COURSE CURRICULUM

The Bachelor of Psychological Science at UNSW requires students to complete a total of 144 Units of Credit (UOC) when undertaken as a standalone program. The degree is structured to provide a strong foundation in psychology while allowing flexibility through elective study and general education. Students must complete at least 78 UOC of core Psychology courses, which form the disciplinary backbone of the program and cover key areas such as cognitive processes, developmental psychology, social psychology, abnormal psychology, and research methods. In addition, students complete 54 UOC of Free Electives, which can be used to pursue a complementary major or a range of approved courses that broaden their academic and career pathways. The structure of these free electives varies depending on the chosen complementary major: majors such as Linguistics or Philosophy, or Criminology, Behavioural Economics, Human Resource Management, or Marketing require 18 UOC of remaining free electives, while Neuroscience or Vision Science require none. Students who do not choose a complementary major complete the full 54 UOC as free electives. The program also includes 12 UOC of General Education courses, designed to expand students’ learning beyond psychology and promote interdisciplinary thinking. However, GEN-coded courses cannot be used toward free electives and are restricted to general education requirements only. Overall, the program balances core psychological science training with flexibility, enabling students to tailor their studies to their interests and career goals while maintaining strong academic depth in psychology.