School of Psychology
Faculty of HMNBS
The Graduate Diploma is a full-fee paying course. Please visit the fees website for further information about fees and FEE-HELP for this course.
Entry requires an APS-accredited undergraduate degree with the equivalent of at least 10 Deakin credit points in psychology. To apply go to the online applicant portal at http://applicantportal.deakin.edu.au/connect_PROD/webconnect and follow the prompts.
The preferred third-year level grades are a mixture of Credits (60-69%) and Distinctions (70-79%), with at least a mid-credit in Research Methods at third-year level included. The cut-off is determined each year, depending in the cohort of applicants. Please refer to the Graduate Diploma checklist (pdf, 25k).
Approximately 50 each year.
The Graduate Diploma in Psychology coursework units and supervision can be studied on both the Melbourne campus at Burwood and the Geelong campus at the Waterfront. It is not offered in off-campus mode.
First-round offers are generally made in mid-December, with further offers may be made if some first-round offers are declined.
Yes, it can be completed on both part-time and full-time bases.
No, all classes are offered in the daytime (although some may extend into the early evening).
Apart from the fee-basis (Honours is HECS-based, Graduate Diploma is full-fee-paying), the Graduate Diploma is a little more practical in orientation. Both Honours and the Graduate Diploma include Ethics and Conceptual Issues, Counselling and Interpersonal Skills, Psychological Assessment, and Research Methods. Both courses are APS-accredited, and both allow graduates to seek registration with the Psychologists Registration Board of Victoria (PRBV) as a probationary psychologist. The two major differences are in coursework and the research component. With regard to coursework, the Graduate Diploma includes two additional modules on areas of Applied Psychology. For the research component, Honours students complete an individual thesis under one-to-one supervision, whereas Graduate Diploma students complete their theses in small groups under a supervisor. Graduate Diploma students are allocated to thesis projects, on the basis of their stated preferences, from a range of project areas that vary from year to year. Under the guidance of the supervisor, they generate their own hypotheses that fit under the umbrella project. Data collection is shared by the group, and students analyse the subset of the overall data in which is relevant to their own research question, and write up their theses individually.
No, but you are required to submit a personal statement in your application in which you may outline your interest in the course, and any other relevant information such as work experience or voluntary work. This may be considered in the selection process.
Yes, both bodies recognise the Graduate Diploma. Thus, at present, upon completion of the course, students may apply for provisional registration as a psychologist with the Registration Board. After the completion of two years of approved supervised practice or postgraduate studies, the provisional registration may be changed to full registration. Information about any updates to these requirements is available on the PRBV website.
The Graduate Diploma is acceptable as a fourth year for the purposes of applying for the professional programmes offered by Deakin (Master of Psychology [Industrial & Organisational], Master of Psychology [Clinical], Doctorate of Forensic, Health or Clinical Psychology). We understand that it is also acceptable for the purposes of applying for similar programmes at other universities, but prospective students should confirm this with each university to which they are likely to apply after completing the Graduate Diploma. A student completing the Graduate Diploma in Psychology with at least Distinctions in Research Methods and their thesis, could also apply for entry into a Higher Degree by Research. However, a more usual route to these programs is via Honours.
