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Understand yourself and other peopleÌý

Psychology is a science. The defining feature of any science is the objective approach that is used to advance our knowledge. In psychology we use this scientific approach to learn about behaviour and mental processes. While you can find out about our psychology degrees below, psychology is a broad field that includes:

• neuroscience
• cognition
• learning
• memory
• motivation
• reasoning
• decision making
• perception
• social (yourself as well as others)
• developmental
• clinical
• forensic
• health

You'll learn about aspects of human behaviour that will help you in daily life, including your interactions with others, your learning and memory performance, your ability to cope with pressure and your understanding of the causes of psychological disorders.

Psychology also intersects with many other disciplines across Arts, Design and Architecture (ADA), Business, Medicine & Health and Engineering. Psychology complements these disciplines, which benefit from an understanding of different aspects of human behaviour.Ìý

Enhance your career prospects

Ranked 30th in the world and 2nd in Australia for psychology*, we're a global leader in psychology research and education. Psychology provides excellent training in analytical thinking and scientific research methods. Whether you’re looking to become a registered psychologist, or would like to gain a psychology background to enhance your career prospects, the skills acquired through psychology training are applicable to a broad range of careers. A psychology degree will prepare you for careers in industries such as:

• advertising
• community development and relations
• copywriting
• counselling
• developmental care
• public, community and occupational health
• management consultancy
• human resources
• recruitment
• training and development
• industrial relations
• market research
• journalism
• marketing
• business and retail management
• welfare and youth work
• statistical and data analysisÌý

Prepare for professional practice

Psychologists work in a wide variety of different contexts, including clinical, legal, organisational, educational and research settings in both the private and public sector. To practice as a psychologist, you need to complete an undergraduate degree, honours program and accredited master's degree. For those wishing to practice as a clinical psychologist, typical areas of work include the below:

Pathways to psychology

There are many ways to study psychology and work towards your general registration.ÌýAt UNSW, there are seven different programs you can take to meet the requirements ofÌýyour accredited undergraduate psychology sequence.ÌýRegardless ofÌýwhich one you decide to study, you'll complete the same coreÌýunits and have the same opportunity to progress to honours.ÌýEntry to honours is based on performance in undergraduate psychology units and there is no preference given to anyÌýparticular degreeÌýsequence. Honours is also the same for all students regardless of their undergraduate degree program.Ìý

Although the core psychology componentsÌýof these degrees are identical,Ìýthe programs varyÌýin the other courses you take alongside your psychology major.ÌýThis allows you to tailor your degree to suit yourÌýparticular interests and as such we encourage you to explore your options and choose a degree that's right for you.

Retraining as a psychologist?

If you're a graduate from another discipline wishing to retrain as a psychologist, there are a couple of approaches you may wish to take.

Psychology programs

Visit the School of Psychology

^{*QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024}