Bachelor of Psychology

About offering

Learn about perception, cognition, emotion, personality, behaviour and interpersonal relationships and how psychologists examine, explain and predict what people do as individuals and in groups.

The first year of this course is interprofessional and taken with other health sciences students.

In your second year, you will gain greater knowledge in learning and motivation, perception, child development and social psychology.

In the third year, you will prepare a research proposal and develop advanced knowledge in abnormal psychology, cognition, individual differences, cross-cultural and Indigenous psychology, community psychology and adult development.

The fourth year includes a year-long research project along with the development of skills in areas such as program evaluation, psychological assessment and professional practice.

Enrolment may be on a part-time basis depending on unit availability, which could extend the course duration. Please contact the Course Coordinator.

Note on honours: Due to stringent accreditation requirements, you must attain a minimum credit average in your second and third year core psychology units to continue into the fourth year of the course.

High achieving students may be offered a place in the honours program in fourth year. If you do not attain the credit average required for fourth year you will graduate at the end of third year with the intermediate award: Bachelor of Science (Psychology).

Please refer to the handbook for additional course overview information.

What you'll learn

apply psychological theory to evidence based practice and extend the boundaries of knowledge through research; discriminate between valid discipline knowledge and questionable esoteric theory and practice
apply logical and rational processes to critically analyse problems and generate innovative solutions to psychological questions
access, evaluate and synthesise relevant information and evidence from a range of sources applicable to psychology
communicate effectively with individuals, groups and communities
select and effectively use appropriate technologies relevant to psychological research and practice
demonstrate ability for self directed learning and reflective practice
demonstrate knowledge and understanding of international perspectives in psychology
demonstrate understanding and respect for human rights and cultural diversity
independently and collaboratively apply professional skills in an ethical manner

Why study Bachelor of Psychology

You will graduate with in-depth theoretical and practical knowledge together with research skills.
There are diverse career opportunities in health and other fields such as human resources, economics, industrial relations, market research, advertising and public relations.
Curtin was listed in the top 151-200 universities for psychology in the QS World University Rankings by Subject in 2018.

Student profile

View our student profile table to get an indication of the likely peer cohort for new students at Curtin University. This table provides data on students that commenced undergraduate study and passed the census date in the most relevant recent intake period for which data are available. It includes those admitted through all offer rounds and international students studying in Australia.

Professional recognition

Accredited by: Australian Psychology Accreditation Council.

Associate membership: Australian Psychological Society (provisional registration).

Note: For full registration with the Psychology Board of Australia, you must complete a further two years of skills-based training. There are three training options available:

A two-year provisional psychologist internship
A one-year provisional psychologist internship and a one-year Master of Psychology program
A two-year Master of Psychology program.

Career information

Psychology Intern

With further study:

Counselling Psychologist
Clinical Psychologist.

Psychologists nec
Drug and Alcohol Counsellor

Admission criteria for Australian and New Zealand students

Australia / New Zealand students

International students

Curtin requires all applicants to demonstrate proficiency in English. Specific English requirements for this course are as outlined in the IELTS table below. Additional information on how you can meet the English requirement can be found on the English proficiency page.

IELTS Academic (International English Language Testing System)
Writing	6.0
Speaking	6.0
Reading	6.0
Listening	6.0
Overall band score	6.5

What kind of applicant are you?

Applicants with recent secondary education

Completed your secondary education in Australia within the past two years? Learn how you can apply to Curtin.

Applicants with work and life experience
(Finished secondary education more than two years ago)

See how to apply if you’ve completed a pathway program, finished secondary education more than two years ago or spent time in the workforce.

Applicants with vocational education and training (VET) study

Learn how you can gain entry with a TAFE or other vocational education training (VET) qualification.

Applicants with higher education study

Find out how to apply and what credit you may be eligible for if you have previous higher education study.

Applicants with recent secondary education

Applicants with recent secondary education are those whose admission is primarily based on the completion of Year 12 within the last two years, but also includes those who may have completed their senior secondary studies with a TAFE or other VET provider within the same time frame. This includes applicants whose secondary education was undertaken interstate or overseas.

Guaranteed ATAR: 70

This is the ATAR level at which an offer of admission is guaranteed, subject to any other non-ATAR criteria being met.
Desirable WACE subjects:
At least Mathematics: Applications ATAR and at least one ATAR science course from the following list: Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Science, Human Biology, Integrated Science, Physics or Psychology.
STAT entry: Written English and either MC Verbal or Quantitative

The Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) assesses competencies considered important for success at uni.
These tests are provided by the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC) to help mature age candidates apply for certain courses.

Please see our correlation comparability for previous TEE subjects, WACE courses and WACE ATAR courses.

Other admission options

Successful StepUp Entry and StepUp Equity Adjustment Admission Pathway (StepUp Bonus) applicants will be eligible to be considered for admission into this course.
If you’re an indigenous applicant who hasn’t met Curtin’s minimum admissions criteria, the Centre for Aboriginal Studies offers bridging courses that are tailored to help you gain entry into this course.

Lowest selection rank to which a recent Year 12 student offer was made (including the consideration of any equity or other adjustment factors)

View the lowest selection rank (incorporating ATAR plus any adjustments) of an applicant to which an offer of a place was made in the most relevant recent intake period, this includes any ATAR adjustments.

Selection rank adjustments (previously referred to as ATAR related adjustments)

Details of the types of adjustment factors (bonus points) commonly available to applicants can be found on our StepUp to Curtin webpage.

ATAR and selection rank profile for those offered places wholly or partly on the basis of ATAR in the most recent intake period

View data on the ATAR and selection rank profile of offers made from the most relevant recent intake period.

Applicants with work and life experience
(Finished secondary education more than two years ago)

Applicants with work and life experience are those who left secondary education more than two years ago (i.e. who are not classified as recent secondary education applicants) and have not undertaken vocational education training (VET) or higher education study since then.

‘Experience’ includes a combination of factors sufficient to demonstrate readiness for higher education such as mature-age entry, professional experience whether completion of the Special Tertiary Admission Test (STAT) is required or not, community involvement or work experience. Applicants may have undertaken non-formal programs that have helped prepare them for tertiary education or are relevant to the proposed higher education field of study.

Guaranteed ATAR: 70

This is the ATAR level at which an offer of admission is guaranteed, subject to any other non-ATAR criteria being met.
Desirable WACE subjects:
At least Mathematics: Applications ATAR and at least one ATAR science course from the following list: Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Science, Human Biology, Integrated Science, Physics or Psychology.
STAT entry: Written English and either MC Verbal or Quantitative

The Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) assesses competencies considered important for success at uni.
These tests are provided by the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC) to help mature age candidates apply for certain courses.

Please see our correlation comparability for previous TEE subjects, WACE courses and WACE ATAR courses.

Applicants with vocational education and training (VET) study

Applicants with vocational education and training (VET) study are those whose highest level of study since leaving secondary education is a VET course. This includes study at a public TAFE or other VET provider, whether a qualification was completed or not. Applicants with VET study may have other qualifications such as a Year 10 or Year 12 secondary school certificate.

Guaranteed ATAR: 70

This is the ATAR level at which an offer of admission is guaranteed, subject to any other non-ATAR criteria being met.
Desirable WACE subjects:
At least Mathematics: Applications ATAR and at least one ATAR science course from the following list: Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Science, Human Biology, Integrated Science, Physics or Psychology.
STAT entry: Written English and either MC Verbal or Quantitative

The Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) assesses competencies considered important for success at uni.
These tests are provided by the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC) to help mature age candidates apply for certain courses.

Please see our correlation comparability for previous TEE subjects, WACE courses and WACE ATAR courses.

Applicants with higher education study

Applicants with higher education are those whose highest level of study since leaving secondary education is a higher education course, such as a university degree. This includes applicants who are currently studying a higher education course at another education provider and want to transfer to Curtin University, or applicants who are currently studying at Curtin but want to switch to a different course. It also includes applicants who have completed past study with university and non-university higher education providers.

Desirable WACE subjects:
At least Mathematics: Applications ATAR and at least one ATAR science course from the following list: Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Science, Human Biology, Integrated Science, Physics or Psychology.

Please see our correlation comparability for previous TEE subjects, WACE courses and WACE ATAR courses.

Curtin course switcher criteria

Our admission criteria for minimum entry apply to Curtin course switchers. For information on how to meet Curtin's minimum entry requirements, please see our admission criteria web page.

Note on fourth year

To switch into this course, you need to have:

completed an APAC accredited three-year degree, with a 60% average across second and third year.

Note on honours year

To switch into this course, you need to have:

completed an APAC accredited three-year degree, with a 70% average across second and third year.

Higher education course switcher criteria

Our admission criteria for minimum entry apply to other higher education course switchers. For information on how to meet Curtin's minimum entry requirements, please see our admission criteria web page.

Note on fourth year

To switch into this course, you need to have:

completed an APAC accredited three-year degree, with a 60% average across second and third year.

Note on honours year

To switch into this course, you need to have:

completed an APAC accredited three-year degree, with a 75% average across second and third year.

Cut-off scores

Please note: The cut-off scores below are for 2018 only.

Qualification	Score
GCE/STPM/HKALE (A-levels - best of three)	5
HKDSE	15
IB	24
Ontario Gr 12 (best of 6)	60
ATAR (including WACE/SACE/HCE/VCE)	70
WAUFP (CPS)	53
India (CBSE)	60%
India (HSC)	65%
Sri Lanka	5

Minimum academic entry requirements

Please select a country above.

Essential course prerequisites

One mathematics subject.

Advanced standing / credit transfer / recognition of prior learning

Australia / New Zealand students

International students

At Curtin, we understand that everyone’s study journey has been different.

You may have already studied some of the units (subjects) listed in your Curtin course, or you may have work experience that matches the degree requirements.

If this applies to you, you can apply for credit for recognised learning (CRL), which means your previous study is recognised and matched against a similar unit in your intended Curtin course.

A successful CRL application exempts you from having to complete certain units within your course and means you could finish your degree in a shorter amount of time.

CRL is also known as recognition of prior learning, advanced standing and credit transfer.

Use the CRL search to find out how much CRL you qualify for, or contact us at:

Email: crl@curtin.edu.au
Tel: 1300 222 888

CRL search

At Curtin, we understand that everyone’s study journey has been different.

You may have already studied some of the units (subjects) listed in your Curtin course at another educational institution, or you may have work experience that matches the degree requirements.

A successful CRL application exempts you from having to complete certain units within your course and means you could finish your degree in a shorter amount of time.

CRL is also known as recognition of prior learning, advanced standing and credit transfer.

Use the CRL search to find out how much CRL you qualify for, or contact us at:

Email: ci-enquiries@curtin.edu.au
Tel: 1300 222 888

CRL search

Fees and charges

Australia / New Zealand students

International students

Australian and New Zealand student indicative fees for 2019

Fee year: 2019

Student type	Cost
Commonwealth supported What is a Commonwealth supported place (CSP)? A CSP is subsidised by the Australian Government. They pay part of the course fees directly to Curtin and then the student pays the remainder (referred to as the “student contribution amount”). The student can defer this fee to their HECS-HELP loan. All Australian students studying an undergraduate degree are automatically awarded a Commonwealth supported place. A limited number of Commonwealth supported places are also available for some postgraduate courses. Learn more about CSPs and whether you’re eligible by visiting the Australian Government’s StudyAssist website.	$8,320^*

Student type

Cost

$8,320^*

Fees are indicative first year only and are subject to passage of legislation.

*The indicative first-year fee is calculated on 800 credit points, which is the typical full-time study load per year, however some courses require additional study to be completed, in which case the fee will be higher than that shown.

This fee is a guide only. It may vary depending on the units you choose and does not include incidental fees (such as lab coats or art supplies) or the cost of your textbooks – visit other fees and charges for more information. For more information on fees and to determine your eligibility for HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP, please visit fee basics or the Study Assist website

If you’re not an Australian citizen, permanent resident or New Zealand citizen, please see information for international students.

International student fees for 2019

Fee year: 2019

International onshore – fee paying	Cost
Indicative essential incidental course fee	$150^*
Offer letter (100 credit) published fee	$17,900^*
Total indicative course fee	$141,700^*
Indicative year 1 fee	$36,100^*

Fee year: 2020

International onshore – fee paying	Cost
Indicative essential incidental course fee	$150^*
Offer letter (100 credit) published fee	$18,700^*
Total indicative course fee	$147,400^*
Indicative year 1 fee	$37,500^*

The fees shown above apply to international students studying on-campus in Western Australia. The tuition fee is subject to an annual tuition fee increase of up to 5 per cent per annum. For information about fees at other locations please visit Curtin International’s offshore site.

Where you can study

For start dates, please view the academic calendar.

Bentley Campus

On Campus
Semester 1 and Semester 2

Visit campus site

How to apply

Please review information on how to apply for the campus of your choice:

Bentley Campus

Please note that each campus has different application deadlines. Please view our application deadlines page for further information.

Apply now

Next steps

If you are successful in your application to study at Curtin, you will receive a letter of offer via email. You can either accept or defer your offer. To find out more about this process, view our enrolment web page.

You may also like to find out how you can obtain financial assistance or apply for a scholarship and prepare for Orientation Week (O-Week).