Program Overview

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Psychology (Extended Major)

Psychology is a fascinating and diverse area of study that touches upon many aspects of daily life, seeking to answer questions about how and why people behave the way they do.

Course Details

Careers and Further Study

This course opens up a world of future study pathways and career opportunities.

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

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

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

Learn more about the fees that apply to you for this course. For fee type definitions and further assistance, see the Fee Calculator Help page. You can also search our database for scholarships that are relevant to you or this course.

Domestic Student Fees

For Commonwealth-supported places, student contribution amounts are charged by unit, based on area of study. For a fee estimate, go to the Fee Calculator and select “I want to price my units”. Fees are subject to annual indexation. Refer to the Handbook to identify the units required. More information on how fees are calculated.

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.

Admission Requirements

The University of Western Australia welcomes applications from international and domestic school-leavers. If you’re interested in studying one of these majors, find out the admission details below.

Minimum Entry Requirements

Below you’ll find a list of admission equivalencies for this course's Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR).

• All India Senior School Certificate (CBSE): 11.5
• Canadian High School (except Quebec): 70
• French Baccalaureate: 12
• Gao Kao (PR China NCEE)/750: 525
• GCE A-Levels: 9
• German Abitur: 3.3
• Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education: 15
• Indian Senior School Certificate (CISCE): 60
• Indonesian Sekolah Menengah Atas (SMA) - Pass of 65: 79
• International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB): 26
• Malaysian STPM: 11
• Monash University Foundation Year: 270
• NCUK Foundation Program: 9
• Norwegian Vitnemål: 3.8
• Singapore - Cambridge A Levels: 8
• South African National Senior Certificate: 4.6
• South Korean College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT): 330
• Sweden Slutbetyg: 15
• Trinity College Foundation: 300
• Unified Examination Certificate (UEC): 12
• University of Western Australia College (UWAC) Foundation Program: 66
• US College Board Advanced Placements: 8
• US College Board SAT: 1170
• Western Australian Universities' Foundation Program (WAUFP): 60
• Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) 2016 onwards: 80

English Competency

English is the language of instruction and assessment at UWA and you will need to meet the English language requirements of the University to be eligible for a place.

Minimum overall IELTS score of 6.5, with no band less than 6.0.

How to Apply

The application process to this course is different for the assured and graduate entry pathways, and for international and domestic applicants.

Refer to the below regarding application processes for each of the pathways. More information regarding admission requirements and prerequisites for each pathway can be found on the 'Admission Requirements' tab.

Domestic Pathways

• Domestic Assured Pathway/School Leaver Entry: Applications are lodged via TISC. Refer to TISC Online for current course codes and application deadlines.
• Domestic Graduate Entry: Applications are lodged via GEMSAS, which open and close in accordance with the GEMSAS timeline. All domestic applicants must submit a valid GAMSAT score by the application closing date.

International Pathways

• International Assured Pathway/School Leaver Entry: Applications are lodged via UWA's online application system or via an authorised international education agent.
• International Graduate Entry: Applications are lodged via UWA's online application system or via an authorised international education agent.

Course Structure

Extended majors enable you to dive deeper into a particular area of study and normally require 13 to 18 units studied over the course of your degree.

Level 1

• Core: Take all units (12 points)
  • PSYC1101 Psychology: Mind and Brain (6)
  • PSYC1102 Psychology: Behaviour in Context (6)
• Option: Take unit(s) to the value of 6 points
  • INDG1150 Aboriginal Encounters: Strangers in our Backyard (6)
  • INDG1160 Boodjar Moort Katitjin: Introduction to Indigenous Heritage and Knowledge (6)
• Option: Take ANHB1101 Human Biology 1: Becoming Human or AHEA2201 Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing
  • ANHB1101 Human Biology I: Becoming Human (6)

Level 2

• Core: Take all units (24 points)
  • PSYC2203 Research Methods and Analysis in Psychology I (6)
  • PSYC2212 Psychology and Social Behaviour (6)
  • PSYC2213 Psychology: Lifespan Development (6)
  • PSYC2217 Cognitive Neuroscience (6)
• Option: Take AHEA2201 Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing or ANHB1101 Human Biology 1: Becoming Human
  • AHEA2201 Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing (6)

Level 3

• Core: Take all units (36 points)
  • PSYC3302 Psychological Measurement and its Application (6)
  • PSYC3309 Industrial and Organisational Psychology (6)
  • PSYC3310 Psychology: Specialist Research Topics (6)
  • PSYC3314 Psychopathology (6)
  • PSYC3315 Cognitive Psychology (6)
  • PSYC3318 Perception and Sensory Neuropsychology (6)

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.

Teaching Excellence

• Learn from experts who operate at the cutting edge of the discipline. We don’t just teach the textbooks, we conduct the work in the textbooks.
• Our teaching standards are high and teaching is constantly evaluated by our students. Our scores are among the best at UWA, with about 90 per cent of our students agreeing or strongly agreeing that we provide a good educational experience.
• We offer fantastic student support staff to provide you with advice and guidance.

Research Excellence

• You'll be involved in the cutting-edge research from your first year of postgraduate study.
• Our School has received the top rating of 5 in all three rounds of the Commonwealth’s Excellence in Research for Australia exercises (2010, 2012, 2015). Our research is rated as 'well above world standard'. We are one of only two Australian psychology schools to achieve this.
• We consistently rank in the top 100 psychology departments in the world (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2024) and are the only WA school in the top 100.

Industry Connections

• We offer work-integrated learning through our large network of corporate partners.
• Our postgraduate programs are leading the way in terms of research-integration, evidence-based practice and innovation. Our students are in high demand across many sectors.
• UWA is an international hub for the areas of Business and Industrial and Organisational Psychology, and we have strong links with various industries.
• Our clinical programs are recognised as among the very best in the country, and we have extensive networks with clinical service providers.

Student Choice

• UWA courses are progressive, flexible, and benchmarked against the world’s best.
• Flexibility means you're not locked into a named degree from first year.
• Graduates are equipped with communication and critical thinking skills at the highest international standards, and are trained to have a interdisciplinary, global perspective.

Becoming a 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 studies required as part of registration.

Course Accreditation

The Bachelor of Psychology (BP030), the Bachelor of Psychology and Bachelor of Arts (CB011), the Bachelor of Psychology and Bachelor of Commerce (CB013), the Bachelor of Psychological Studies (BP503), and the Bachelor of Psychology and Bachelor of Science (CB043) is accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC).