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More About Psychology

Students enrol in psychology for many reasons. Those aiming at an academic career require an honours degree followed by a PhD, which involves a total of at least seven years. Professionals working in the community need postgraduate specialized training leading to a Masters degree or postgraduate diploma. Most students enrolled in undergraduate units are not aiming at a professional career in psychology, but choose the subject because it gives them a useful background for occupations such as teaching, personnel work, law, administration, management, social research and policy development.

Psychology has two specific aspects - scientific and professional. Although training in psychological science is a pre-requisite to professional training, professional training is not part of the undergraduate curriculum in university departments of psychology. In order to practise professionally, postgraduate training is required, and this is provided in many Australian universities as a higher degree (either MPhil, MClinPsych or PhD).

Students wishing to qualify to practise in areas such as clinical psychology should enrol in appropriate postgraduate courses. The professional body in Australia is the Australian Psychological Society. For associate membership, four years of academic training is required. For full membership, a postgraduate qualification over at least two full-time years is necessary. Registration is required to practise as a psychologist in any part of Australia. Information about qualifying for registration in the ACT can be found at the ACT Health website, and you can also see info. about overseas recognition of Australian degrees and qualifications.

There are no prerequisites for entering our psychology course other than admission to the University. Department subjects which form a useful background for the study of psychology are biology, physics, mathematics, economics and social studies.

Most units taught in the Psychology are experimental and require the student to develop skills in the laboratory. In the more advanced units, particularly in fourth year, teaching may take the form of seminars. Laboratory work may be organised so that students have opportunities to design and carry out small research projects. Psychology units tend to demand a good deal of a student's time because, in addition to laboratory classes, there are written assignments which require library research. Examination procedures differ from unit to unit and are commonly decided after discussion between students and the lecturer.

Psychology is a rapidly evolving discipline in which there is an increasing tendency toward interdisciplinary activity. Psychologists, physiologists and engineers are collaborating to produce better integrated man-machine systems; psychologists and medical practitioners combine to study the role of behaviour in health and disease; psychologists and zoologists are interested in similarities in human and animal behaviour; psychologists and computer scientists work together on theories of intelligence; psychologists collaborate with sociologists, anthropologists and political scientists in the study of communities and societies. Students with interests and aptitudes in neighbouring disciplines will find opportunities for using these in working on psychological problems.

For further information, contact us or go to the faculty handbook pages which detail specific information on units offered.