The Department of Psychology offers this course over one year full-time or two-years part-time. To be eligible, students must hold a first degree with an APS-accredited major in psychology. The course provides an introduction to the professional practice of psychology, advanced studies in psychology and training in research that will equip students to undertake higher degrees in psychology. The guiding orientation of the psychological practice component of the course is towards developing the conceptual understanding that will enable graduates to undertake supervised practice. In the research component of the course, students will undertake studies in research design and analysis, followed by the development of an independent research proposal that will be carried out and written up in the form of a research report.
A limited number of places in some components of the Postgraduate Diploma of Psychology (Internal) are available for applicants who have already completed an APS-accredited fourth-year degree in psychology, or who are currently registered psychologists. This option is not intended as an alternative form of entry to fourth year. The research component is only available to those students undertaking the complete course.
The course has full accreditation from the Australian Psychological Society.
Admission
to the course is open to applicants who possess a bachelors degree and a major
in psychology from any course accredited by the Australian Psychological
Society with at least a distinction average in third-level psychology.
All applicants are required to complete a Postgraduate Diploma of Psychology
(Internal) application form. This can be obtained from September 2001 at
http://www.sci.monash.edu.au/psych/student/4thyear/4thyear.html
The typical class attendance time for full-time students is seven hours a week and for part-time students varies between two and six hours per week, depending on the combination of units. The placement involves 30 days attendance in a psychology setting. Placements are arranged by the department.
The course comprises five components. These may be completed either on a full-time (one year) or a part-time (two year) basis. The sequence in which components are undertaken is fixed for full-time students, but may be varied (within timetabling constraints) for part-time students according to the experience, interests and career plans and enrolment status of individual students, in consultation with the postgraduate diploma coordinator. It is not advisable for a student to attempt the research project before undertaking the research and design component. The five components, and their contribution to the final mark, are:
Students are required to take one topic from elective A studies. These may include:
Students are required to take two topics from elective B studies. These will include:
In selecting elective B
studies, students should check with the Psychologists Registration Board in
their state that their combined fourth-year and undergraduate studies meet
registration requirements as it is usually necessary to have completed studies
in psychological assessment in order to commence supervised practice.
Note that not all electives will be offered each year.
Assessment involves both assignments and examinations. Assignments cover a variety of formats including essays, reports, presentations, counselling tapes, assessment reports, research proposals, and reviews of methodology of published articles. A major course requirement is the compilation of a report of an individual research project (PSY4511).
There are no credits/exemptions for this course.
For
further information about the program, contact Dr Tom Whelan, course
coordinator, on telephone (03) 9903 2649 or email
tom.whelan@sci.monash.edu.au
For general information, contact the Department of Psychology on telephone (03)
9903 2691 or (03) 9905 3968.
A Postgraduate Diploma of Psychology (Internal) application form can be obtained from September 2001 at http://www.sci.monash.edu.au/psych/student/4thyear/4thyear.html and should be completed and returned via the web by 31 October 2001 to be considered for a first-round offer.
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