Graduate Diploma of Psychological Science

What can you do with your degree?

The fourth year program is a steppingstone to further studies leading to registration as a practising psychologist.

Broadly speaking, qualifications in psychology can be applied to a wide range of careers that call for exceptional critical thinking, communication, and analytical skills. These can be in private enterprise, government, and community settings, in fields such as:

Education – counselling, behaviour management
Business – change management, organisational psychology
Human resources and career guidance
Policy making
Criminal justice
Sport, exercise and athlete performance
Rehabilitation – counselling
Not-for-profit organisations
Community action
Marketing / Advertising / Communications
NDIS services including mental health support
Research

Areas of practice

Once fully registered as a practicing Psychologist, graduates can specialise and be endorsed in nine areas of practice, including:

Clinical neuropsychology 
Clinical psychology 
Community psychology 
Counselling psychology 
Educational and developmental psychology 
Forensic psychology 
Health psychology 
Organisational psychology
Sport and exercise psychology

Graduate accreditation

Graduates will be eligible to apply for provisional registration as a Psychologist, in preparation for the practicum placements required in the final two years (Years 5 and 6) of the training pathway.

After completing this Fourth-Year program, the options for the final two years of psychology studies are:

Master of Psychology (Clinical) – a two-year program (Years 5 and 6) for graduates with a Distinction average GPA;
Master of Professional Psychology – a one-year program (Year 5) for graduates with a Credit average GPA. Graduates will need to complete a further 12 months of self-sourced supervised practice (Year 6) to be eligible for registration as a general Psychologist.

Entry to these programs will also be based on an interview process. 

Program learning outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes provide a broad and measurable set of standards that incorporate a range of knowledge, skills and abilities that will be achieved on completion of the program. These outcomes will help you determine whether this program aligns with your professional pathway, career and learning goals.

View Graduate Diploma of Psychological Science learning outcomes
- Demonstrate comprehension and application of a broad and coherent body of knowledge of psychology, with depth of understanding of underlying principles, theories and concepts in the discipline, using a scientific approach.
- Demonstrate appropriate interpersonal communication and interview skills in situations appropriate to psychological practice and research. This includes active listening, clarifying and reflecting, effective questioning, summarising and paraphrasing, developing rapport, appropriate cultural responsiveness and empathic responding.
- Demonstrate basic assessment strategies in situations appropriate to psychological practice and knowledge of psychometric theory and principles of the construction, cultural considerations, implementation and interpretation of some of the more widely used standardised psychological test instruments.
- Explain how basic psychological intervention strategies can be applied across a range of contexts including consideration of cultural responsiveness.
- Investigate a substantive individual research question relevant to the discipline of psychology.
- Demonstrate an understanding and application of cultural responsiveness, including with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Take your skill set to the next level

CRICOS Code: 063429E

Master of Psychology (Clinical) - HS-23090
- Psychology, Criminology, and Social Sciences
- 2 years (6 semesters)
- Postgraduate
View program
Read more about Master of Psychology (Clinical) - HS-23090
CRICOS Code: 096695C

Master of Professional Psychology - HS-23107
- Psychology, Criminology, and Social Sciences
- 8 months (2 semesters)
- Postgraduate
View program
Read more about Master of Professional Psychology - HS-23107