Would you like a choice of interesting careers helping people from all walks of life? Read on to explore psychology courses and specialised careers in law and human resources, and even in marketing!
Often when we think of psychologists, we think of the health specialists who provide counselling and psychotherapies. But there are many areas of psychology that offer excellent career options. And with society and human behaviours becoming more complex, psychology is evolving into new and fascinating areas – both as a scientific field and as specialist health professions.
What is psychology?
As a scientific field, psychology is the study the human mind and behaviour. As a profession, psychology is a highly diverse field of healthcare that covers the full range of human experiences. As experts in human behaviour, qualified psychologists gain career choices across areas of healthcare and numerous industries.
At Curtin University, we offer courses for the diverse range of careers you can embark on in psychology.
Curtin’s range of qualifications in psychology include an undergraduate certificate, bachelor degrees and postgraduate qualifications. And, importantly, Curtin has the international reputation that can help you enjoy a global career – overall we rank in the top 1% of universities in the world, and for psychology we rank in the top 150 universities worldwide.1,2
How do Curtin’s psychology courses differ?
Our Undergraduate Certificate in Psychology is a six-month course that introduces you to the discipline of psychology. Another advantage of this course – which also offers the option of part-time study over one year – is the pathway it provides into our four-year Bachelor of Psychology, with credits for those same units you completed in your undergrad certificate.
Our Bachelor of Psychology is a four-year course that is recognised by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC), and will give you skill sets that are relevant to many employment sectors – education and development, health services, community services, sport and exercise, research, and more.
You’ll learn about perception, cognition, emotion, personality, behaviour and interpersonal relationships, psychological disorders and treatments, and how psychologists examine, explain and predict what people do as individuals and in groups. And in the fourth year of your course, you’ll complete a significant research project.
Here’s what Emmanuel Mammoliti had to say about the course and his uni experience:
“I’ve have been introduced to a range of interesting concepts that have strengthened my natural enthusiasm for psychology,” Emmanuel said.
“I’m continually impressed by the staff and the support that the wider Curtin community provides. I’ve gained a high-quality learning experience that has equipped me with valuable skills to take into the workforce and my daily life.”
You can also study the Bachelor of Psychology as a double degree with other disciplines, to broaden your expertise and your employability.
Psychology and Human Resources: In-demand expertise
If you’re fascinated by the human mind and behaviours but aren’t certain whether a career in psychology is for you, you may like to specialise in another area – such as human resources (HR), industrial relations, or marketing and consumer behaviour. In one way or another, the varied fields of psychology are about how the human mind thinks and why we behave like we do.
Curtin offers a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Human Resource Management; and a double degree in Psychology, and Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations. Both options will give you sought-after professional expertise that combines knowledge of human behaviour and knowledge of workplace legislation.
Psychology and HR is a popular combination. Studying these two disciplines together will give you the skillsets to improve individual and team performance across the entire range of organisations and industries. Psychologists working in HR and workplace relations are also experts in recruitment and resolving workplace issues.
Our Bachelor of Science (Psychology and Human Resource Management) is ideal if you’d like to gain advanced knowledge of psychology to specialise in HR management roles – which offer diverse industry options. You could work in health and community services, employment and training, education, banking and finance, and many other industries.
Or, you could broaden your career choices with a double degree in Psychology, and Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations. You could then gain interesting and dynamic roles providing industrial relations advice and support, and liaising with diverse government and industry stakeholders to resolve industrial relations issues. Such roles can also involve project research and policy work.
Psychology and Marketing: Experts in consumer behaviour
Psychology student Aysa Bahar Arjmand, said that one of the things she appreciated about her Curtin course was being able to explore various areas of psychology.
“It helped me to identify the areas I’d like to work in,” she said.
Because her study interests also included consumer behaviour, Aysa decided on a double degree in Psychology with a Commerce major in Marketing. She then decided to complete her honours year, and has broadened her interests into community issues and intergenerational trauma, among other areas.
“I’m interested in the wellbeing of marginalised populations. The option to study a double degree in Psychology and Commerce helped me develop a more comprehensive understanding on the facilitators and barriers for people accessing psychological services.”
Psychology combined with marketing is a very interesting nexus that focuses on our behaviour as consumers. It’s a specialist area where psychology graduates use analytical methods to examine why we choose particular brands of goods and services – how factors such as culture, personality and lifestyle affect our choices.
Psychologists with knowledge of consumer behaviour and marketing are sought after by organisations across all areas of business and commerce. At Curtin, we offer a double degree in psychology and marketing that will not only give you advanced knowledge of the human brain and the factors that affect consumer behaviour, but also the analytical skills learn to use market research to identify business issues.
Psychology and Law: A very persuasive career option!
A double degree in Law and Psychology is a great choice if you’re interested in careers in the criminal justice system, where you can combine legal expertise with an advanced understanding of human behaviours and motivations.
Our Law degree also provides the first qualification you need to practise as a lawyer in Australia (and if you think you might like a career in law, read our article, ‘How to actually become a lawyer’). During your studies you’ll also have the opportunity to select optional units in areas such as forensic advocacy, family law, human rights law, native title law and policy, and law and technology.
How do I enrol in a psychology course at Curtin?
If you think you’d enjoy learning all about the human mind and behaviours, and one or more careers in psychology will be ideal for you, find out more here about our Curtin’s psychology courses and how to apply.
1 Academic Ranking of World Universities
2 QSWUR rankings by Subject
