Bachelor of Psychological Science

Entry Requirements

Successful completion of an Australian year 12 qualification with a minimum pass in an accepted English language subject.

English Language Requirements

IELTS: Overall 6.5 (Reading 6, Listening 6, Speaking 6, Writing 6); TOEFL: Internet-based: Total score of 79 with a minimum of 21 in Writing, 18 in Speaking and 13 in Reading and Listening; TOEFL Paper-based: Total score of 577 with a minimum of 4.5 in the Test of Written English (TWE); Pearsons: Overall 58 (Reading 50, Listening 50, Speaking 50, Writing 50); Cambridge: Overall 176 (Reading 169, Listening 169, Speaking 169, Writing 169).

Course Details

Our Bachelor of Psychological Science nurtures creativity, analysis and communication skills. You will:

learn about human development and the biological bases of behaviour
investigate the mechanics of perception and learning
explore the nature of motivation and emotion
gain experience with psychological tests
develop skills for counselling
choose between over 35 majors and electives from related disciplines
design and undertake meaningful research projects.

Where could it take you?

You could become a social psychologist, doing large-scale research to change the way we go about our lives. You might work in community services with people of all ages and backgrounds, or in market research and advertising. Perhaps you’ll go on to further study in the field and become a qualified psychologist.

Potential careers

Animal Behaviourist, Ministerial Adviser, Parliamentary Member, Development Officer, Project Officer, Welfare Officer, Marketer / Marketing Manager, Human Resource Manager, Clinical Psychologist, Community Psychologist, Organisational Psychologist, Counselling Psychologist, Educational & Developmental Psychologist, Forensic Psychologist, Sports & Exercise Psychologist, Health Psychologist, Medical Research, Careers Counsellor, Political Adviser, Diplomatic corps, Publicist, Scientific Data Analyst, ...

Degree Structure

The Bachelor of Psychological Science is a flexible degree with a variety of elective courses available. Students can choose their courses based on general interest or to broaden their major.

In the first year, students are able to choose four elective courses from areas such as arts, health and medical sciences, sciences, computer science and commerce, alongside the three core psychology courses.
At the beginning of second year, students either select a second major or continue to choose from a wide variety of electives alongside four core psychology courses.
In the third year, students complete four core psychology courses, including a compulsory research methodology course. The other four courses can be selected from psychology courses or electives. For students who chose to undertake a second major, the electives in third year will consist of second major courses.

On completion of this degree, students are eligible to apply for an honours year in psychology at the University of Adelaide as well as other universities around the country that offer honours programs accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council. It should be noted that an honours year in psychology is required to gain provisional registration with the Psychology Board of Australia.

To become a registered psychologist, students need to complete a 2-year Masters program. At the University of Adelaide we offer two areas of specialisation; Master of Psychology (Clinical) and Master of Psychology (Health).