Undergraduate
Psychology (Extended Major)
Contact us
Address
Student Central
The University of Western Australia(M355) 35 Stirling Highway Perth Western Australia 6009
Telephone
(+61 8) 6488 3939
International
1800 653 050
Hours
Frequently asked questions
Events you may be interested in
Show more eventsCareers and further study
This major opens up a world of future study pathways and career options.
Career Pathways
Psychology is relevant to almost any human endeavour, which means a psychology degree, or some complementary psychology studies, are relevant not only for traditional psychology careers, but for a wide range of careers. For example, there are psychologists designing cockpits for NASA, computer software interfaces, personnel selection systems, or age-appropriate toys; psychologists develop market research strategies, or train people in a variety of settings.
Traditional careers in psychology:
- Clinical Psychologist—assess, diagnose, and treat mental health conditions; design and assess treatment interventions; be involved in research, teaching and supervision; promote psychological health
- Clinical Neuropsychologist—assess and treat people with a wide range of brain injuries or disorders; design and assess treatment interventions; be involved in research, teaching and supervision; promote brain health
- Industrial and Organisational Psychologist—recruit and select personnel; design and evaluate behavioural training programs; develop leadership and management skills; optimise job design, performance, and workplace culture; foster employee wellbeing and work-life balance
- Educational and Developmental Psychologist, School Psychologist—assess developmental, learning, and behavioural difficulties; design and evaluate interventions; promote positive development
- Sport Psychologist—work with athletes and teams, addressing the wide range of psychological factors associated with sports performance (e.g., goal focus, team building, stress management, communication skills)
- Health Psychologist—assess community health issues; design, implement, and assess public-health and behaviour-change programs; promote health behaviours
- Forensic Psychologist—conduct forensic interviews; provide psychological assessments; give evidence in court proceedings,/li>
Please note these traditional career paths often require postgraduate studies and registration as a psychologist.
Non-traditional careers in psychology:
Public sector
- Government agencies
- CSIRO
- Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Federal and State Police Forces
Not-for-profit sector
- Mental health, addiction and disability support services
- Community and welfare services
- Children, youth and parenting services
- Charities
Private sector
- Corporate business
- Banks and financial service providers
- Professional service firms
- Market research, marketing, public relations, and advertising firms; consumer goods companies
- Employment services, and industrial relations
Education sector
- Schools and universities
Career Opportunities
Further Study
The Honours program in Psychology aims to develop your skills in addressing advanced conceptual issues in psychology and integrating a broad range of research findings within central theoretical concepts. You’ll also gain a deep understanding of current research within several areas of the discipline. You’ll learn to plan, implement, and interpret the findings of a major piece of empirical research and give brief oral presentations of research findings in a manner that is understandable to people not working in the same research area. The honours specialisation continues the research preparation from the earlier undergraduate years and prepares you for entry into a PhD and into discipline-accredited Master degrees that have a research component.
At present, postgraduate professional training is available in Industrial and Organisational Psychology, Business Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Clinical Neuropsychology. Psychology Honours has been awarded Conditional Accreditation by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) as a fourth-year of psychology study, and graduates are eligible for provisional registration with the Psychology Board of Australia.
Fees and scholarships
Undergraduate – Commonwealth supported students
The Annual Fee is an estimate only based on a standard annual study load of 48 points.
For Commonwealth Supported Places, student contribution amounts are charged by unit. For an accurate fee estimate, go to the Fee Calculator and select “I want to price my units”.
For Full Fee Paying places, students are charged an annual course fee. Visit the Fee Calculator and select your course to see the annual and total course fees.
Scholarships
Scholarships are available to students from a diverse range of backgrounds, including academic achievement, financial need, educational disadvantage, leadership and community service, artistic or sporting achievements, and being from a rural or remote area.
Cost of living
Undergraduate – onshore students
Annual course fees are calculated based on a standard annual study load of 48 credit points.
Scholarships
Scholarships are available to students from a diverse range of backgrounds, including academic achievement, financial need, educational disadvantage, leadership and community service, artistic or sporting achievements, and being from a rural or remote area.
Cost of living
Admission requirements
The University of Western Australia welcomes applications from international and domestic school-leavers, mature-age applicants and those with previous tertiary study. If you’re interested in studying this major, find out the admission details below.
Minimum entry requirements
- 8
- 525
- 3.3
- 27
- 8
- 66
- 60
- 270
- 75
- 80
- 320
- 8
- 525
- 3.3
- 27
- 8
- 66
- 60
- 270
- 75
- 80
- 320
Admission requirements
Mathematics requirements
WACE prerequisite: Mathematics Applications ATAR
If the you are undertaking the double major via the Bachelor of Arts, a mathematics prerequisite does not apply.
English competency
How to apply
Ready to apply for this major? Follow the steps and you’ll be on your way to joining us at UWA.
Course details
The Psychology extended major will help you develop a scientific understanding of human thoughts and behaviours, the psychological processes underlying these and the relationship of these processes to brain function. It is a three-year undergraduate sequence in psychology, awarded accreditation by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC).
About the course
Quick details
- Available 2021
- Perth (Crawley campus)
- Albany (Regional campus)
- Full-time
- Part-time
- On-campus
- Semester 1, Semester 2
- 15-30 hours per week
- Undergraduate
- MJD-PSYDM
- UWBPH
- UWSCI
What will I learn?
An undergraduate degree in psychology equips you with:
Specialist knowledge
- Normal and abnormal development – How do psychological abilities develop through the lifespan and how are psychological processes affected by ageing, brain damage and disease?
- Groups and organisations – How do our psychological abilities impact on relationships between people and groups in society? How do you optimise human performance in a work setting?
- Cognition and perception – How do our brains interpret inputs from the world? How do we perceive, think, remember and make decisions?
- Research methods – How do you measure psychological constructs such as intelligence, personality traits and social skills? How do you analyse data to make evidence-based decisions?
Core skills
- Apply psychological principles to personal, social and group issues
- Recognise and appreciate the impact of mental health issues
- Think critically and creatively
- Use scientific methods to solve problems
- Plan, implement, and evaluate research projects
- Communicate effectively in a variety of formats and settings
- Act professionally within an ethical framework
- Work independently and as part of a team
Specific skills
- Perform statistical analyses and use computer programs to analyse data
- Code, synthesise and interpret data
- Systematically observe and record behaviour
- Persuasive and technical writing
- Editing and proof-reading
- Peer review
- Public speaking
Course Structure
Our undergraduate degrees offer you a broad range of options allowing you to combine subjects in a way that matches your career goals and personal interests.
Why study with us?
Psychology can take you anywhere and everywhere. Psychology is relevant to almost any human endeavour, meaning a psychology degree, or some complementary psychology studies, are relevant not only for traditional psychology careers, but for a wide range of careers.
Your degree options
This major is only available within the Bachelor of Psychology or Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) degrees. This is an extended major which means you undertake more units in this area. You are not able to pair this major with any other major.
Course Accreditation
Provisional psychologist
Begin your pathway to becoming a psychologist by selecting the Psychology extended major, available in the Bachelor of Psychology or the Psychological and Behavioural Sciences single major in the Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts. To continue your pathway to registration as a provisional psychologist, follow this with a fourth year of study with Honours in Psychology. You can then undertake further postgraduate study in your chosen area of psychology to complete the pathway to registration.