Course details

CRICOS course code: 097107J

Level of study: Undergraduate

Summary

You’re intrigued by the workings of a criminal mind, what motivates and drives criminal behaviour, you want to help people work towards a more positive future. Our Bachelor of Psychological Science and Criminology gives you deep insight into why we think and act the way we do, and how to help change behaviour before it becomes destructive.

You’ll graduate with the practical skills and strategies to successfully work in the criminal justice system. With an understanding of the role society plays in shaping crime and criminal minds.

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. This specialised double major degree is ideal if you’re interested in working in the courts, corrections, youth justice or with offenders, victims or vulnerable populations including young people and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Explore with an applied focus:

• Biology, learning and cognition
• Research Methodology
• Learning and memory
• Perception and cognition
• Lifespan development
• Social psychology
• Psychopathology
• Psychological measurement and assessment
• Intercultural diversity and Indigenous psychology
• Professional issues and applications in psychology
• The criminal justice system
• Cultural diversity and its relevance to crime and criminal justice
• Substance use and crime
• Law and the legal system
• Theoretical and applied criminology
• Alternative approaches to criminal justice
• Victimology
• Case management
• Forensic psychology

The BPsychSciCrim provides students with the opportunity to complete an APAC accredited three year sequence featuring a major in psychology and a major in criminology. Students undertaking this program must follow a specified sequence of units from the Discipline of Psychological Sciences and the Discipline of Criminology. This specified sequence of units comprises the double major.

The psychology major provides students with a comprehensive education in the theories and models that underpin the scientific discipline of psychology, critical and analytical thinking, and research methodology, design and analysis necessary for conducting and evaluating psychological research. The psychology major also introduces students to the applications of psychological theory.

The criminology major is concerned with approaches to criminal behaviour, the causes of crime, crime prevention, and responses to crime. The coverage of sociology in this major stream exposes students to the wider context in which criminal behaviour takes place and the role society plays in shaping crime and the criminal. This, coupled with the psychology major, provides students with a well-rounded understanding of human behaviour.

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