Why Study / Key Benefits

The Bachelor of Forensic Psychological Science is designed around the intersection of psychology, crime and the law. Swinburne describes it as Australia’s first undergraduate forensic psychology degree. Students examine how psychological knowledge can be applied to criminal justice, courts, rehabilitation and the protection of vulnerable people.

Key benefits include:

• Combines psychology with forensic and criminal-justice applications.
• Develops knowledge of developmental psychology, neuroscience and mental health disorders.
• Examines how psychological evidence and theory can influence courtroom outcomes.
• Provides knowledge relevant to rehabilitation programmes and vulnerable populations.
• Develops psychological research, data analysis and survey-design skills.
• Includes research project management, teamwork and scientific report writing.
• Includes Work Integrated Learning as a guaranteed component of Swinburne bachelor degrees.
• Provides a Psychology Project in which students undertake a student-led project with potential industry links.
• The course is professionally accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC)

Programme Structure and Subjects / Topics

The programme contains 300 credit points divided between core units, psychology major units and electives. The currently published study sequence is an indicative Semester 1, 2026 sequence, and Swinburne states that unit offerings and sequencing may change.

Year 1:

Semester 1:

• Brain and Behaviour – PSY10007
• Foundations of Statistics – STA10003
• Introduction to Forensic Psychology – FOR10001
• Elective

Semester 2:

• Fundamentals of Psychology – PSY10008
• Introduction to Research Methods – PSY10005
• Elective
• Elective

Year 2:

Semester 1:

• Developmental Psychology – PSY20007
• Analysis of Variance and Regression – STA20006
• Elective
• Elective

Semester 2:

• Policing: Systems and Practice – CRI20001
• Cognition and Human Performance – PSY20006
• Social Psychology – PSY20016
• Elective

Year 3:

Semester 1:

• Psychology Project – PSY30003
• Psychology of Personality – PSY30008
• Elective
• Elective

Semester 2:

• Advanced Topics in Forensic Psychology – FOR30001
• Corrections: Systems and Practice – CRI30002
• History and Philosophy of Psychology – PSY30013
• Mental Health Diversity, Diagnosis and Treatment – PSY30016.

The curriculum therefore covers:

• Forensic psychology
• Brain and behaviour
• Developmental psychology
• Statistics and data analysis
• Research methods
• Cognition and human performance
• Social psychology
• Personality
• Mental health
• Policing
• Corrections
• Psychology research
• History and philosophy of psychology

Disciplines / Specialisations

The degree is a specialised forensic psychological science programme rather than a double degree.

The main academic areas are:

• Forensic psychology
• Psychological science
• Criminal justice
• Neuroscience and brain/behaviour
• Developmental psychology
• Social psychology
• Mental health
• Psychological research and statistics

Programme Highlights

• Australia's first undergraduate forensic psychology degree, according to Swinburne.
• APAC-accredited.
• 3-year bachelor's degree.
• 300 credit points.
• Hawthorn campus.
• Semester 1 and Semester 2 intakes.
• Strong integration of psychology, crime, law and criminal justice.
• Dedicated Introduction to Forensic Psychology and Advanced Topics in Forensic Psychology units.
• Psychology Project in the final year.
• Policing and Corrections units provide criminal-justice exposure.
• Mental Health Diversity, Diagnosis and Treatment provides knowledge relevant to mental-health contexts.
• Guaranteed Work Integrated Learning as part of the bachelor degree.
• Develops research, statistics, critical-analysis, teamwork and scientific-report-writing skills.

Career Outcomes

Swinburne lists the following career opportunities:

• Psychologist, with further study
• Forensic psychologist, with further study
• Welfare Support Worker
• Counsellor
• Diversional Therapist
• Child Protection Practitioner.

The degree can also provide relevant knowledge for work in areas such as:

• Criminal justice services
• Corrections
• Youth justice
• Policing-related support and policy roles
• Victim and welfare services
• Child protection
• Rehabilitation
• Community services
• Psychological research

International Student Visa Requirements

The relevant Australian visa is the Student visa, Subclass 500.

For this three-year undergraduate programme, international students should generally prepare for:

• Valid passport.
• Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) issued by Swinburne.
• Evidence of enrolment in the CRICOS-registered course.
• Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), unless an exemption applies.
• Genuine Student (GS) responses.
• English-language evidence where required.
• Financial-capacity evidence where required by the Department.
• Health and character documentation where required.
• Any additional documents specified by the Department of Home Affairs Document Checklist Tool.