Handbook

Students must complete 96 UOC when taken as a standalone program.

The program consists of three components, all of which are compulsory, totalling 96 UOC (48 in each Stage).

1. Coursework - Weekly lectures and seminars with associated written forms of assessment (42 UOC)
2. Professional Practice - Completion of a minimum of 1000 hours of supervised practice in forensic settings, weekly Forensic Psychology meetings, and Skills Training Workshops (36 UOC)
3. A Research Thesis (18 UOC).

Participation and Enrolment Requirements

All students must meet registration standards developed by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) in order to register as provisional psychologists. If a student is not approved to be registered as a provisional psychologist they will not be able to continue with the program as they will not be able to undertake professional practice (a compulsory component).

Prospective applicants, regardless of current residency or citizenship status, should familiarise themselves with the registration standards and are encouraged to review AHPRA's "Pathways diagram" relating to the English language skills standard.

Prospective applicants should also familiarise themselves with the program's inherent requirements.

Study load and duration

The program does not strictly follow the University’s academic calendar, meaning that trainees should expect to have commitments prior to official teaching period start dates and past official teaching period end dates. A modified (Extended) progression may be negotiated in close consultation with the program team.

Professional Placement

Each Professional and Ethical Practice (PEP) course is linked with either 1) a Readiness Module (PEP 1) or 2) satisfactory progress on or successful completion of a professional placement (PEP 2 through PEP 6). Until the Readiness Module or any professional placement component of a PEP course have been successfully completed (or satisfactory progress has been made), a PE grade will be applied to the course. Failure to meet placement requirements and/or successfully complete the placement (as determined by both the Placement Coordinator and Program Director) will lead to failure of the PEP course. If the Readiness Module or any professional placement is not completed to a satisfactory standard, or placement requirements have not been met, a UF grade will be applied to the PEP course. Hours from a professional placement that is not completed to a satisfactory standard will NOT count towards the minimum 1000 hours of supervised practical placement experience required for completion of the program.

Course Fail

Should a student fail any course, approval to re-enrol in the failed course will be at the discretion of the Program Director (and Placement Coordinator in the case of PEP courses)^. If approval is not granted the Program Director may recommend discontinuation from the program.

^ In Australia, the psychology profession is regulated by the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act as overseen by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). The School of Psychology is responsible for adhering to federally legislated professional and accreditation standards for training provisionally registered psychologists in full compliance with the APS Code of Ethics and Ethical Guidelines. Master of Psychology students, as provisionally registered psychologists, are expected to display the competencies, professionalism and reputable behaviours the discipline demands. In making their recommendation, the Program Director will consider these factors not simply from an academic standpoint, but as the discipline's chief authority on such professional and ethical matters within the program.

Should a student disagree with a recommendation made by the Program Director, their avenue of appeal will be to the Head of School and/or School Board.