APAC accredited degree
#1 Victorian university for psychology undergraduate employment
Course designed with criminology agency experts
Why choose Deakin
Develop a new understanding of crime while exploring social justice and rehabilitation themes that intertwine with why crime occurs. Study Deakin’s Bachelor of Criminology/Bachelor of Psychological Science and graduate with two sought-after degrees, a wealth of specialised knowledge and a strong suite of career options.
Dive into behavioural neuroscience, forensic psychology and psychopathology while exploring how crime, justice and correctional processes are defined and shaped. Professionally accredited, the psychological science stream sets you up for great career prospects or further study to become a registered psychologist. Everything you learn, from forensic psychology techniques to a deep understanding of criminal justice, is enhanced by practical learning. Take advantage of employability-focused coursework, internships and volunteering programs, study tours, overseas study opportunities and more.
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Accredited degree
The Bachelor of Psychological Science is accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC).
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Strong employability focus
Gain industry skills through internships, practical coursework, career planning and workplace communication at the #1 Victorian university for course satisfaction.
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A leader in Australia
Study one of the country’s most established and forward-thinking criminology courses alongside one of Victoria’s largest psychology schools.
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Industry designed courses
Criminology is shaped with law enforcement, private security and justice experts. Psychology is designed with government, hospitals and industry partners.
Connected to industry
Deakin’s strong industry connections help shape your learning. Build practical experience in real workplace contexts through work-integrated learning, mentoring and networking opportunities. Industry advisory boards also help shape our degrees, which means what you study is current, relevant and aligned to what your future employers need.
Deakin puts employability first
Career outcomes
Build research, analytical and communication skills for careers across justice, intelligence, policy and community services. Apply your understanding of crime and human behaviour to support evidence-informed decisions and interventions.
Intelligence analyst
Gather, assess and verify information to identify security risks and emerging threats. Prepare intelligence reports and brief decision-makers across government, law enforcement and related organisations.
- $108k
Typical salary in Australia
- 7,300
More jobs by 2030
Policy adviser
Policy advisers conduct extensive analysis into history and alternative solutions for a variety of issues to form new policies and ensure these policies comply with regulations and law.
- $115k
Typical salary in Australia
- 16%
Projected job growth in 5 years
Other industries
- Correctional services
- Community services
- Consultative industries
- Government agencies
- Private security
- State and federal police
“I worked for Forensicare as a family and carer advocate during my final year of uni. Once I graduated, I worked interstate as a caseworker in youth justice and then as a team leader.”
VanessaBachelor of Criminology/Bachelor of Psychological Science
Stories that start here
Key dates
Direct applications
Trimester 3 2026 applications close 18 October 2026
Trimester 1 2027 applications close 7 February 2027
VTAC
FAQs
To practise as a forensic or criminal psychologist, you need to complete an accredited psychology sequence leading to Psychology Board of Australia registration. Deakin's Bachelor of Criminology/Bachelor of Psychological Science includes an Australian Psychology Accreditation Council accredited psychology sequence, positioning you for postgraduate pathways like Deakin’s Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) or Graduate Diploma of Psychology (Advanced). To gain general registration as a psychologist you need to then undertake a masters or doctorate qualification in psychology. After this, you can choose to specialise in forensic psychology by completing a registrar program which is a period of advanced supervised practice. Find out more about careers in psychology.
If you're fascinated by why people commit crimes and how society responds, combining criminology and psychology gives you a uniquely powerful toolkit. You'll study both the social structures that shape crime and the individual behaviour behind it which is essential for careers in forensic work, victim services, policy, research and law enforcement. The double degree is completed in four years, one year faster than studying them separately.
Forensic psychology applies psychological science in legal and criminal justice contexts, assessing offenders, supporting trauma survivors and advising courts. Criminology takes a broader sociological view of crime, policing, policy and prevention. Both fields intersect in practice, and Deakin's combined degree gives you grounding in both. Forensic psychology requires further postgraduate training whereas criminology graduates can enter justice sector roles directly. See postgraduate psychology pathways for more information.
Yes. The double degree includes work-integrated learning across both disciplines – from criminology placements with justice agencies and courts to psychology labs and supervised practice units. Students gain real professional exposure to support career readiness and postgraduate applications.
*Deakin references data from a range of government, higher education and reputable media sources. Learn more about our achievements on our University rankings page, or explore our sources page for supporting references.
What will I study in the Bachelor of Criminology/Bachelor of Psychological Science?
Explore how psychology and criminology overlap and graduate with two degrees. Learn everything from forensic psychology to criminal justice.
Core foundations
Explore core fundamentals
Start your study in criminology and psychology, learning how justice systems operate and how people think, feel and behave in everyday contexts.
Crime, society and systems
Explore what counts as crime, who is affected and how responses are shaped by policing, courts and corrections.
Transferable university skills
Strengthen academic integrity, writing and critical thinking so you can weigh evidence, challenge assumptions and communicate clearly across both disciplines.
Explain and investigate
Explaining behaviour and harm
Move from ‘what happens’ to ‘why’, using psychological theories and criminological perspectives to interpret offending, victimisation and prevention.
Research methods capabilities
Learn how to design studies, work with data and evaluate claims, so you can build relevant arguments.
Start shaping your pathway
Add guided electives to deepen areas that interest you, while keeping a balanced load across criminology and psychological science as you progress.
Apply and deepen your learning
Complex cases and contexts
Explore contemporary challenges like security, inequality and technology, and connect them to psychological factors that influence judgement and risk.
Forensic and applied thinking
Use psychology to make sense of crime, and practise translating theory into practical insights.
Develop professional confidence
Build evidence of your communication, problem-solving and analytical skills for future roles.
Get career-ready
Bringing it all together
Integrate what you know about people and systems to analyse complex problems, weighing social context alongside brain, personality and mental health factors.
Complete your studies
Finalise advanced discipline units and complete your APAC-accredited sequence. You can now apply for further study to become a registered psychologist.
Graduate career-ready
Complete careers-focused learning and a portfolio you can adapt for applications, interviews and ongoing professional development.
Course structure
To complete the Bachelor of Criminology/Bachelor of Psychological Science, you must pass 32 credit points.
Most units are equal to one credit point. As a full-time student you will study four credit points per trimester and usually undertake two trimesters per year.
Are you a current student? For course information that applies to the year you started your degree, visit the handbook.
All students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements
Units
Note: Many of the HPS coded units are also offered in Trimester 3, offering students the opportunity to accelerate their studies.
Criminology core units
Psychological Science core units
Criminology
The remaining Arts course grouped electives can be found within the Bachelor of Arts.
Professional recognition
The Bachelor of Criminology/Bachelor of Psychological Science is accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC)
If you are seeking to become a registered psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) as a graduate from this course you must next apply for a fourth year of study in psychology, such as Deakin's Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) or Graduate Diploma of Psychology (Advanced)
What to expect while studying
You may be able to study available units in the optional third trimester to fast-track your degree, however your course duration may be extended if there are delays in meeting course requirements, such as completing a placement.
Any unit which contains work integrated learning, a community placement or interaction with the community may require a police check, Working with Children Check or other check.
Elective units may provide the opportunity for Work Integrated Learning experiences.
At Deakin, we're committed to ensuring an inclusive environment that supports all students to belong, thrive and succeed. We work closely with students, where needed, to identify potential barriers to participation and where possible, provide tailored support so students can engage with learning and assessment activities.
If you are neurodivergent, have a disability, health condition or mental health condition that may impact your study or participation in university life, and want to know how Deakin could support you, contact our Domestic students (opens in a new window) or International students (opens in a new window) or Disability Resource Centre (opens email client) teams for a collaborative and confidential discussion. This discussion is to support you to make plans for your studies and future career and will not have any bearing on your application to the course.
When can I start?
When you study depends on your course, location and available intakes. Check the table to see when you can start and how study is offered throughout the year.
Your course learning outcomes describe the knowledge, skills and capabilities you’ll develop and be able to demonstrate by the time you graduate. Built into your course through your units and assessments, they provide a clear picture of what you’ll be equipped to know, understand and do – preparing you to apply your learning with confidence beyond university.
| Course Learning Outcomes Bachelor of Criminology | Course Learning Outcomes Bachelor of Psychological Science |
|---|---|
| Review and analyse major social science theories and key criminological concepts, theories and technical knowledge relating to crime and criminal justice issues, including the causes and consequences of crime, ways of responding to crime, media representations of crime, core debates in policing, security and surveillance, as well as broader issues of policy and politics, inclusion and exclusion, governing and governance, security, social justice, citizenship and human rights. | Integrate theoretical knowledge of the discipline of psychology in relation to: health, social, cognitive, methodology, neuroscience, development, and personality. Demonstrate appropriate communication, counselling, and research methods skills. |
| Effectively communicate the findings and analyses of criminological concepts, theories and technical knowledge, in a selection of written, digital and oral formats, to a range of audiences. | Communicate psychological knowledge and arguments effectively using the most appropriate means utilising clear, discipline appropriate, coherent and well-developed communication skills. Demonstrate appropriate interpersonal communication and interview skills in situations appropriate to psychological practice. This includes active listening, clarifying and reflecting, effective questioning, summarising and paraphrasing, developing rapport, appropriate cultural responsiveness and empathic responding. |
| Employ a range of generic and specialist criminal justice-specific digital communication technologies to apply criminological knowledge and conduct social and criminological research and deliver reports and presentations to a diverse range of audiences within and outside the field. | Utilise online technologies to interact with others, access research and evaluate empirical evidence; and create and disseminate psychology-relevant content. |
| Analyse and critically evaluate theoretical approaches to crime problems and current policies and practices of governments and criminal justice practitioners and professions in the context of broad social change, new crimes, new responses and an increasing responsibility for preventing and controlling individual and complex crimes at local, state, national and international levels. | Identify and critique the factors that contribute to the development of unhealthy mental processes and behaviours, develop arguments, reports, or commentaries based on empirical research and apply the results to affect healthy behaviour change in oneself or others, and; apply the skills required to affect healthy behaviour change in oneself and in others in diverse contexts. |
| Employ initiative and creativity in conjunction with accepted evidence-based criminological methods to generate innovative and pragmatic approaches and solutions to complex problems in the areas of individual crime, complex and organised crime, the criminal justice process, questions of justice and injustice, local, national and international policing, surveillance, privacy and technology, and domestic and international crime and security issues. | Apply knowledge of the scientific method when addressing problems related to behaviour and mental processes; design, plan, and conduct research that addresses these problems; and apply analytic and statistical skills to interpret the results and validity of research. |
| Demonstrate autonomy, responsibility, accountability and a continued commitment to learning and skill development, as a reflective practitioner, while working in the criminological field. | Engage in independent learning as a reflective practitioner to sustain personal and professional development in the changing world of the science and practice of psychology; and manage resources, timelines and other constraints to achieve quality and timely outcomes. |
| Work and learn collaboratively with others in the criminology field and from different disciplines and backgrounds while still maintaining responsibility for their own learning. | Collaborate and communicate psychological principles and practices effectively in interdisciplinary teams to work and learn in a range of environments including communities of practice, research and professional practice. |
| Analyse and address criminological issues in the domestic and global context as a reflective scholar and practitioner, taking into consideration cultural and socio-economic diversity, social and environmental responsibility and the application of the highest ethical standards. | Embody the values and attitudes of the scientist-practitioner; apply ethical and professional responsibilities to local and global communities, apply knowledge and skills in culturally appropriate and inclusive ways. |
- Award granted
- Bachelor of Criminology / Bachelor of Psychological Science
- Year
2027 course information
- VTAC code
- 1400310041 - Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP)
1400510041 - Burwood (Melbourne), Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP)
1400610041 - Online, Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) - Deakin code
- D390
- Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition
The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 7
Fees
Estimated tuition fee
$13,314
for 1 yr full-time - Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP)
The estimated tuition (student contribution) fee above is based on a typical first-year full-time enrolment of 8 credit points and is provided as a guide only. Your student contribution is determined by the units you enrol in and will vary depending on the units you choose, your study load, the course duration, and any approved recognition of prior learning. You may also be eligible for a HECS-HELP loan to defer payment of all or part of your student contribution.
Check your eligibility or learn more about CSP or HECS-HELP.
Scholarships
We want to help you excel at Deakin. Our scholarships recognise your dedication and achievements, providing financial support that can ease the cost of living and studying. With less pressure, you'll have more freedom to focus on what matters most – your education and future success.
Applications for 2027 are open
Ready to take the next step? Apply now to start your journey at Deakin and get ready for what’s next.
Key dates
Direct applications
Trimester 3 2026 applications close 18 October 2026
Trimester 1 2027 applications close 7 February 2027
VTAC
Apply now
Apply direct
Simply create an account in the Deakin Application Portal, enter your personal and educational details, upload your supporting documents and submit your application.
Apply through VTAC
Applications are open. Apply through VTAC if you're:
- currently in Year 12 and applying for Trimester 1 or Semester 1
- applying for multiple undergraduate courses
Need help? Follow our step-by-step undergraduate guide to prepare and submit your application.
Indigenous Access Scheme
If you’re an Indigenous student, you can apply for this course through the Indigenous Access Scheme. We recognise achievements beyond your ATAR and academic results, considering your skills, experience and community work as preparation for university study.
Recognition of prior learning
We value your previous study and experience. Recognition of prior learning enables you to get credit for what you've already achieved. When you apply, we'll consider your previous study and experience for recognition of prior learning.
Not sure if you'll meet entry requirements?
Deakin offers a range of pathways into the Bachelor of Criminology/Bachelor of Psychological Science to suit your background and goals. Explore the pathways finder to see how previous study, diplomas or alternative qualifications can lead you into the course.