Arts & humanities

Bachelor of Behavioural Studies (Psychology)

Are you fascinated by what drives people and the way we learn, think and interact with others?

This is your opportunity to turn your curiosity into an in-demand career. Develop high-level skills and an extensive knowledge base of effective communication and problem solving.  Graduates who understand human motivation are highly sought after by a range of industries from marketing to government policy makers. Build a rewarding career today.

Overview

Level of study: What does Undergraduate mean?

Undergraduate

Number of units: What are units?

24 units

How to enrol

  1. With the exception of first year units, this is a restricted course. Continuing enrolment is only available to students who have been accepted into this course.
  2. Commonwealth Supported Places offered (HECS-HELP) HECS-HELP
Check eligibility
How to apply

Units in this course

View Units

The Bachelor of Behavioural Studies (Psychology) gives students the opportunity of studying a Major in Psychology. The psychology major provides comprehensive study in developmental psychology, cognition, social psychology, personality, design and measurement, psychological measurement and abnormal psychology.

In addition to the Major in Psychology, students may complete an optional four unit minor known as ‘Advanced Psychology Minor’ and choose 4 from the 6 units offered: PSS210, PSS220, PSS260, PSS270, PSS280, PSS340. The Advanced Psychology Minor includes units that offer students an additional breadth of study in the psychology of human behaviour.
 

Career Outcomes

Psychology graduates are highly sought after in a range of human services positions. These include employment in community and mental health, human resource management, policy development, research, welfare, journalism, marketing and advertising.

Professional Recognition

This degree has the status of conditional approval with the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC).

Eligibility

Students must successfully complete the three introductory units STA102, PSS110, PSS120 before applying for entry into this course with Swinburne. Students may complete the remaining open Level 1 units in the psychology major before applying for entry into this course, ie ABT13, CCJ16 or COM15, PSS100, PSY130, SSK13.


Read more information on CSP

How to Apply

With the exception of Level 1 units, this is a restricted course. Continuing enrolment is only available to students who have been accepted into this course. Students are required to apply and be approved by Swinburne University before they can enrol in restricted units through OUA.

Please complete the application form below.

General applications (including FEE-HELP)

General applications (including applying with FEE-HELP), please download, print and email/fax your application:

Swinburne Undergraduate Psychology Application Form (PDF, 209 KB)

OUA Co-ordinator (L21) Swinburne University of Technology Locked Bag 218 Lilydale Vic 3140 Australia
Or

Commonwealth supported place applications (including HECS-HELP)

Commonwealth supported place students (including applying with HECS-HELP), please click the button below:

Apply online

Alternatively, you can download, print and email/fax your application:

Swinburne University of Technology CSP Form (PDF, 203 KB)

PDF applications should be emailed to: csp.admin@open.edu.au or faxed to: +61 3 8628 2955.


Study Materials

For some units in the Bachelor of Behavioural Studies (Psychology) you are required to have access to the statistical package SPSS.

Award Requirements

To qualify for the Bachelor of Behavioural Studies (Psychology), from Swinburne University of Technology, students must complete 24 units and meet the following requirements: 

  • At least 8 units must be Swinburne University of Technology units
  • Complete the Psychology major consisting of 16 core units AND
  • One Co-Major sequence (Sociology) of 8 units OR
  • One minor sequence of 4 units and 4 electives OR
  • Two minor sequences of 4 units each OR
  • Eight electives

Recognition of Prior Learning / Credit

You may be eligible for credit for previous studies up to a maximum of 16 units. If applying for credit, you must send complete documentation, including original transcripts of academic records or certified copies, unit outlines and an explanation of the grading system, to the Open Universities Australia Coordinator: ouald@swin.edu.au. Please note that credit cannot be gained for subjects completed more than 10 years ago.

Registering in this Course

Students need to apply to Swinburne for entry into the course by completing an application form. Successful applicants will then need to register with Swinburne by completing a Degree Registration form and paying the required fee, in order to receive advice on credit, unit selection and degree information. The non-refundable $200 fee is payable when the form is submitted.
 

The application form for the Bachelor Of Behavioural Studies (Psychology) can be downloaded from the How to Apply section. 

Recommended Study Pattern

Students starting their studies in the Bachelor of Behavioural Studies (Psychology) are recommended to follow these steps:

  • Students are advised to study the level 1 major unit SSK13 early in their study program.
  • Students without previous university level mathematics or statistics are advised to include SSK17 Dealing with Numbers as an elective before enrolling in STA102 Foundations of Statistics.
  • Students must complete the following 3 units in the order specified below and may then apply to Swinburne University of Technology for admittance into the course:
    • STA102 Foundations of Statistics
    • PSS110 Introduction to Psychology 1
    • PSS120 Introduction to Psychology 2

Students must be admitted to the Bachelor of Behavioural Studies (Psychology) prior to enrolling in the eight Level 2 and 3 units of the Psychology major (8 units)

Please Note: CCJ16 Professional Communication has been replaced from SP1, 2012 by the equivalent unit COM15 Developing Research and Analytical Skills. Bachelor of Behavioural Studies (Psychology) students who have already completed CCJ16 must not enrol in COM15.

Course Admission Eligibility Criteria

In order to be eligible, students must meet the following requirements:

  • 3 introductory units PSS110, STA102, PSS120 at pass level

Read How to apply

About Commonwealth supported places

A Commonwealth supported place is a higher education place for which the Australian Government provides funding to the university towards the cost of your education. Commonwealth supported places are only available for students who wish to enrol in a full course of study and are required to contribute to the cost of their higher education through a student contribution. Eligible students in Commonwealth supported places can also receive assistance with their student contribution in the form of HECS-HELP.

To be eligible for Commonwealth support, you must be:

  • An Australian citizen OR;
  • A New Zealand citizen who will be residing in Australia for the duration of your study OR;
  • The holder of a permanent visa who will be residing in Australia for the duration of your study.

For more information and to download an information booklet on the eligibility requirements and the payment options available including the process for applying for HECS-HELP assistance, please visit www.goingtouni.gov.au

Alternatively if you do not wish to apply as a Commonwealth supported place student or are not eligible, you can still apply to study this course or units within this course. Click on the Course units tab above to find out more.

Please note that depending on the course eligibility requirements, you may be required to provide scanned and certified copies of the following supporting documents:

  • Certified copies of academic transcripts - required in most cases but check course eligibility rules.(Please ensure you attach all pages of your academic transcript including both the front and back pages)

A “certified copy” is a copy of an original document which has been certified as being a true copy by an authorised person. These include a justice of the peace, lawyer, medical practitioner, pharmacist, accountant, school principal or minister of religion.

  • English language test results - if your courses were not predominantly in English e.g. IELTS or equivalent test results.
  • IMPORTANT:  Please do not send original documents as they will not be returned.

Pricing and Payment Options

The total cost of completing a degree will vary depending on the course you have chosen to study.

Fees can also vary according to the type of unit you enrol in and the applicable fee band. Below is a guide to help you find the fees applicable for your own study path.

Please also note that the fees listed here are only indicative costs for new students in 2012. These fees may vary depending on the units you choose and do not include incidental fees (such as lab coats or art supplies) or the cost of your textbooks.


2012 Swinburne University of Technology CSP Units Schedule (PDF, 78KB)

Course Structure

Majors

The following 8 Level 2 and 3 Psychology major units must be completed in the order specified below:
STA210 Analysis of Variance
PSS250 Developmental Psychology
STA310 Multivariate Statistics
PSS240 Cognition and Human Performance
PSS310 Psychology of Personality
PSS330 Abnormal Psychology
PSS320 Social Psychology
PSS350 Psychological Measurement Project
 

Co-Major

Students can choose to complete a Co-Major in Sociology of 8 units.

Minor

The Advanced Psychology Minor is an optional advanced minor in Psychology, available only to students who have registered into the Bachelor of Behavioural Studies (Psychology) with Swinburne.

Students can choose from the following minors: Sociology of Contemporary Societies, Sociology, Criminology, Human Resource Management, Public Relations, Indigenous Studies, Marketing.

Electives

Electives can be selected from any undergraduate unit offered by Open Universities Australia including SSK17 Dealing with Numbers.

Note: students choosing the Social Statistics Minor or the Sociology of Contemporary Societies Minor will be required to select an additional elective unit.

Major - Psychology Total number of units to complete: 16 units
Select
Unit code
Unit name
Provider
2012 Availability
Required Units: Complete the following 16 units
Swinburne
Swinburne
UniSA
Griffith
Macquarie
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
Many of these units require access to the statistical program SPSS.
Minor - Advanced Psychology Total number of units to complete: 4 units
Select
Unit code
Unit name
Provider
2012 Availability
Optional Units: Complete 4 units from the following 6 units
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
This optional advanced minor in Psychology is available only to students who have registered into the Bachelor of Behavioural Studies (Psychology) with Swinburne.
Co-major - Sociology Total number of units to complete: 8 units
Select
Unit code
Unit name
Provider
2012 Availability
Required Units: Complete the following 8 units
Swinburne
Griffith
Swinburne
Swinburne
Griffith
ACU
ACU
Swinburne

* PSS100 is completed as a core Level 1 unit in this degree. Students may choose any OUA unit as an extra elective towards the completion of this co-major.

Minor - Sociology of Contemporary Societies Total number of units to complete: 4 units
Select
Unit code
Unit name
Provider
2012 Availability
Required Units: Complete the following 4 units
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne

* PSS100 is completed as a core level 1 unit in this degree. Students may choose any OUA unit as an extra elective towards the completion of this minor.

Minor - Sociology Total number of units to complete: 4 units
Select
Unit code
Unit name
Provider
2012 Availability
Required Units: Complete the following 4 units
Griffith
Griffith
ACU
ACU
Minor - Human Resource Management Total number of units to complete: 4 units
Select
Unit code
Unit name
Provider
2012 Availability
Required Units: Complete the following 2 units
Griffith
EHR301
Applied Strategic Organisational Change
Griffith
Coming in 2013
Optional Units: Complete 2 units from the following 3 units
Griffith
Griffith
Griffith
Minor - Criminology Total number of units to complete: 4 units
Select
Unit code
Unit name
Provider
2012 Availability
Required Units: Complete the following 2 units
Griffith
Griffith
Optional Units: Complete 2 units from the following 3 units
Griffith
Griffith
Griffith
Minor - Marketing Total number of units to complete: 4 units
Select
Unit code
Unit name
Provider
2012 Availability
Required Units: Complete the following unit
Swinburne
Optional Units: Complete 3 units from the following 6 units
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
Swinburne
Students should include either MAR260 or MAR270 in this Minor
Minor - Public Relations Total number of units to complete: 4 units
Select
Unit code
Unit name
Provider
2012 Availability
Required Units: Complete the following unit
Griffith
Optional Units: Complete 3 units from the following 5 units
Griffith
Griffith
Griffith
Griffith
Griffith
Minor - Indigenous Studies Total number of units to complete: 4 units
Select
Unit code
Unit name
Provider
2012 Availability
Optional Units: Complete 4 units from the following 8 units
UniSA
UniSA
UniSA
UniSA
UniSA
UniSA
UniSA
UniSA

^ Students should include either ABT18 or ABT16 in this Minor.

* Students must complete only one of these units ABT13; ABT14; ABT15