Master of Professional Psychology

Course notes

Important course notes

• Practicum requirement

  Students will complete a minimum of 300 hours of skills training and supervised practice during the course. This includes a minimum of 280 hours of practicum experience under the supervision of a Registered Psychologist.

  Attendance requirements

  Students will be required to attend practicum on specified days as negotiated with their practicum supervisor.

  Clearances and/or Risk Management Protocols Required

  All students will be required to undertake a National Police Clearance. Students may be required to undertake other clearances specific to individual organisations. Students whose practicum involves contact with young people under the age of 18 will be required to obtain a Working with Children clearance. Students may be required to undertake or provide evidence of health screenings and/or immunisations as required by individual organisations. Additionally, OSH agreements, insurance policies, and risk assessments are required for all placements.

  Professional practice rules

  All students are required to abide by the Australian Psychological Society Code of Ethics, the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 and all relevant State and National legislation whilst on practicum

• Membership

  Students can apply for membership with Psychology Board of Australia. All students must apply for Provisional Registration as a Psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia on enrolment in the course and maintain this registration status for the entire duration of the course.

Course Learning Outcomes

1. Apply high level self-management and reflective skills to monitor professional functioning and plan and implement strategies for ongoing development as a professional.
2. Apply professional knowledge and technical skills to design, implement, and evaluate psychological strategies with individuals and groups across the lifespan.
3. Communicate and collaborate in an ethical and culturally responsive manner in professional practice with clients, other professionals, and other stakeholders.
4. Investigate, analyse, and synthesise complex information and problems in a range of professional contexts.
5. Reflect critically on and apply a complex body of psychological knowledge, theories, principles and methods to evidence-based and client-centred psychological practice.

Quick guide to uni-speak

• • ATAR

    ATAR is the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, the primary criterion for entry into most undergraduate university courses in Australia. The ATAR is a percentile score which denotes a student's ranking relative to their state-wide peers upon completion of their secondary education.

  • CRICOS code

    CRICOS is the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students. A CRICOS code is allocated to education institutions (like ECU) who are approved to recruit, enrol and deliver education to overseas students. Courses with a CRICOS code are available to international students who meet the entry requirements.

  • Majors

    A major, or unit set, is your chosen area of in-depth study in an undergraduate course. It usually involves 8 units of study, or one-third of the units in a 3-year degree. Talk to your Student Information Office if you need help choosing a major subject.

  • Minors

    Minors include between 4 and 6 study units in a specific discipline. Not all courses require you to complete a minor. Your minor subject doesn't appear on your printed degree (parchment), but is part of your academic transcript.

  • Full-time

    If you're enrolled in 3 or more units in a semester this is considered full-time study. To complete most 3-year degrees studying full-time you'll need to complete 4 units per semester, i.e. 24 units over 3 years.

  • Part-time

    If a course is available to study part-time you can generally expect it to take twice as long to complete as it would in full-time mode. Part-time students are enrolled in 1 or 2 units maximum per semester.

    Note: International students who hold a student visa can only choose the full-time study option for our courses. This is to ensure the course is completed within the duration of the student visa.

• • Semester 1

    Most courses start in Semester 1 each year, usually in the last week of February. Some courses can be started in Semester 2 (we call this mid-year). There's a week of Orientation before each semester to help you get used to uni life.

  • Semester 2

    A lot of our courses start in Semester 2 each year, usually in the last week of July. We call this mid-year. There's a week of Orientation beforehand to help you get used to uni life.

  • Credit Points

    We use a points system to make it easier for you to understand your study progress. Most Bachelors degree study units are allocated 15 credit points. If you're studying a 3-year full-time degree you'll need to successfully complete 360 credit points - that's 24 units x 15 points per unit.

  • Core Units

    These are compulsory units you have to successfully complete as part of your course.

  • Recommended Electives

    An elective is a unit you choose to study that counts towards your course requirements, but isn't compulsory. For some courses we recommend elective units. In some situations, a course coordinator may approve an elective unit as a replacement for a compulsory one.