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The Psychology Students Guide
Fourth Year Courses in Psychology


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If you've read How to become a psychologist then you'll know that if you want to practice as a psychologist in Australia then you will need to do a fourth year of study in psychology. This page discusses the different courses and some ideas about how to get into them.

Honours versus Post-Grad Dip
Most fourth year programs are called honours or post-graduate diploma (post-grad dip). Honours is a fourth undergraduate year, whereas post-grad dip is considered a post-graduate course (as the name implies). At some universities the two courses are identical in content, whereas at others they are distinct courses. Generally, if they are separate courses, the honours course focusses more on theory and research, whereas the post-grad dip may focuss more on practical skills. However they both contain many similar (if not identical) elements, and both may be approved APS fourth year courses. Honours programs are sometimes given more prestige, and if you wish to do further study in psychology after fourth year (ie. masters, doctorate or PhD), then it may be advantageous to do honours rather than post-grad dip - but many or most (I'm not sure - you'll have to check your course of interest) universities do not favour one over the other. Honours programs are generally a little harder to get into than post-grad dip programs.
In terms of fees, honours courses always have HECS places because they are an undergraduate course, whereas post-grad dip programs are often fee-paying, although a lot have HECS places also. HECS places are more likely to go to students with higher marks, and those that are studying full-time. Most people want a HECS place, so I suspect that fee-paying courses might be slightly easier to get into, which is worth knowing if you are worried about your marks.

Getting into fourth year
You probably already know what will help you get into fourth year - excellent marks, and possibly, some experience in the area, good references, and a well presented application. I'm not going to discuss this further, because I think third year students stress enough about getting into fourth year as it is, and because there are other people (such as at course info days) who can tell you what is needed to get into various fourth year courses. Instead, I'll tell you about some options you may not know about.
Most people only consider the course at their own uni, but there are a range of courses available across the universities, and you can apply to as many as you want to (though it's probably best to stick to a few that really interest you). You may find that you have a greater chance of getting in to some courses rather than others, or that some appeal to you more than others.
The courses vary in a number of ways:
The marks needed to get into the course
The number of external students (students from other universities) accepted into the course, and whether internal students are favoured when selecting students for the course
Whether there are any special prerequisits for the course (eg. having done a particular subject)
The emphasis placed on marks, experience or references, when selecting students for the course
Whether the course is honours or post-grad dip
The content and focus of the course
Whether the course can be done part-time or full-time
Whether the course is HECS-based or fee-paying

If you want to find out about the courses available, you can research them over the web using your own resources or Links to universities, you can call them up and ask for course information and application forms, and you can attend the APS Course Information Day which usually occurs around October in Melbourne, and presumably exists in other states. You should hear about that at uni, but you could also call the APS. You could also consider arranging a visit to meet the course coordinator. If you are interested in a course, don't forget to check that it is APS accredited by looking at the list of approved courses on the APS website.
In my experience, the people responsible for telling you about the fourth year courses also tend to imply that if you don't get into fourth year then there are no other options for you. While doing fourth year is probably the most straight-forward way to get into a career in psychology, it's not necessarily the best path for everyone. You may want to think about some alternatives to doing fourth year, such as studying a related discipline (see Alternatives to psychology), doing some Volunteer work, doing some research assistance for an academic in your department or somewhere else, tutoring, taking a year off or a few years off, studying part-time, or doing something else entirely.


For suggestions about this website, please email me at psguide@angelfire.com

https://www.angelfire.com/geek/psguide/fourth_year_courses.html Created April 2001.