Undergraduate

Psychology (Extended Major)

Psychology is a fascinating and diverse area of study that touches upon many aspects of daily life, seeking to answer questions about how and why people behave the way they do.
80
ATAR

Contact us

Address

Student Central

The University of Western Australia (M355), 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, Western Australia 6009

Telephone

131 UWA (131 892)

International

(+61 8) 6488 1000

Hours

8.30am - 5pm AWST, Monday - Friday

Frequently asked questions

Careers and further study

This course opens up a world of future study pathways and career opportunities.

Career Pathways

Psychology is relevant to almost any human endeavour, which means a psychology degree, or some complementary psychology studies, are relevant not only for traditional psychology careers, but for a wide range of careers. For example, there are psychologists designing cockpits for NASA, computer software interfaces, personnel selection systems, or age-appropriate toys; psychologists develop market research strategies, or train people in a variety of settings.

Traditional careers in psychology:

  • Clinical Psychologist—assess, diagnose, and treat mental health conditions; design and assess treatment interventions; be involved in research, teaching and supervision; promote psychological health
  • Clinical Neuropsychologist—assess and treat people with a wide range of brain injuries or disorders; design and assess treatment interventions; be involved in research, teaching and supervision; promote brain health
  • Industrial and Organisational Psychologist—recruit and select personnel; design and evaluate behavioural training programs; develop leadership and management skills; optimise job design, performance, and workplace culture; foster employee wellbeing and work-life balance
  • Educational and Developmental Psychologist, School Psychologist—assess developmental, learning, and behavioural difficulties; design and evaluate interventions; promote positive development
  • Sport Psychologist—work with athletes and teams, addressing the wide range of psychological factors associated with sports performance (e.g., goal focus, team building, stress management, communication skills)
  • Health Psychologist—assess community health issues; design, implement, and assess public-health and behaviour-change programs; promote health behaviours
  • Forensic Psychologist—conduct forensic interviews; provide psychological assessments; give evidence in court proceedings,/li>

Please note these traditional career paths often require postgraduate studies and registration as a psychologist.

Non-traditional careers in psychology:

Public sector

  • Government agencies
  • CSIRO
  • Australian Bureau of Statistics
  • Federal and State Police Forces

Not-for-profit sector

  • Mental health, addiction and disability support services
  • Community and welfare services
  • Children, youth and parenting services
  • Charities

Private sector

  • Corporate business
  • Banks and financial service providers
  • Professional service firms
  • Market research, marketing, public relations, and advertising firms; consumer goods companies
  • Employment services, and industrial relations

Education sector

  • Schools and universities

Psychology is relevant to almost any human endeavour, which means a psychology degree, or some complementary psychology studies, are relevant not only for traditional psychology careers, but for a wide range of careers. For example, there are psychologists designing cockpits for NASA, computer software interfaces, personnel selection systems, or age-appropriate toys; psychologists develop market research strategies, or train people in a variety of settings.

Traditional careers in psychology:

  • Clinical Psychologist—assess, diagnose, and treat mental health conditions; design and assess treatment interventions; be involved in research, teaching and supervision; promote psychological health
  • Clinical Neuropsychologist—assess and treat people with a wide range of brain injuries or disorders; design and assess treatment interventions; be involved in research, teaching and supervision; promote brain health
  • Industrial and Organisational Psychologist—recruit and select personnel; design and evaluate behavioural training programs; develop leadership and management skills; optimise job design, performance, and workplace culture; foster employee wellbeing and work-life balance
  • Educational and Developmental Psychologist, School Psychologist—assess developmental, learning, and behavioural difficulties; design and evaluate interventions; promote positive development
  • Sport Psychologist—work with athletes and teams, addressing the wide range of psychological factors associated with sports performance (e.g., goal focus, team building, stress management, communication skills)
  • Health Psychologist—assess community health issues; design, implement, and assess public-health and behaviour-change programs; promote health behaviours
  • Forensic Psychologist—conduct forensic interviews; provide psychological assessments; give evidence in court proceedings,/li>

Please note these traditional career paths often require postgraduate studies and registration as a psychologist.

Non-traditional careers in psychology:

Public sector

  • Government agencies
  • CSIRO
  • Australian Bureau of Statistics
  • Federal and State Police Forces

Not-for-profit sector

  • Mental health, addiction and disability support services
  • Community and welfare services
  • Children, youth and parenting services
  • Charities

Private sector

  • Corporate business
  • Banks and financial service providers
  • Professional service firms
  • Market research, marketing, public relations, and advertising firms; consumer goods companies
  • Employment services, and industrial relations

Education sector

  • Schools and universities

Further Study

The Honours program in Psychology aims to develop your skills in addressing advanced conceptual issues in psychology and integrating a broad range of research findings within central theoretical concepts. You’ll also gain a deep understanding of current research within several areas of the discipline. You’ll learn to plan, implement, and interpret the findings of a major piece of empirical research and give brief oral presentations of research findings in a manner that is understandable to people not working in the same research area. The honours specialisation continues the research preparation from the earlier undergraduate years and prepares you for entry into a PhD and into discipline-accredited Master degrees that have a research component.

At present, postgraduate professional training is available in Industrial and Organisational Psychology, Business Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Clinical Neuropsychology. Psychology Honours has been awarded Conditional Accreditation by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) as a fourth-year of psychology study, and graduates are eligible for provisional registration with the Psychology Board of Australia.

The Honours program in Psychology aims to develop your skills in addressing advanced conceptual issues in psychology and integrating a broad range of research findings within central theoretical concepts. You’ll also gain a deep understanding of current research within several areas of the discipline. You’ll learn to plan, implement, and interpret the findings of a major piece of empirical research and give brief oral presentations of research findings in a manner that is understandable to people not working in the same research area. The honours specialisation continues the research preparation from the earlier undergraduate years and prepares you for entry into a PhD and into discipline-accredited Master degrees that have a research component.

At present, postgraduate professional training is available in Industrial and Organisational Psychology, Business Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Clinical Neuropsychology. Psychology Honours has been awarded Conditional Accreditation by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) as a fourth-year of psychology study, and graduates are eligible for provisional registration with the Psychology Board of Australia.

Fees and scholarships

Learn more about the fees that apply to you for this course. For fee type definitions and further assistance, see the Fee Calculator Help page. You can also search our database for scholarships that are relevant to you or this course

Domestic Student Fees

Indicative annual course fee
2025
Commonwealth Supported Place $10,248.76

Eligible Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) students can use the HECS-HELP loan program to pay their tuition fees. For Full-Fee Paying (FFP) places, students are charged an annual course fee.

Find out more information about tuition fees, or visit the fee calculator for a more accurate cost.

Scholarships

Scholarships are available to students from a diverse range of backgrounds, including academic achievement, financial need, educational disadvantage, leadership and community service, artistic or sporting achievements, and being from a rural or remote area.

Fees for psychology

From 2021, the following accredited programs are eligible for the Australian Government Professional Pathway funding rates (HECS band 2).

  • Bachelor of Psychology
  • Bachelor of Psychology (Honours)
  • Bachelor of Psychology and Bachelor of Arts
  • Bachelor of Psychology and Bachelor of Commerce

While the Psychological and Behavioural Sciences major is also an accredited psychology course, different funding rates and fees apply (HECS band 4).

Cost of living

There are a few things to consider before applying to study at university. One could be your cost of living. This can depend on factors such as lifestyle, accommodation, tuition fees, medical insurance, textbooks and more. For an indication of expenses and average costs, see our Cost of living page.

International Student Fees

There is no current fee information available for this course. Please visit the fee calculator to browse course fees from a previous year, or other courses.

Scholarships

Scholarships are available to students from a diverse range of backgrounds, including academic achievement, financial need, educational disadvantage, leadership and community service, artistic or sporting achievements, and being from a rural or remote area.

Cost of living

There are a few things to consider before applying to study at university. One could be your cost of living. This can depend on factors such as lifestyle, accommodation, tuition fees, medical insurance, textbooks and more. For an indication of expenses and average costs, see our Cost of living page.

Admission requirements

The University of Western Australia welcomes applications from international and domestic school-leavers. If you’re interested in studying this major, find out the admission details below.

Minimum entry requirements

Below you’ll find a list of admission equivalencies for this course's Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR).

Admission requirements

For applicants with recent secondary education, information on admission criteria is available on our entry requirements page or on the UWA Handbook for course specific requirements and prerequisites.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENT

English competency

English is the language of instruction and assessment at UWA and you will need to meet the English language requirements of the University to be eligible for a place.

Minimum overall IELTS score of 6.5, with no band less than 6.0.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENT

How to apply

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Course details

The Psychology extended major provides an advanced scientific understanding of human thoughts and behaviours, the psychological processes underlying these and the relationship of these processes to brain function. You will find an emphasis on the measurement of psychological behaviour and abilities; the social and multicultural contexts for human behaviour; and psychology in the workplace. You can also develop an understanding of the biological underpinnings of behaviour, and will learn how psychological processes are affected by ageing, brain damage and disease.

About the course

Psychology is a fascinating and diverse area of study that touches upon many aspects of daily life, seeking to answer questions about how and why people behave the way they do. The Psychology extended major will help you develop a scientific understanding of human thoughts and behaviours, the psychological processes underlying these and the relationship of these processes to brain function.
Psychology (Extended Major)

Quick details

Status
  • Available
Locations
  • Perth (Crawley campus)
Attendance
  • Full-time
  • Part-time
Delivery
  • On-campus
Starting dates
  • Semester 1, Semester 2
Weekly contact time
  • 15-30 hours per week
Level of study
  • Undergraduate
Course Code
  • MJD-PSYDM
Honours Available
  • Yes
Psychology (Extended Major)
Status
  • Available
Locations
  • Perth (Crawley campus)
Attendance
  • Full-time
  • Part-time
Delivery
  • On-campus
Starting dates
  • Semester 1, Semester 2
Weekly contact time
  • 15-30 hours per week
Level of study
  • Undergraduate
Course Code
  • MJD-PSYDM
Honours Available
  • Yes
Degrees course is available in
  • Bachelor of Psychology
  • Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours)
PSYCHOLOGY AT UWA

What will I learn?

An undergraduate degree in psychology equips you with:

Specialist knowledge

  • Normal and abnormal development – How do psychological abilities develop through the lifespan and how are psychological processes affected by ageing, brain damage and disease?
  • Groups and organisations – How do our psychological abilities impact on relationships between people and groups in society? How do you optimise human performance in a work setting?
  • Cognition and perception – How do our brains interpret inputs from the world? How do we perceive, think, remember and make decisions?
  • Research methods – How do you measure psychological constructs such as intelligence, personality traits and social skills? How do you analyse data to make evidence-based decisions?
PSYCHOLOGY AT UWA

5 career opportunities you could pursue after a 3-year psychology degree

Psychology

At UWA, a 3-year psychology degree equips you with valuable skills for the workforce. Discover the career opportunities and why UWA is the right choice for your psychology studies.

Course Structure

Extended majors enable you to dive deeper into a particular area of study and normally require 13 to 18 units studied over the course of your degree.

Psychology at UWA

Why study with us?

Psychology can take you anywhere and everywhere. Psychology is relevant to almost any human endeavour, meaning a psychology degree, or some complementary psychology studies, are relevant not only for traditional psychology careers, but for a wide range of careers.

Psychology at UWA

Becoming a psychologist

Begin your pathway to becoming a psychologist by selecting the Psychology extended major, available in the Bachelor of Psychology, OR the Psychological and Behavioural Sciences single major in the Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts. To continue your pathway to registration as a provisional psychologist, follow this with a fourth year of study with Honours in Psychology. You can then undertake further postgraduate study in your chosen area of psychology to complete the studies required as part of registration.

5 steps to becoming a clinical psychologist with UWA

getty psychology image

Embarking on the journey to become a clinical psychologist is rewarding and at UWA you’ll have access to a comprehensive pathway that equips you with the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to thrive in this dynamic career. Let's explore the steps to becoming a clinical psychologist.

Beyond your brain: How to blend your passion for law and criminology with your psychology degree

Your degree options

This major is only available within the Bachelor of Psychology or Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) degrees. This is an extended major which means you undertake more units in this area. You are not able to pair this major with any other major.

Course Accreditation

The Bachelor of Psychology (BP030), the Bachelor of Psychology and Bachelor of Arts (CB011), the Bachelor of Psychology and Bachelor of Commerce (CB013), the Bachelor of Psychological Studies (BP503), and the Bachelor of Psychology and Bachelor of Science (CB043) is accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC).

Sepideh Rahmani

Sepideh Rahmani