accounts for 50% of the total weighting. Attendance and presentation at the annual School Honours Conference are hurdle requirements

Major sequences

From 2020, the following majors are available within the Bachelor of Psychological Science

Refer to the details of each major sequence for availability.

Course structure

Core units

Course structure applies for students who commenced in 2016 onwards. Students who commenced in 2014 and 2015 should refer to previous online Handbooks or consult your course enrolment officer

Level 1 - Trimester 1

HAI010

Academic Integrity (0 credit points)

HPS111

Psychology A: Fundamentals of Human Behaviour

HPS104

Foundations of Psychological Science

HPS105

Foundations of Psychological Practice

plus one level 1 elective unit from any discipline

Level 1 - Trimester 2

HPS121

Psychology B: Individual and Social Development

HBS110

Health Behaviour

plus two level 1 elective units from any discipline

Level 2 - Trimester 1

HPS203

The Human Mind

HPS204

Human Social Behaviour

plus two level 2 elective units from psychology or any discipline

Level 2 - Trimester 2

HPS201

Research Methods in Psychology A

HPS202

Child and Adolescent Development

plus one level 2 or level 3 HPS psychology elective unit AND one elective unit

Level 3 - Trimester 1

HPS301

Research Methods in Psychology B

HPS310

Brain, Biology and Behaviour

plus one level 3 HPS psychology elective unit and one level 3 elective unit

Level 3 - Trimester 2

HPS307

Personality

HPS308

Psychopathology

plus one level 3 HPS psychology elective unit OR one level 3 health elective unit

AND

one level 3 elective unit

Level 4 - Trimester 1

HPS431

Psychological Assessment

HPS432

Research Methods in Psychology C

HPS435

Research Project A

Level 4 - Trimester 2

HPS433

Client-Centred Skills in Practice

HPS434

Research Methods in Psychology D

HPS436

Research Project B

Course structure

Elective units

Three of the 11 elective units must be chosen from the psychology units listed below - one from level 2 or level 3 and two from level 3.

Trimester 1

HPS302

Pathways Through Adulthood

HPS325

Addiction

Trimester 2

HPS105

Foundations of Psychological Practice

HPS206

Introduction to Forensic Psychology

HPS207

Preparing for Employment

HPS226

Applied Health Psychology

HPS304

The Social Psychology of Relationships

HPS327

Research Methods Capstone

HPS395

Cognitive Neuroscience

Start Anytime

HPS328

Psychology At Work (Internship)

students may choose to take elective units in other disciplines

The remaining eight electives may include other psychology units such as:

HPY210

Coaching and Counselling for Behaviour Change

HPY310

Coaching and Counselling Groups for Behaviour Change

Work experience

As part of this course, you will also be given the opportunity to undertake preparation for work and work placement elective units as well as elective units designed to develop your counselling skills.

Details of major sequences

Forensic Studies

Campus

Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Cloud (online)

Waurn Ponds (Geelong) students: some of the units are offered at Waurn Ponds and some at Waterfront. Travel between campuses may be required.

Unit set code

MJ-H000040

Overview

This major brings together complementary units from criminology and forensic psychology for students to gain an understanding of the fundamentals of crime and criminal justice issues, addiction, and how psychological knowledge is applied in legal and criminal matters.

Units

ACR101

Introducing Crime and Criminology

ACR102

Introducing Crime and Criminal Justice

ACR202

Criminology Theory

ACR302

Criminology Research

HPS206

Introduction to Forensic Psychology

HPS325

Addiction

Details of major sequences

Child and Family

Campus

Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Cloud (online)

Waurn Ponds (Geelong) students: some of the units are offered at Waurn Ponds and some at Waterfront. Travel between campuses may be required.

Unit set code

MJ-H000041

Overview

This major brings together complementary units from within Health and Social Development and Psychology with a particular focus on the health and development of the family system and its members. It will be of particular interest to those wanting to work supporting children and/or families in the community.

Units

HSH105

Understanding Families and Health

HSH206

Human Development and Healthy Families

HSH207

Socio-Economic Status and Health

HPS105

Foundations of Psychological Practice

HPS302

Pathways Through Adulthood

HPS304

The Social Psychology of Relationships

Details of major sequences

Organisational Studies

Campus

Burwood (Melbourne)

Unit set code

MJ-H000043

Overview

This major major brings together fundamental units from the disciplines of Management and Human Resource Management, to give students a grounding in organisational behaviour, recruitment and training, and change management. Students will also gain skills in counselling, mediation and negotiation.