Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours)

The Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) consists of a year-long major independent research project (completed under the guidance of an academic supervisor), and a thesis based on the project. In addition, you'll complete advanced core and elective coursework.

The research project may be undertaken in most areas of psychology, such as:

• psychopathology
• behavioural neuroscience
• cognitive science
• cognition and perception
• forensic psychology
• social, personality and developmental psychology.

The coursework requirement includes content that encompasses history, professional ethics, evidence-based practice and advanced coverage of selected contemporary issues in psychology.

This degree also provides an academic foundation for you to continue on to a master's by coursework, a master's by research or a PhD.

Please note this program cannot be completed part-time. 

• Professional recognition
  The Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) is an Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) accredited Level 2 program. It satisfies the minimum requirement for provisional registration. Honours is the next step towards becoming a registered psychologist. You must complete an honours program to be eligible for entry into a psychology master's degree.

• Research experience
  In this program, you'll conduct a major research project under the guidance of one of our expert academic supervisors. Your research project can be taken in most areas of psychology. Successful completion of this professional and highly competitive degree will prepare you for the Master of Psychology degree. 

• Flexibility of choice
  Find a supervisor working in an area you're passionate about and tailor your project to your interests. Some areas of research include forensic psychology, developmental psychology, psychopathology, health psychology, language, cognitive science, neuroscience and vision science. 

• Wide range of career opportunities
  Psychologists deal with more than just mental health – they apply their knowledge to relationships, workplace stress and financial challenges. The modern-day psychologist may work across a range of environments including health, business, sport, marketing, human resources, education and more. Using your skills in psychology, you may be responsible for facilitating organisational change, exploring new ways of thinking or influencing marketing campaigns.

Learn with the best
UNSW Science is at the forefront of many new scientific developments, teaching and innovation. We’re responsive to the needs of industry, adaptive to change and take an innovative approach to teaching and learning. We’re ranked 30th in the world and 2nd in Australia for psychology.^*

Learn from industry-leading educators
You come to university to learn from the experts – researchers who are leaders in their fields, striving to create new knowledge. The School of Psychology is well known for its research tradition. Many of our staff have international reputations in their respective fields and a number are Fellows of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences. Our staff attract several million dollars in external research funds per year. Our staff publications receive more citations than any other psychology department in Australia and we have one of the highest rates of PhD graduations in psychology of any Australian university. We earn more competitive research funding and publish more Tier 1 journal articles per academic than any other psychology school in Australia.

Access cutting-edge facilities
Our teaching facilities include world-leading behavioural neuroscience laboratories and cognitive testing laboratories running specialist software that will allow you to design/implement your own psychological research and analyse/interpret the data you collect. You’ll also gain access to laboratories for the analysis of cognition and brain function, including electroencephalography (EEG), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and eye-tracking.

^{*QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024}