Program Overview

If you’re a deep thinker with your finger on the political pulse and interested in pursuing a career of exploration and change, then this is the course for you. UC’s Bachelor of Politics and International Relations/Bachelor of Science in Psychology double degree combines the intriguing world of politics and international affairs with the clinical psychological insights to human behaviour of a psychology degree.

You’ll develop the knowledge and skills to become a globally engaged and strategic thinker while discovering the scientific psychology theories, research methods and clinical grounding that could help you become a clinical psychologist.

Your psychology studies will be accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) and the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and give you a solid grounding in topics like cognition, psychopathology and biological behaviour, and the tools to instigate practical solutions to problems within various social and economic contexts – skills that could also come in handy should you choose to pursue a career in politics and international relations.

Combine a Bachelor of Politics and International Relations and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at UC and you will:

• Gain knowledge of the principles, concepts and issues that are shaping the world, including the challenges of modern terrorism and contemporary regional politics in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond
• Be able to apply an in-depth understanding of the historical and current systems of Australian politics and public policy, provide policy advice and develop new policies
• Learn to recognise the relationships between political values, political power and public policy and the impact each of these has within the Australian context
• Develop high level theoretical and empirical analysis skills and the ability to interpret world events and issues
• Acquire an understanding of the scientific basis of the discipline of psychology and understand the research methods used by psychologists
• Gain an ability to apply research methods to design and conduct studies, analyse and interpret results and write research reports using APAC conventions
• Understand the application of values, research and professional ethics in psychological research and in other professional contexts.

Specialist Major: Politics and International Relations
The politics and international relations major aims to provide students with knowledge and understanding of politics, government, and national security. It explores the implications of a world divided into multiple polities. The program encompasses philosophical, political, theoretical, institutional, and practical policy and issue based concerns relating to contemporary governance and democratic citizenship. Politics is about who gets what, when and how and the deliberative processes central to domestic politics and international collective life. The program incorporates the study of human security, global governance, foreign aid, trans-national crime, national security, terrorism, counter-terrorism and cybercrime.