Bachelor of Psychology in Gold Coast

The postgraduate psychology programs are highly competitive and there are many more applicants than places available. Therefore, at Griffith there is a highly structured application process. Admission to the Master of Professional Psychology is restricted to students who are eligible for provisional registration with the Psychology Board of Australia. The application process involves three stages.

Stage 1: The application

All applicants are required to demonstrate their capability for training in psychology as follows:

• Academic Achievement/Intellectual Ability: Applicants must have completed a program in Psychology extending over four years and accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) or equivalent as determined by the Australian Psychological Society. The Grade Point Average (GPA) in the undergraduate degree, fourth year and relevant courses will be taken into account. A minimum of an Honours Second Class Division B (or equivalent) is required.
• Interpersonal and Counselling Capability: Given the interpersonal sensitivity and awareness required for effective psychological practice, successful applicants will be expected to demonstrate a high level of interpersonal skills. Furthermore, in order for the program to build on a reasonably advanced applied skill baseline, successful applicants will be expected to demonstrate at least a basic level of competence in the counselling context, evidence of warmth and empathic responding and an openness to a range of approaches. This may be demonstrated by evidence of previous counselling training and relevant volunteer or work experience.
• Support from Referees: Two referee reports are required - one from an academic who knows your work well and a second from a professional referee who can attest to your interpersonal and counselling capabilities. See below for the Australian Psychology Postgraduate Program Reference Request System process.

Stage 2: The interview

Please note that, given the competitive nature of this program, only those applicants who have been evaluated by a panel of the clinical team as having demonstrated their suitability for training in psychology (according to the above criteria and ranked sufficiently high enough relative to others) will be shortlisted for interview.
The interview itself consists of a multi-station assessment process. Applicants are required to attend a face-to-face session that takes around half a day to complete. Applicants will be required to demonstrate sound interpersonal and emotion management skills as they respond to the various tasks at each station. Tasks include, for example, responding to an ethical dilemma, roleplaying an interview, roleplaying a supervision session, discussing research, responding to questions relating to their own reasons for applying for training in psychology and a written task.
Applicants are assessed by a panel of program staff who are registered psychologists in the multi-station interview process. Applicants will be ranked according to their performance at each station and those ranked highly enough will be offered a place in the program.

Stage 3: The offer

First round offers will be made by mid-November to applicants who are ranked at a sufficiently high level. A waitlist of applicants will be retained as second and third round offers may be made as late as January. Unsuccessful applicants will be advised as soon as is practically possible.

Note: Applicants are not permitted to defer an offer. Should you be unable to accept an offer, you must re-apply for entry in the following intake.

The University's Undergraduate Programs Admission Policy will apply.

Prior OP students: Applicants who graduated with an OP in or before 2019 can apply to Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) for an ATAR statement. For more information visit qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/australian-tertiary-admission-rank-atar.

The University's Undergraduate Programs Admission Policy will apply.

Prior OP students: Applicants who graduated with an OP in or before 2019 can apply to Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) for an ATAR statement. For more information visit qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/australian-tertiary-admission-rank-atar.

Within the last 10 years, applicants must have successfully completed all the studies required for the award of a Bachelor degree which includes a three-year sequence in Psychology accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC).

Entry into the Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) program is competitive and will be determined by applicant's order of academic merit and is subject to available supervisory resources. Where a student has repeated a course or courses that form part of any of the below criteria, all attempts of the course/s will be used to calculate the Grade Point Average (GPA) that determines the criterion.

Applicants who fail to meet one or more of the below criteria will be deemed ineligible for entry to the Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).

Applicants who have completed International studies in Psychology must provide evidence that these studies meet equivalence of an APAC Level 1 three-year accredited degree. This evidence must be submitted at the time of application.

Applicants from Griffith University who have completed the Bachelor of Psychological Science (1012) or Bachelor of Psychological Science (1312)

To be eligible to apply for the Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours), applicants must meet the following criteria:

1. Within the last 10 years, be eligible to graduate or have graduated with the three years of prescribed coursework in the Bachelor of Psychological Science (1012) or Bachelor of Psychological Science (1312). For graduating students, the three-year degree must be completed by the end of Trimester 2 in the year prior to commencement in the Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
2. Achieve a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 5.0 for all second and third year courses including ten prescribed Psychological Science core courses and 60 credit points of electives as required in Years 2 and 3 of the degree.
3. Achieve a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 5.0 in the eight following second and third year Psychology courses:
   • 2000PSY Experimental Design and Analysis
   • 2006PSY Cognitive Psychology
   • 2007PSY Biological Psychology
   • 2008PSY Social and Cultural Psychology
   • 3011PSY Lifespan Development OR 2015PSY Developmental Psychology
   • 3003PSY Survey Design and Analysis
   • 3006PSY Psychological Assessment of Individual Differences
   • 3009PSY Abnormal Psychology.
4. Have no other documented grounds for being deemed ineligible.
5. Where a course has been credited towards the degree from another educational institution, the course grade/s will be included in the Grade Point Average (GPA) computations for criteria 2 and 3.

Applicants from Griffith University who have completed the Bachelor of Psychological Science as part of a double or vertical degree.

To be eligible to apply for the Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours), applicants must meet the following criteria:

1. Within the last ten years, be eligible to graduate or have graduated with the prescribed coursework in a Griffith University double degree or vertical degree that includes a Bachelor of Psychological Science. For graduating students, the double or vertical degree must be completed by the end of Trimester 2 in the year prior to commencement in the Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
2. Achieve a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 5.0 for the ten core Psychological Science courses, as well as 60 credit points of prescribed courses from second year onwards in the completed double or vertical degree.
3. Achieve a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 5.0 in the eight following second and third year Psychological Science courses:
   • 2000PSY Experimental Design and Analysis
   • 2006PSY Cognitive Psychology
   • 2007PSY Biological Psychology
   • 2008PSY Social and Cultural Psychology
   • 3011PSY Lifespan Development OR 2015PSY Developmental Psychology
   • 3003PSY Survey Design and Analysis
   • 3006PSY Psychological Assessment of Individual Differences
   • 3009PSY Abnormal Psychology.
4. Have no other documented grounds for being deemed ineligible.
5. Where a course has been credited towards the degree from another educational institution, the course grade/s will be included in the Grade Point Average (GPA) computations for criteria 2 and 3.

Applicants from Educational Institutions other than Griffith University

To be eligible to apply for the Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours), applicants must meet the following criteria:

1. Within the last 10 years, be eligible to graduate or have graduated with a three-year Australia Psychological Accreditation Council (APAC) accredited psychology degree. For graduating students, the degree must have been completed by the end of Trimester/Semester 2 in the year prior to commencing the Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) program (2004).
2. Achieve a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 5.0 for the courses deemed to be equivalent to the 10 core psychological science courses and the six additional prescribed courses from Year 2 onwards as required within the completed degree.
3. Achieve a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 5.0 in the eight following second and third year Psychological Science courses:
   • 2000PSY Experimental Design and Analysis
   • 2006PSY Cognitive Psychology
   • 2007PSY Biological Psychology
   • 2008PSY Social and Cultural Psychology
   • 3011PSY Lifespan Development OR 2015PSY Developmental Psychology
   • 3003PSY Survey Design and Analysis
   • 3006PSY Psychological Assessment of Individual Differences
   • 3009PSY Abnormal Psychology.
4. Have no other documented grounds for being deemed ineligible.

Applicants who have completed an Australia Psychological Accreditation Council (APAC) accredited three-year psychology bridging degree (for example, Graduate Diploma or Graduate Entry Bachelor degree) can apply for the Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) program. Applicants should submit their academic transcript for both the three-year psychology bridging degree and their prior degree to ensure the Grade Point Average (GPA) in the criteria listed above for Honours entry can be calculated. Applicants only submitting academic transcripts for the three-year psychology bridging degree will be deemed ineligible as it will not be possible to calculate the Honours entry Grade Point Average (GPA) for the above criteria.

The University's Undergraduate Programs Admission Policy will apply.

Prior OP students: Applicants who graduated with an OP in or before 2019 can apply to Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) for an ATAR statement. For more information visit qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/australian-tertiary-admission-rank-atar.

The University's Undergraduate Programs Admission Policy will apply.

Prior OP students: Applicants who graduated with an OP in or before 2019 can apply to Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) for an ATAR statement. For more information visit qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/australian-tertiary-admission-rank-atar.

The University's Undergraduate Programs Admission Policy will apply.

Prior OP students: Applicants who graduated with an OP in or before 2019 can apply to Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) for an ATAR statement. For more information visit qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/australian-tertiary-admission-rank-atar.

The University's Undergraduate Programs Admission Policy will apply.

Prior OP students: Applicants who graduated with an OP in or before 2019 can apply to Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) for an ATAR statement. For more information visit qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/australian-tertiary-admission-rank-atar.

The postgraduate programs in Clinical Psychology are highly competitive and there are many more applicants than places available. Therefore, at Griffith there is a highly structured application process. Admission to all Clinical Psychology programs is restricted to students who are registered Psychologists or who are eligible for provisional registration with the Psychology Board of Australia. The application process involves three stages.

Stage 1: The application

All applicants are required to demonstrate their capability for training in Clinical Psychology as follows:

• Academic Achievement/Intellectual Ability: Applicants must have completed a program in Psychology extending over four years and accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC). Preference is given to applicants who have completed an Honours degree in Psychology which involves an individual research project awarded at the level of a First or Second Class Division A. It is highly desirable that applicants will have completed courses or units that are relevant to Clinical Psychology (for example, Abnormal Psychology, Counselling Psychology or Health Psychology). The Grade Point Average in the undergraduate degree, fourth year and relevant courses will be taken into account.
• Interpersonal and Counselling Capability: Given the interpersonal sensitivity and awareness required for effective clinical practice, successful applicants will be expected to demonstrate a high level of interpersonal skills. Furthermore, in order for the program to build on a reasonably advanced applied skill baseline, successful applicants will be expected to demonstrate at least a basic level of competence in the counselling context, evidence of warmth and empathic responding and an openness to a range of approaches. This may be demonstrated by evidence of previous counselling training and relevant volunteer or work experience.
• Personal Statement: For assistance with this statement, see the Position description for a Clinical Psychology trainee and the Self-assessment / Colleague-assessment checklists.
• Support from Referees: Two referee reports are required - one from an academic who knows your work well and a second from a professional referee who can attest to your interpersonal and counselling capabilities. See below for the Australian Psychology Postgraduate Program Reference Request System process.

Stage 2: The interview

Please note that, given the competitive nature of this program, only those applicants who have been evaluated by a panel of the clinical team as having demonstrated their suitability for training in clinical psychology (according to the above criteria and ranked sufficiently high enough relative to others) will be shortlisted for an interview.

The interview itself consists of a multi-station assessment process. Applicants are required to attend a face-to-face session that takes around half a day to complete. Applicants will be required to demonstrate sound interpersonal and emotion management skills as they respond to the various tasks at each station. Tasks include, for example, responding to an ethical dilemma, roleplaying an interview, roleplaying a supervision session, discussing research, responding to questions relating to their own reasons for applying for training in clinical psychology and a written task.

Applicants are assessed by a panel of clinical program staff in the multi-station interview process. Applicants will be ranked according to their performance at each station and those ranked highly enough will be offered a place in the program.

Stage 3: The offer

First round offers will be made by mid-November to applicants who are ranked at a sufficiently high level. A waitlist of applicants will be retained as second and third round offers may be made as late as January. Unsuccessful applicants will be advised as soon as is practically possible.

Note: Applicants are not permitted to defer an offer. Should you be unable to accept an offer, you must re-apply for entry in the following intake.

The University's Undergraduate Programs Admission Policy will apply.

Prior OP students: Applicants who graduated with an OP in or before 2019 can apply to Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) for an ATAR statement. For more information visit qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/australian-tertiary-admission-rank-atar.