Back

Pursue your interests and maximise your employability with a joint degree in Business and Psychological Science. Learn business operations and decision-making skills alongside critical thinking and research methods.

Save

Print to PDF

Tailor your degree

Align your subjects with your career goals

$57,900*

Median graduate salary *Good Universities Guide 2021, UG Psychology

Industry experience

Benefit from internships

Townsville

Townsville: February, July

$32,280.00⁺

⁺estimated annual tuition fee

Plus Student Services and Amenities fee
Scholarships and financial aid available if eligible

4 years full-time

English (Units 3/4,C)

Recommended Knowledge

Mathematical Methods (Units 3/4,C)

085453A

What to expect

Cultivate a balance between academic theory and practical ability—valuable to employers both in psychology and business. Develop an in-depth understanding of how human psychology impacts business. Transfer your skills across industries or specialise in one area of expertise.

Study a curriculum designed by industry experts to ground your learning in contemporary research and real-world relevance. Take part in practical experiences through ground-breaking research and industry internships.

Prepare for an exciting and varied career. Graduates of JCU’s Bachelor of Business-Bachelor of Psychological Science are prepared for a competitive workforce.

Consult the handbook for majors available at each campus and a detailed overview of available subjects.

Honours

Honours is available in each discipline as additional 24 credit points of study. Please refer to either the Bachelor of Business (Honours), or the Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) Handbook for eligibility information.

Career Opportunities

JCU Business-Psychological Science graduates combine the skills and knowledge of two disciplines to pursue rewarding careers across a range of industries.

You could find employment in counselling roles in business, community, or government organisations. Different subject choices could see you working in human resource management, professional development, market research, and more.

Handbook

Bachelor of Business – Bachelor of Psychological Science

Handbook year	2021
Course Code	114310
Course type	Bachelor Degree (AQF Level 7)
Professional accreditation status	This course is fully accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC). Graduates of this course, who wish to become fully registered as psychologists, must complete an accredited fourth year course (e.g. GDipPsych or BPsychSc(Hons)) plus two years of supervised practice in the field; or an accredited masters degree (e.g. Master of Psychology (Clinical)) with one further year of supervised practice.
Owner	Division of Tropical Health and Medicine
College	Healthcare Sciences Business, Law and Governance

Award Requirements

Admission Requirements

Course prerequisites	English (Units 3/4,C) Recommended: Mathematical Methods
Minimum English language proficiency requirements	Applicants of non-English speaking backgrounds must meet the English language proficiency requirements of Band 1– Schedule II of the JCU Admissions Policy.

Academic Requirements for Course Completion

Credit points

96 credit points as per course structure

Course learning outcomes

JCU graduates are committed to lifelong learning, intellectual development, and to the display of exemplary personal, professional and ethical standards. They have a sense of their place in the tropics and are charged with professional, community, and environmental responsibility. JCU graduates appreciate the need to embrace and be acquainted with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of Australia. They are committed to reconciliation, diversity and sustainability. They exhibit a willingness to lead and to contribute to the intellectual, environmental, cultural, economic and social challenges of regional, national, and international communities of the tropics.

On successful completion of the Bachelor of Business graduates will be able to:

Demonstrate essential knowledge necessary for a career in business related professions
Synthesise underlying principles and concepts for making business decisions
Critically analyse the core professional obligations, values and operations of organisations including sustainability
Critically evaluate data and resources in the context of relevant academic literature
Apply critical thinking to address issues in business
Convey information clearly and fluently, in high quality written form appropriate for their audience
Demonstrate effective oral presentation skills for academic and professional audiences
Demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively
Apply technical skills, including numeracy, necessary for professional practice in business
Demonstrate an awareness of ethical and social responsibility in professional practice
Identify and act upon, learning opportunities and self-improvements

On successful completion of the Bachelor of Psychological Science, graduates will be able to:

Integrate a broad and coherent body of knowledge with depth in major theoretical perspectives and concepts, and philosophical and historical developments, in the core areas of psychology

Review, analyse, consolidate and synthesise knowledge and evidence bases in the core areas of psychology

Review and reflect on the methods and ethics of scientific investigation as applied to psychology

Exercise critical thinking and judgement in the design and conduct of scientific investigations to solve psychological questions with intellectual independence

Apply advanced English language and technological and numeracy skills to generate, interpret and communicate knowledge, data, arguments and research findings appropriate for a variety of audiences

Adapt and apply research skills and psychological understanding, including where appropriate knowledge of cultural diversity, to investigate human and animal behaviour in diverse contexts

Demonstrate responsibility and accountability for one's own learning and practice in collaboration with others

Course Structure

CORE SUBJECTS

Level 1

BU1002:03 Accounting for Decision Making

BU1003:03 Principles of Economics

BU1104:03 Introduction to Management Concepts and Application

BU1105:03 Business Communication

BU1112:03 Business Law

PY1101:03 Exploring Psychology: from Brain to Practice

PY1102:03 Exploring Psychology: from Perception to Reality

PY1103:03 Critical Thinking in Psychology: How to Think About Weird Things

PY1106:03 Communicating Psychology: Listening, Translating & Disseminating

Level 2

PY2103:03 Introduction to Research Methods and Data Analysis

PY2107:03 Experimental Investigation and Analysis of Behaviour

BU2108:03 Marketing Matters

PY2111:03 Learning Processes, Behaviour and Performance

PY2112:03 Memory and Cognition

PY2101:03 Psychological Neuroscience

PY2106:03 Through the Looking Glass: Development Across the Lifespan

Level 3

BU3101:03 Professional Internship or BU3102:03 Multi-Disciplinary Project or BU3103:03 Independent Project

PY3101:03 Psychological Research Methods and Interpretation

PY3102:03 Social Psychology in Everyday Life

PY3103:03 Mining the Mind: Psychopathology

PY3107:03 Psychological Assessment in Action

PY3108:03 Personality Psychology: Decoding the Mysteries of Humans

OPTIONS

Select 6 credit points of Creative Media, Arts and Social Sciences subjects (from the following prefixes: AN, AR, AY, CI, CU, CY, EL, FR, GR, HI, IA, IT, JA, JN, NM, PL, PY, SS, SY and WS) or BU and BX level 2 and BU and BX level 3 subjects

PLUS

Select a Business major from Table A

Table A (BUSINESS MAJORS)

Type of major	Optional, single
Credit points in major	24 credit points

MAJOR	AVAILABLE AT	NOTES
Banking and Finance	External
Business Intelligence and Information Systems	JCU Townsville External
Economics	JCU Townsville External
Financial Management	JCU Townsville External
Hospitality and Tourism Management	External
Human Resources Management	JCU Townsville External
International Business	External
Management	JCU Townsville External
Marketing for the Digital Age	JCU Townsville External
Sports and Events Management	JCU Townsville External

Location

COURSE AVAILABLE AT	NOTES
JCU Townsville

Candidature

Expected time to complete	4 years full-time or equivalent part-time
Maximum time to complete	10 years
Maximum leave of absence	2 year

Progression

Course progression requisites	Nil
Course includes mandatory professional placement(s)	No
Special assessment requirements	Nil
Professional accreditation requirements	The accredited sequence in Psychology leads to provisional registration with the Psychology Board of Australia with the addition of a fourth year of accredited studies in psychology e.g. Graduate Diploma of Psychology or Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours)
Maximum allowed Pass Conceded (PC) grade	Not permitted for Psychology subjects (subjects with the prefix SP or PY)
Supplementary exam for final subject	A student who has failed the final subject towards the degree and who gained 40% or more of the marks for that subject, may be granted a supplementary examination in that subject

Credit

Eligibility	Students may apply for credit transfer for previous tertiary study in accordance with the Credit Transfer Procedure.
Maximum allowed	60 credit points
Currency	Credit will be granted only for studies completed in the 10 years prior to the commencement of this course.
Expiry	Credit gained for any subject shall be cancelled 20 years after the date of the examination upon which the credit is based if, by then, the candidate has not completed this course.
Other restrictions	Nil

Award Details

Award title	BACHELOR OF BUSINESS – BACHELOR OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
Approved abbreviation	BBus-BPsychSc
This is a joint degree	Yes
Inclusion of majors on testamur	Majors will appear on the testamur
Exit with lesser award	Students who have completed 24 credit points of their course award requirements, and withdraw from or fail to meet the requirements for progression in the later years, may be eligible for the award of Diploma of Tertiary Studies. Students who exit the course prior to completion, and have completed ALL appropriate subjects for the relevant degree, may be eligible for the award of Bachelor of Business or Bachelor of Psychological Science.
Course articulation	Not applicable

Honours

Honours availability

Honours is available in each discipline as additional 24 credit points of study [end-on]

Eligibility

A student admitted to the degree of Bachelor of Business – Bachelor of Psychological Science at this university may be invited by the College Dean to undertake the Honours degree in Psychology if that student has

Psychology Honours

obtained a minimum of 72 credit points including successful completion of all Psychology level 1, 2 and 3 subjects prescribed in Bachelor of Business-Bachelor of Psychological Science
obtained a minimum of a Credit average (65%) across PY2103, PY2107 and a minimum Distinction average (75%) across 15 credit points of level 3 PY subjects, including PY3101

Business Honours

Normally a minimum average grade of Credit is required in the pass degree subjects relevant to the field in which Honours is to be taken.

Fees and scholarships

Estimated annual tuition fee: $AUD32,280.00

Courses are charged per year of full-time study. International course fees are reviewed annually and subject to change.

A Student Services and Amenities Fee is payable per subject up to a maximum amount per year.

Student Visa holders must have Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the duration of their Student Visa (except Norwegian, Swedish and Belgian citizens). Costs depend on the length of study and the number of dependants accompanying the student. For more information see Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC).

Scholarships and financial aid are also available for international students.

Pathways to JCU

JCU offers pathway study options if you don't meet the academic or English language requirements for direct entry into your preferred JCU degree, or if you want to enhance your career prospects.

Applicants with TAFE diplomas in Business, Business and Commerce Studies, Events, Hospitality, Human Resources Management, Management, and Travel and Tourism can apply for credit.

How to apply

Gather the documents you need to apply and submit an application via JCU's online application portal.

Student

Aimee Cameron

Bachelor of Business - Bachelor of Psychological Science

JCU provides me the opportunity to continue living and working in the tropics, while studying a joint degree that allowed me to follow both my professional and personal passions. I have been continually impressed by the lecturers and staff at the university and their support and encouragement.
Student

Olivia Riordan

Bachelor of Business - Bachelor of Psychological Science

The practical placement is the best part about the course as you can experience a career in the industry whilst being a student. You gain invaluable knowledge and a unique viewpoint into how these two rapidly growing sectors interact with each other and how particular factors will influence the workforce.
Lecturer

Alf Kuilboer

Head of Management, Governance and Tourism

This degree cultivates a balance between academic theory and practical ability, both valuable and sought after skills by employers in psychology and business. You will understand how human psychology impacts business, combined with knowledge in the practical elements required for managing a sustainable business.
Lecturer

Dr Kerry McBain

Head, Psychology

Having an understanding of human behaviour - what motivates people, how they perceive the world, and why they make the decisions they do - is invaluable knowledge in business. The joint degree gives students a solid grounding in both the principles of business and of human behaviour.