Course overview
If you’re intrigued by the workings of the criminal mind and what motivates and drives criminal behaviour or you want to help people work towards a more positive future, our Bachelor of Psychological Science and Criminology could be the course for you. This course gives you deep insight into why we think and act the way we do, and how to help change behaviour before it becomes destructive, or rehabilitate those who have already progressed down a path of crime.
Research by the Australian Institute of Criminology highlights the links between mental illness, crime and rehabilitation, with mental disorders up to four times higher in prison populations compared to the general population.
You’ll graduate from the Bachelor of Psychological Science and Criminology with practical skills and strategies to successfully work in the criminal justice system in a range of different roles and with an understanding of the role society plays in shaping crime and criminal minds.
Visit the Australian Psychological Society website for more information about psychology registration.
The course can be studied completely online, or psychology units can be studied on-campus in Sydney, Brisbane or Perth with criminology units studied online.
The course is also available fully on-campus in Melbourne or Adelaide.
Course record
Advanced Standing
Advanced standing may be available. Contact ACAP for details.
Career Opportunities
Career opportunities
Education, health and social welfare, social policy and research, market research, human services, disability, ageing, mental health, youth justice, case management, community corrections, correctional facilities, immigration and refugee support services.
Majors
Areas of study
Alternative approaches to criminal justice, biology, learning and cognition, case management, cultural diversity and its relevance to crime and criminal justice, forensic psychology, intercultural diversity and indigenous psychology, law and the legal system, learning and memory, lifespan development, perception and cognition, professional issues and applications in psychology, psychological measurement and assessment, psychopathology, research methodology, social psychology, substance use and crime, the criminal justice system, theoretical and applied criminology, victimology.
Other Information
Professional recognition
This course is accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC). Read more about ACAP’s standards and accreditation.
Honours
The Bachelor of Psychological Science (Hons) is available as an additional year (or part-time eqv). Entry to the Honours program is a competitive merit-based application process.
Fees and charges
Refer to ACAP current fee information.
Entry requirements
Review the captured standard entry requirements, English requirements and additional notes for this course.
Standard entry
- Applicants with recent secondary education Recommended studies: Mathematics Advanced, any 2 units of English. Qualification: One of the following: completion of a Senior Secondary Certificate of Education (or equivalent) completion of a Certificate IV or above (or equivalent) admission to an undergraduate degree at an Australian university (or equivalent) and participate in a screening interview (typically by phone though online can be arranged if required). ATARs are not a necessary component of the ACAP admissions criteria. We assess undergraduate applicants on other applicable admission criteria . Applicants with higher education study Refer to the ACAP general admission criteria. Applicants with vocational education and training (VET) study Refer to the ACAP general admission criteria. Applicants with work and life experience Interview: If you will be aged over 21 years by the start date of your selected trimester you must participate in a screening interview (typically by phone though online can be arranged if required). Also refer to the ACAP general admission criteria.
Student profile
Campuses & intake dates
- SydneyNSW