2019 Undergraduate Courses
  • Students are to follow the requirements of the Handbook for the year they commenced the course.

    However, the subject links below do not contain the subject information for the current year. You can view current subject information through the new Course Handbook.

Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) | 2019

Testamur Title of Degree:

Bachelor of Arts

Abbreviation:

BA

UOW Course Code:

708

CRICOS Code:

012087M

Total Credit Points:

144

Duration:

3 years full-time or part-time equivalent

Home Faculty:

Faculty of Social Sciences

Intake Session(s):

Autumn, Spring

Delivery Mode:

On-campus

Delivery Campus / UAC Code:

Wollongong / 753200

Overview

Psychologists help us to understand who we are and how we think, feel and act. They aim to help people function better and to prevent ill-health and other problems developing. Clients include children, adults, couples, families and organisations.

A three-year degree in Psychology provides comprehensive training in the processes basic to human psychological functioning required for qualification as a professional psychologist. These include biological and social bases of behaviour, cognition, learning, perception, social and organisational behaviour, personality, abnormality and research and assessment tools.

Psychology can be usefully combined with most disciplines available in the Bachelor of Arts degree. The Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts offers a range of other subjects that you may wish to take as complementary to the study of Psychology. Arts allows for an integration of a wider range of methods for understanding the human experience.

Students with an excellent academic record may apply to transfer to the four-year Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) degree, or apply for entry to the Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) at the end of Year 3.

Entry Requirements and Credit Arrangements

Information on academic and English language requirements, as well as eligibility for credit for prior learning, is available from the Course Finder.

Course Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes are statements of learning achievement that are expressed in terms of what the learner is expected to know, understand and be able to do upon completion of a course. Students graduating from this course will be able to:

CLO Description
1 Demonstrate a broad and coherent knowledge of core topics in the discipline of psychology, their applications, and ethical behaviour in research and professional contexts.
2 Demonstrate a basic knowledge of research methods, including an evaluation of the characteristics of the science of psychology/scientific method.
3 Demonstrate an ability to apply research methods to address psychological questions related to behaviour and mental processes.
4 Write standard research reports and orally present information in various formats.
5 Exhibit a capacity for independent learning to sustain personal and professional development in the changing world of the science and practice of psychology.
6 Apply critical thinking skills and knowledge of scientific method to evaluate claims regarding psychological phenomena.
7 Use information in an ethical manner and apply knowledge of ethical and legislative requirements to determine appropriate ethical conduct in a range of contexts.
8 Develop a knowledge of the person and their relationship to society.

Course Structure

The Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) requires the successful completion of 144 credit points as specified in the table below, comprising:

  1. 78 credit points of core Psychology subjects; and
  2. 6 credit points selected from the approved list of 100-level subjects from the Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts; and
  3. At least one of either:

a) an additional 24 credit points of Psychology subjects for Honours eligibility; and/or

b) remaining elective credit points from the Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts, Faculty of Social Sciences, or the General Schedule; and

  1.  No more than 60 credit points will be at 100-level.

Students are encouraged to use their electives to complete either a minor from the list of recommended minors, the General Schedule of Minors, or a second major, from either the Bachelor of Arts or the Bachelor of Social Science

Subject Code subject Name Credit Points Session(s)
Year 1
PSYC120 Critical Thinking and Communication Skills in Psychology 6 Autumn
PSYC121 Foundations of Psychology A 6 Autumn
PSYC122 Foundations of Psychology B 6 Spring
PSYC123 Research Methods and Statistics 6 Spring
Select ONE of the following three subjects:
PHIL107 Introduction to Philosophy 6 Autumn
SOC 103 Introduction to Sociology 6 Autumn
PHIL151 Logic: The Art of Reasoning 6 Spring
Plus 18 credit points of subjects that contribute to either a second major, a minor, and/or elective credit.
Year 2
PSYC231 Personality 6 Autumn, Available in Spring 2019
PSYC234 Biological Psychology and Learning 6 Autumn
PSYC250 Quantitative Methods in Psychology 6 Autumn
Plus 6 credit points of subjects that contribute to either a second major, a minor, Honours eligibility, or elective credit.
PSYC236 Cognition and Perception 6 Spring
PSYC241 Developmental and Social Psychology 6 Spring
Plus 12 credit points of subjects that contribute to either a second major, a minor, and/or elective credit.
Year 3
PSYC324 Assessment and Intervention 6 Autumn
Select THREE from the following, including at least ONE of PSYC327, PSYC328 or PSYC329 :
PSYC325 History and Philosophy of Psychology 6 Autumn
PSYC327 Advanced Topics in Cognition 6 Autumn
PSYC330 Social Behaviour and Individual Differences 6 Autumn
PSYC357 Forensic Psychology 6 Autumn
PSYC326 Design and Analysis 6 Spring
PSYC328 Visual Perception 6 Spring
PSYC329 Psychophysiology 6 Spring
PSYC358 Applied Psychology 6 Spring
PSYC359 Psychopharmacology 6 Spring
PSYC360 Research Internship in Psychology 6 Spring
PSYC361 Child Development 6 Spring
Plus a further 24 credit points of subjects that contribute to either a second major, a minor, Honours eligibility, and/or elective credit.

For information regarding timetables, tutorials, and classes please the visit the Timetables and Classes page.  

Psychology extension for Honours eligibility

If you intend to apply for the honours year (a requirement for registration as a professional psychologist) you must complete the 100 level core, the 200 level core and the following 200 level subject, and take 300 level subjects as specified below. 

Subject Code subject Name Credit Points Session(s)
200-level subjects
PSYC251 Psychology of Abnormality 6 Spring, Available in Autumn 2019
300-level subjects
PSYC324 Assessment and Intervention 6 Autumn
PSYC325 History and Philosophy of Psychology 6 Autumn
PSYC326 Design and Analysis 6 Spring
And 24 credit points from the following, including at least one of PSYC327 , PSYC328 or PSYC329 :
PSYC327 Advanced Topics in Cognition 6 Autumn
PSYC330 Social Behaviour and Individual Differences 6 Autumn
PSYC357 Forensic Psychology 6 Autumn
PSYC328 Visual Perception 6 Spring
PSYC329 Psychophysiology 6 Spring
PSYC358 Applied Psychology 6 Spring
PSYC359 Psychopharmacology 6 Spring
PSYC360 Research Internship in Psychology 6 Spring
PSYC361 Child Development 6 Spring
Plus ONE 6 credit point subject that contributes to either a minor or elective credit.

Students who complete the extended requirements in psychology are eligible to apply for the one year honours program to confer the Bachelor of Psychological Science with Honours.   

Minors

The following minors are recommended for inclusion in this course. You may complete more than one minor, as space permits in your program:

Other minors from the General Schedule of Minors are also available.

Professional Recognition/Accreditation

The three year Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) and the additional honours year are accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council as a four year sequence for the purposes of provisional registration with the Psychology Board of Australia. An additional two years of supervised practice is necessary to apply for general registration. This can be through two years supervised practice in the community or a fifth year at University plus one year of supervised practice in the community or an approved Masters degree. 

Other Information

For further information email: ssc@uow.edu.au

Last reviewed: 4 June, 2019