Why Study / Key Benefits

• This is a four-year double degree combining Arts with Psychological Sciences, giving students both broad humanities/social-science knowledge and specialist psychology foundations.
• The programme develops research, project management and report-writing skills through Psychological Sciences, while the Arts component develops critical thinking, problem-solving and cultural competency.
• Students can gain industry experience through placements, internships or project work. The Psychology Project allows students to work with industry on a student-led project, while the Arts social-change unit involves collaboration with community organisations, NGOs and industry partners.
• Key skills include conceptual understanding, critical and creative reasoning, communication, knowledge development and digital literacy.
• The Bachelor of Psychological Sciences is accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC), providing an academic pathway towards professional psychology, subject to further study and registration requirements.
• Swinburne's course page currently highlights its Arts and Humanities ranking and graduate-experience indicators, including Top 400 for Arts and Humanities and 5-star ratings for overall experience and teaching quality. These are university-level/course-page promotional indicators rather than an accreditation of the double degree itself.

Programme Structure and Subjects / Topics

The standard 400-credit-point degree contains 16 core units, one 100-credit-point Arts major and 100 credit points of additional study.

Arts core units include:

• Technology and Society – ART10002
• Skills and Strategies for Social Change – ART20003
• Changemakers in Action – ART30004
• BA Professional Practice – ART30005.

Psychological Sciences core units include:

• Introduction to Research Methods – PSY10005
• Brain and Behaviour – PSY10007
• Fundamentals of Psychology – PSY10008
• Foundations of Statistics – STA10003. 

Disciplines / Specialisations

The available Arts majors currently shown by Swinburne include:

• Climate and Social Justice
• Criminology and Social Change / Criminology
• Ethics and Technology
• Indigenous Studies
• Literature and Creative Writing
• Perspectives on Globalisation
• Politics, Power and Technology
• Screen Studies and Popular Culture.

Programme Highlights

• Four-year double degree combining Arts and Psychological Sciences.
• 400 credit points in the standard structure.
• APAC-accredited Bachelor of Psychological Sciences component.
• Psychology research and statistics foundations.
• Opportunity to select an Arts major according to career interests.
• Broad choice of co-majors, minors and electives.
• Industry-linked projects and optional professional placements.
• Development of research, communication, critical-thinking, project-management and digital-literacy skills.

Career Outcomes

Swinburne currently lists potential career outcomes including:

• Political correspondent
• Campaign coordinator
• Journalist
• Psychologist, with further study
• Social welfare consultant
• Medical researcher.

Latest Updates / Special Requirements

• The currently published 2027 start dates are 1 March 2027 and 2 August 2027.
• The current CRICOS code is 106700B.
• The course includes APAC accreditation for the Bachelor of Psychological Sciences component.
• Some activities have professional, interpersonal, sensory, mobility, communication and cognitive requirements associated with psychology education and APAC accreditation. Swinburne indicates that reasonable adjustments may be possible for many adaptable components, while some professional/essential activities have limited flexibility.
• Professional placements are subject to competitive selection and can increase both the total course duration/credit requirements and fees.
• Credit transfer and recognition of prior learning are assessed case-by-case.
• The 2026 published course information is the latest fee information currently visible on the course page; 2027 tuition for this specific programme is Not publicly specified – please confirm with IPU.

International Student Visa Requirements

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

For this four-year bachelor's programme, international students generally need to:

• obtain admission to Swinburne;
• accept the offer and obtain a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE);
• enrol in a full-time CRICOS-registered course;
• obtain Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC);
• satisfy the Genuine Student (GS) requirement;
• meet applicable financial-capacity requirements;
• meet health and character requirements; and
• provide any additional evidence requested by the Department of Home Affairs.