Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology
The Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology is a one year full time or 2 year part-time fee paying course. Students may be eligible for financial assistance with FEE-HELP (information available on the website: www.goingtouni.gov.au ).
The Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology provides students with knowledge about the latest developments in psychology. The course includes core units that equip students with knowledge about psychological research and issues in professional practice.
Entrance Requirements
Students require a three year degree with a major in Psychology in an accredited undergraduate programme. Applications for entry into the Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology need to be accompanied by an Application for Course Admission form (available from Student Central), certified copies of academic transcripts (including grading key); and a brief curriculum vitae that includes a statement detailing the applicant’s background in psychology, relevant work experience including voluntary work; research skills and experience; and main areas of interest in psychology, including research interests.
Entrance to the course is competitive and a limited number of places are available. Students applying for entry into the Postgraduate Diploma should have a course average of around or approaching 70% and demonstrate sound levels of achievement in second and third year psychology units. Students from other universities applying for entry into the program should have equivalent grades.
Only students who will be completing their degree at the close of November 2009 are eligible for entry into a fourth year programme commencing in 2010. Students completing their study during Summer School 2009/2010 will need to submit their application in September 2009 for entry into the 2010 programme.
Applications must be submitted to Student Admissions by the 2nd October 2009.
Further Information
Ms Carole Gamsby,
4th Year Administrative Support
School of Psychology and Social Science
Edith Cowan University
270 Joondalup Drive
Joondalup Western Australia 6027
Telephone: (08) 6304 5626
Facsimile: (08) 6304 5834
Email: c.gamsby@ecu.edu.au
Postgraduate Diploma Mode of Study
The Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology at Edith Cowan consists of 9 units. To graduate students are required to complete five first semester units and four second semester units in psychology as outlined below.
Mode of Study: Full-Time
| Semester 1 (Compulsory) | |
|---|---|
| PSY4139 | Research Skills |
| PSY4151 | Contemporary Issues in Psychology |
| PSY4152 | Research Proposal |
| plus the following two coursework units available in first semester | |
| PSY4107 | Theoretical Issues in Professional Practice |
| PSY4150 | Health and Clinical Psychology |
| Semester 2 (Compulsory) | |
| PSY4253 | Research Literature Review |
| PSY4254 | Research Project |
| plus two of the coursework units from those available in second semester | |
| PSY4141 | Psychological Assessment |
| PSY4205 | Theoretical Aspects of Psychology and Law |
Mode of Study: Part-Time
Part-time students normally take two or three units per semester over a two-year period.
The Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology Research Project
The Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology research project is completed by students under the guidance of an academic supervisor (who is usually a member of the Psychology teaching staff of the School of Psychology and Social Science). The structure of the research component of this degree requires students to complete a literature review and research project. Students must ensure that their topic falls within an area of staff expertise.
It is recommended that students consult with academic staff about potential projects and see if there are existing research projects they can be part of or past projects that could be extended or replicated in some way. Information on staff interests and current areas of interest is available on our psychology website:www.psychology.ecu.edu.au
Brief Descriptions of Fourth Year Units
Please note the unit offerings described are illustrative only. The range of offerings may be reconsidered for 2010 depending on resources and staff availability.
PSY4107 Theoretical Issues in Professional Practice
This unit provides an overview of the legal and ethical principles that govern psychological interventions and an exploration of the theoretical principles that underlie counselling.
PSY4139 Research Skills
The aim of this unit is to consolidate and extend knowledge of research methods gained at undergraduate levels. The course assumes competence with basic descriptive and inferential statistics and with elementary research designs. Students will apply this knowledge to critical appraisals of relevant research domains and to generating researchable questions. [Ethical issues in the conduct of research and professional practice are also addressed in this unit.]
PSY4141 Psychological Assessment
Psychological assessment is a basic function of the professional psychologist and involves the examination of assessment procedures needed to provide data for informed decision making. This unit provides instruction in the major techniques of psychological assessment. It includes examination of a range of assessment strategies or approaches as well as a more detailed investigation of a range of psychological tests, their administration, scoring and interpretation. The usefulness of these various assessment approaches and tools will be considered in the context of how they can inform the decision making process given the problems to be solved.
PSY4150 Health and Clinical Psychology
This unit examines psychological, biological and social influences on people’s health. The determinants of healthy behaviour will be considered, as will how people stay healthy, how and why they become ill and how they deal with acute and chronic illness. Both physical and mental health and illness will be examined.
PSY4151 Contemporary Issues in Psychology
This unit allows students enrolled in the Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology to study current issues impacting upon the development of psychological theory or the application of psychological principles.
PSY4205 Theoretical Aspects of Psychology & Law
The purpose of this unit is to introduce students to the field of forensic psychology by examining the application of psychological knowledge and methods to issues in the operation of criminal and civil law. This will include the psychology of aspects of criminal investigations, the trial and post trial processes, and civil and family law.
PSY4152 Research Proposal
The research project and literature review is completed during two semesters of full-time study (or the part time equivalent), during which time the candidate is under the supervision of a member of the School of Psychology. In this unit students develop their research skills by designing a project, achievable in the time available, to give a clear answer to a research question (or manageable set of research questions). Projects need to be related to content areas taught in the psychology course. During second semester (in the units PSY4253 and PSY4254) the literature review and research project are completed and written up by the candidate.
PSY4253 Research Literature Review
In this unit students enrolled in the Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology complete a literature review on a topic closely related to their research project designed in the unit PSY4152 Research Proposal, under the supervision of their academic supervisor.
PSY4254 Research Project
In this unit students enrolled in the Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology conduct the research project designed in the unit PSY4152 Research Proposal, under the supervision of their academic supervisor. The project is then written up by the candidate in a research project format.