Bachelor of Psychological Science, Bachelor of Business

This double degree pairs the science of human behaviour with the practical side of running an organisation. You study psychology units alongside business units, so you graduate with two sets of skills that employers in Australia actually ask for: understanding why people do what they do, and knowing how to make a business work. The psychology side covers the core areas, brain and behaviour, learning, memory, personality, social psychology, lifespan development, research methods and statistics. The business side takes in accounting, economics, management, marketing and business law, depending on the major you choose.

How the degree is structured

This is a four-year bachelor degree, longer than a standard three-year degree because you are completing the requirements of two awards. Australian universities run most bachelor degrees on a semester or trimester calendar, and Southern Cross uses a mix of study periods across the year. You enrol in units of study, each worth a set number of credit points, and you need a defined total to graduate. Expect to complete around 32 units across the four years. The psychology sequence includes research methods and statistics units that build on each other, and the business sequence includes a capstone unit in your final year where you apply what you have learned to a real business problem. Work-integrated learning is built into the business side through internships, industry projects or placement units, and many students use these to get a foot in the door before they graduate.

What you actually learn

You learn to design and run research, analyse data with statistical software, write reports in the style psychologists use, and present findings to people who are not scientists. On the business side you learn to read a balance sheet, build a marketing plan, manage a team, and understand the legal and economic environment a business operates in. The combination is useful in fields where human behaviour and commercial decisions overlap, human resources, consumer research, organisational consulting, market research, and management roles where understanding people is the whole job. You also develop the general skills that Australian employers consistently rank highly: clear writing, critical thinking, teamwork and the ability to work with data.

Who this suits

This degree suits students who are curious about people and also want a qualification that opens doors in the business world. If you are not sure whether you want to be a psychologist or a manager, this lets you keep both options open. It also suits people already working in business who want to understand behaviour better, or people who want to move into human resources, organisational psychology pathways or consulting. The psychology component gives you the accredited sequence needed to apply for provisional registration as a psychologist through APAC-approved pathways, and you should confirm the current accreditation status of the psychology sequence with the university before you enrol, because it matters for registration. The business component gives you a recognised business qualification that stands on its own if you decide psychology is not for you.

Studying in Australia

Southern Cross University has campuses in northern New South Wales and the Gold Coast, and offers many units online. The psychology and business schools have links with local industry, health services and community organisations, which is where placement and research project opportunities often come from. If you are an international student, you can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while your course is in session, and you may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream after you graduate, depending on your circumstances. English proficiency is required for admission, IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall is the common undergraduate standard, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic and Cambridge C1 Advanced accepted as equivalents. The Department of Home Affairs sets a separate English threshold for the Student visa itself. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register under course code 115094M. Check the official Southern Cross University page for the current unit list, majors, campus options and entry requirements before you apply.

• Human resources officer or coordinator, recruitment, employee relations, workplace culture and performance management in private companies, government agencies and not-for-profits.
• Market research analyst, designing surveys, analysing consumer data and reporting insights for retailers, banks, media companies and research firms.
• Organisational development or training officer, building learning programmes, change initiatives and capability frameworks inside large organisations.
• Business analyst or management consultant, working on projects that involve both commercial analysis and understanding how people behave at work.
• Psychology assistant or support worker, roles in community mental health, disability services, youth services and Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations, often while completing further study toward registration.
• Policy or programme officer, state and federal government departments, especially in health, education, social services and industry portfolios.
• Customer experience or consumer insights roles, in banking, insurance, telecommunications, retail and technology companies.
• Further study pathways, honours in psychology, a master's in organisational psychology, clinical psychology, business administration or human resource management, leading to registration or specialist roles.