Bachelor of Psychology, Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice

This is a four-year double degree that pairs the science of psychology with the study of crime and the justice system. You graduate with two bachelor qualifications: a Bachelor of Psychology and a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice. That combination is unusual and useful. Psychologists need to understand why people behave the way they do; criminologists need to understand how institutions respond. Studying both means you look at offending, victimisation, policing and rehabilitation from more than one angle.

How the degree is structured

Like most Australian bachelor degrees, this one runs on semesters. You enrol in units of study, each worth a set number of credit points, and you accumulate those points across the four years. The psychology side covers the core sequence: brain and behaviour, learning, memory, personality, developmental psychology, social psychology, research methods and statistics. The criminology and criminal justice side covers policing, courts, corrections, youth justice, victimology, and the social and legal theories that explain crime. Because it is a double degree, you take fewer electives than a single degree would allow, but you finish with two awards rather than one.

Honours in psychology is a separate fourth year in most Australian universities, and it is the year that matters if you want to practise. This double degree is four years in total, so check with Adelaide University about how the psychology sequence and any honours pathway fit together, and whether the criminology component includes a research project or capstone. Many Australian degrees finish with a capstone unit or a supervised research thesis in the final year. Work-integrated learning is common in criminology and criminal justice, often through placements with police, courts, corrections, community legal services or youth justice organisations, and psychology students typically complete supervised observation or placement hours as part of their training. Confirm the placement requirements on the official course page.

What you actually learn

You learn to read research critically, design and run a study, analyse data with statistical software, and write up findings the way a journal expects. You learn to interview, assess and communicate with people in distress. On the criminology side you learn to read a sentencing decision, explain why crime rates rise and fall, evaluate whether a justice policy works, and argue a case in writing for a non-academic audience. Group work, presentations and courtroom-style exercises are typical. By the end you should be able to hold a conversation with a psychologist, a police officer and a policy analyst and sound credible with all three.

Who it suits

This degree suits someone who wants to work with people in the justice system but does not want to choose between the individual and the institution. If you are interested in forensic psychology, youth offending, victim support, correctional rehabilitation, policing or crime policy, the double degree gives you the language of both fields. It also suits students who want to keep the door open to psychology registration while building a criminal justice career, or the reverse. English proficiency is required for international applicants: IELTS Academic 6.0 to 6.5 overall is the usual undergraduate standard, though some faculties ask for higher. TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced and the university's own English programmes are accepted as equivalents, and the Department of Home Affairs sets its own English threshold for the Student visa. International students on a Student visa can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while studying, and graduates may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register under course code 118039E. Check the official Adelaide University page for current admission requirements, unit lists and placement details before you apply.

• Psychologist (after further study and registration), clinical, forensic, counselling or organisational psychology, typically in health, private practice or correctional settings.
• Police officer or analyst, state and territory police services, crime intelligence and investigative support.
• Corrections officer or case manager, adult and youth corrections, parole, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes.
• Youth justice worker, youth offending teams, diversion programmes and community-based supervision.
• Victim support and advocacy worker, victim services, domestic and family violence services, court support.
• Policy and research officer, justice, policing, child protection and social policy roles in government departments and statutory bodies.
• Community corrections and probation officer, managing offenders in the community under court orders.
• Crime analyst or intelligence officer, state and federal agencies, and private sector fraud and risk teams.
• Caseworker or support worker, homelessness, mental health, alcohol and other drug services, and family services.
• Further study, honours in psychology, a master's in clinical or forensic psychology, or postgraduate criminology, leading to registration or specialist practice.