Bachelor of Psychological Science

at Southern Cross University - Gold Coast Campus Australia

Do you dream of coaching athletes or inspiring people to achieve better health and wellbeing? Are you fascinated by human anatomy, human physiology and how they apply to sport and exercise? Are you keen to probe the minds of elite athletes and uncover what gives them the winning edge? The Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science can turn your sporting passion into a career.

This degree provides a comprehensive study of sport sciences and how the human body responds to exercise. You’ll learn about human movement, biomechanics, movement control, exercise physiology, exercise and sport psychology, coaching and exercise prescription, with the opportunity to specialise in either business management, physical education or strength, conditioning and coaching.

Our graduates work in many areas of sport and health, including sports psychology, nutrition, teaching, coaching, performance testing, health promotion and education.

Strength, Conditioning and Coaching

This major includes areas such as advanced strength and conditioning, applied skill acquisition and training for performance.

Speech pathologists assess and treat adults and children exhibiting acquired or congenital disorders of speech, fluency, voice, language, swallowing and multimodal communication.

The Bachelor of Speech Pathology prepares you for entry into professional speech pathology practice.

Topics covered include phonetics and linguistics, audiology and neurology, working alongside and interacting with students from other health disciplines. As well as taking advantage of our state-of-the-art facilities, you will receive hands-on experience via clinical placements in schools, hospitals, nursing homes and the Southern Cross University Health Clinic at our Gold Coast campus.

Career opportunities for speech pathologists continue to grow nationally and internationally throughout the health and wellbeing industry, both in private practice and in working with health and education organisations and with various specialists.

Social workers can be a lifeline for people facing difficulties related to financial, medical, mental health or relational circumstances. This course enables you to develop the skills, knowledge and values to become a strategic, ethical and reflective social work practitioner.

Our accredited Master of Social Work (Professional Qualifying) is suited to applicants with previous experience in the study of the social sciences, social welfare, psychology or related fields.

In this program, you'll examine child protection, social policy and law, health issues impacting Indigenous communities, and leadership in social work organisations. You'll also undertake practice under the supervision of an experienced social worker. As a graduate, you'll be ready for a career as a professional social worker in Australia and may also be eligible for employment overseas.

Do you want a health career that could transform the lives of others by helping them achieve tangible results?

Occupational therapists’ work is diverse. They adapt environments, activities or equipment to enhance participation in everyday tasks, assisting people of all ages and abilities to do what they need and want to do at home, work, school and in the community.

You will develop a range of clinical skills in the University’s state-of-the-art facilities and during your professional placement, preparing you for work in diverse health care environments.

As an occupational therapist you could for example develop inclusive playground experiences and environments for children of all abilities; you could recommend workplace changes that would assist an injured worker to return to work; or you could design home modifications or public transport changes that would ensure access for a person using a power wheelchair.

Indigenous Health

This major can be studied at Gold Coast and Coffs Harbour campuses and offers students the opportunity to build theoretical and practical capabilities in cultural protocols and Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Embedded placement opportunities equip graduates with the professional skills required to contribute to the improvement of health and social outcomes in Australian communities.

In order to meet the Australian occupational therapy competency standards this course is structured in accordance with professional body recommendations. All students complete studies in the following areas:

Professional Areas: occupational therapy theory and practice; occupational therapy assessments and interventions related to biomechanical, sensorimotor, psychosocial and cognitive performance, activities, engagement and participation at home, at school, at work and in the community; occupational transitions across the lifespan; evaluation of occupational therapy programs; health promotion; and professional experience/fieldwork.

Social Sciences: psychology and sociology for health sciences, Australian health care system, Indigenous studies, research methods, nutrition in health, and small business and entrepreneurship.

Biological Sciences: anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, and neuroscience.

Are you fascinated by how our bodies function, what keeps us healthy and what causes disease? Or maybe why are humans so different, yet also so much the same? The Bachelor of Biomedical Science embraces these questions as you explore the human body all the way to the cellular level.

You'll gain a scientific understanding of the structure and function of the human body and the interrelationships between health and disease. Together with foundational sciences, you will explore the intricacies of human health and examine the pathological basis of disease processes. You will develop skills in problem-solving, analysis and interpretation of medical and laboratory data, as well as practical skills in laboratory methods.

This course is taught in laboratories equipped with cutting edge analytical equipment and provides a solid base in biomedical science, from anatomy, immunology, neuroscience and microbiology to haematology and more. A substantial professional placement builds invaluable on-the-job experience.

Graduate opportunities include roles across scientific and health care environments. Graduates may also qualify for postgraduate degrees such as pharmacy and physiotherapy, or choose to pursue medicine or other careers.

Our two-year (or 18 months if fast tracked*) Master of Teaching program qualifies you to be a teacher in Australia, and many countries overseas. Teaching is a career in which you can make a positive and life-long impact on the lives of children and young people.
You can choose to specialise in early childhood education, primary education, or secondary education.  

As well as undertaking an education research project, this course includes professional experience learning via placement in early childhood education settings, schools, and/or community sites. Pre-requisites to meet national and state-based regulatory requirements, as detailed in Faculty of Education Professional Experience Requirements, must be met prior to attending professional experience placement. All professional experience learning days must be completed, and professional behaviour and conduct must be demonstrated.

All primary and secondary students across Australia need to successfully complete the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students (LANTITE) prior to undertaking the second professional experience placement.

Early Childhood

The Early Childhood specialisation qualifies you to become an early childhood teacher (six-weeks to five-years-old).

Information technology is not just a pathway to your future; your degree could help you shape the future. Technology is everywhere, affects everyone and is never still. If IT is your passion, our Bachelor of Information Technology immerses you in a field that is driving our world forward.

If you dream of developing amazing software, designing multimedia experiences or creating tomorrow’s smart systems, this degree provides the technical, analytical and creative skills you need. Study on campus or online and take advantage of optional internship units that add hands-on, real-life experience.

Tailor your studies through the choice of a major in business analytics, networks and cybersecurity, software development or user experience.

Whether as a programmer, designer, web developer, systems analyst, database administrator, project manager, ICT network professional or technical support personnel, the Bachelor of Information Technology is the beginning of what could be an amazing future.

Big Data Technologies

Provides students with the skills needed to investigate Big Data and solve real-world business problems through the application of modern data analytics tools.

 The Bachelor of Business and Enterprise has a focus on developing innovation and impact in a complex and changing business world with inspired and multidisciplinary learning experiences. You’ll become equipped with the practical skills, tools and knowledge that are vital for the sustainability of society, business and industry.

Build a portfolio of professional experiences through a range of real world interactions with employers, industry and the community.

You can undertake the course with a professionally accredited specialisation in accounting or financial services. Alternatively, you can choose a major in either business and data analytics, entrepreneurship and innovation, tourism management or aviation management, combining this with an industry project or an internship or a shared major from disciplines across the University.

Business and Data Analytics

Develops your expertise in contemporary data analytics tools and technologies, providing data analytics solutions and insights to support decision-making and inform long-term strategies.

How do we think and learn? How do we control our movements and behaviour? What makes us tick? Exploration of the human mind and behaviour is a fascinating field and this degree is an equally fascinating educational journey into behaviour, cognition, and psychological principles and theory.

We have designed our Bachelor of Psychological Science to be a rich, flexible, and highly engaging learning experience. It will shed light on how humans work, individually and in sociocultural groups, and will take you inside your own head –to develop a deep and real understanding of your own thoughts, emotions, and behaviour. It will take you across many different fields of psychological practice –many you will never have considered. You will be working with an academic team comprising active researchers publishing their work in international journals.

This degree will help you develop strong analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as proficiency in research and statistics, all of which will inform your ability to apply scientific approaches in professional settings as well as enhancing your understanding of yourself and of the world.

Early childhood education is an immensely satisfying career and a precious opportunity to give children the very best start in life.

Within 10 months, our Graduate Diploma in Education (Early Childhood) will qualify you to be an early childhood teacher to work in early childhood education and care services, long day care centres, and preschools.

Our course covers key areas of early childhood education and care, theory, principles and practices that best support children's learning and development. Admission into the course is via an undergraduate degree in any discipline, including a teaching qualification.