Bachelor of Psychological Science, Bachelor of Business (Accounting)

This is a four-year double degree. You come out with two qualifications: a Bachelor of Psychological Science and a Bachelor of Business (Accounting). The two halves are taught by different schools at Southern Cross University, and you move between them across the eight teaching periods of the degree.

What you actually study

On the psychology side, you cover the core areas that the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council expects in an accredited sequence: biological bases of behaviour, cognition, learning, social psychology, developmental psychology, personality, and research methods and statistics. You do real data work, designing studies, running analyses, interpreting results. The accounting side gives you financial accounting, management accounting, auditing, taxation, business law, corporate finance, economics and information systems.

Because it is a double degree, the two sets of core units are trimmed back compared with doing each degree alone. You still meet the requirements of both awards, but you have fewer free electives. That is the trade-off for finishing in four years instead of six.

How the degree is structured

Southern Cross runs most undergraduate degrees on a trimester calendar, three study periods a year. That is why a double degree that would take six years at a semester-based university fits into four here. You enrol in units of study, each worth a set number of credit points, and you need a fixed total to graduate. Some units run every trimester, others once a year, so the order you take them in matters. Speak to a course coordinator before you change your sequence.

Both halves of the degree include work-integrated learning. Accounting students typically complete a professional placement or an industry project unit, and psychology students get research training through the methods sequence, with the option of an honours year afterwards if your marks are strong enough and you want to pursue registration as a psychologist. Honours is a separate fourth year on top of the pass degree.

Who it suits

This suits someone who wants to understand why people behave the way they do, and also wants a qualification that leads directly to a profession. Accounting is a licensed, structured career with a clear graduate pathway. Psychology is a science degree that opens research and postgraduate routes. If you are torn between the two, or you want to work in organisational psychology, human resources, behavioural economics or forensic accounting, the combination makes sense.

English requirements for international applicants are set out on the official page, IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall is the usual undergraduate standard, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced and the university's own English programmes accepted as equivalents. The Department of Home Affairs sets a separate English threshold for the Student visa. Confirm the current tuition figure and entry requirements on the CRICOS register and the university's official course page before you apply.

Graduates work across two job markets. The accounting degree is built around the units the professional bodies require, so many graduates go on to the CPA Australia or CA ANZ programs while working.

• Assistant accountant or graduate accountant in public practice firms, from suburban practices to the mid-tier
• Management accountant or financial analyst inside a company, mining, health, retail, agribusiness, government
• Auditor at a professional services firm or the Australian National Audit Office
• Tax accountant or business services adviser, often in regional firms
• Payroll or financial reporting officer in state and local government
• Human resources officer, recruitment consultant or people-and-culture coordinator
• Market research analyst or consumer insights analyst
• Behavioural support worker or case manager in community services and disability
• Policy or program officer in health, education or social services
• Research assistant on university or hospital studies
• Banking, insurance and superannuation roles in operations, lending or risk

Psychology graduates who want to practise as a psychologist need further study, an accredited fourth year plus a master's or doctorate, and registration with the Psychology Board of Australia. The accounting side gives you a professional foothold while you decide whether that longer path is for you. International graduates may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream, and student visa holders can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while studying.