Bachelor of Psychological Science, Bachelor of Business

4 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

Southern Cross University

Program Overview

This double degree blends the best of both worlds: the Bachelor of Psychological Science and the Bachelor of Business at SCU. It’s perfect if you’re fascinated by how people think and behave — and also want the savvy to run projects, teams, or even your own venture. Over four years, you’ll build a toolkit of psychological insight and business know‑how that opens doors across industries.

Curriculum Structure

Year 1
In your first year, you’ll dive into the foundations of how the mind works alongside the basics of business. You might study units like Psychology Foundations: Brain and Cognition and Introduction to Business Analytics, getting to grips with both human behavior and decision-making frameworks. This year is all about establishing core skills — understanding people, spotting business trends, and building confidence in both fields.

Year 2
By year two, you begin to merge your interests more deeply: courses such as Quantitative Methods in Psychology sharpen your research and statistical abilities, while units like Business Practice and Impact help you apply business theory in real-world scenarios. You'll also take Psychological Investigation I, where you conduct hands-on research — so you not only learn about people, you observe and study them.

Year 3
Third year is where things get more specialized. You’ll explore advanced psychology in units like Learning and Memory or Social Psychology, while on the business side you might take Sustainable Business Management. There’s also a Professional Work Experience unit, giving you 200+ hours in an internship or project — a real chance to test how psychology and business work together in practice.

Year 4
In your final year, you’ll bring your learning together through rigorous investigation and applied tasks. Psychological Investigation II challenges you to design and conduct a full research project, using everything you’ve learned. At the same time, you may wrap up your business specialization — for example, through a capstone in entrepreneurship or a finance-focused unit (depending on your track). You finish with both a practical business mindset and solid research experience.

Focus Areas
Human behavior, ethical decision-making, research methods, business strategy, analytics, entrepreneurship, sustainability, accounting or financial services.

Learning Outcomes
Develop critical thinking, research skills, business acumen, ethical judgment, cross-disciplinary communication, and cultural sensitivity.

Professional Alignment (Accreditation)
This degree is in alignment with professional standards: the Psychological Science component is conditionally accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council, meaning it sets you up for further psychology training. On the business side, if you choose the Accounting specialization, it's accredited by CPA Australia and Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand — so you’re not just learning theory, you’re preparing for real-world certification.

Reputation (Employability Rankings)
SCU is well regarded, especially for student support in Psychology. According to the Good Universities Guide, it’s rated 5 stars in psychology and health‑services support. Globally, it even features in the top 300 universities for Psychology according to Times Higher Education rankings — so your degree will carry weight both locally and internationally.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

In this double degree, you don’t just learn theory—you get straight into real-world, hands-on experiences from day one. Through a mix of supervised health labs, group projects, and professional placements, you’ll see exactly how psychological science and business connect in practice. Southern Cross University’s campuses—especially Gold Coast and Coffs Harbour—offer modern, purpose-built facilities where applied learning is part of everyday student life.

On the Gold Coast campus, you’ll get practical experience in the SCU Health Clinic and in anatomy, physiology, and movement labs. Here, you’ll work with tools like treadmills, force plates, motion-capture systems, and EMG/ECG analysis equipment, giving you a solid understanding of how the body and behaviour interact.

At Coffs Harbour, the Health Sciences Building features seven psychology labs, including an EEG lab and a world-class eye-tracking lab. You’ll explore cognitive processes, brain function, emotions, and more, all in an environment designed to bring research to life.

The course goes beyond labs, encouraging collaborative, immersive learning. You’ll take part in active discussion-based units under the Southern Cross Model, which uses six-week teaching blocks to let you dive deep and apply what you learn quickly. Plus, a dedicated work-integrated learning (WIL) unit gives you professional experience in business, letting you see how classroom knowledge translates to real-world challenges.

Some of the ways you’ll gain hands-on experience include:

Professional placement: A 200-hour (double-weighted) placement through the BUSN3012 unit, where you can intern with a business or work on an industry project designed for your degree.
Group projects: Business analytics and marketing projects that mirror real organisational challenges and help develop entrepreneurial thinking.
SCU Health Clinic access: Observe or take part in allied health assessments and client interactions, gaining insight into human behaviour in a clinical setting.
Advanced psychology labs: Use cutting-edge facilities like the 64-channel EEG lab, the EyeLink 1000 Plus eye-tracking lab, the Applied Emotions Lab, and the Language and Reading Lab to explore brain activity, attention, cognition, emotional resilience, and multilingualism.
Research collaboration: Present and collaborate on psychological research, building strong academic and professional communication skills.

Throughout the degree, the six-week Southern Cross Model units encourage active discussion, peer learning, and regular feedback, helping you apply new concepts quickly. You’ll also build a strong foundation in scientific methods, measurement, and empirical investigation, preparing you for postgraduate psychology study or research.

The WIL team supports you every step of the way, helping you secure internships, projects, and placements that match your interests and career goals.

By the time you graduate, you won’t just have academic knowledge—you’ll have practical skills, professional confidence, and real-world experience that positions you perfectly for careers at the intersection of psychology and business.

Progression & Future Opportunities

What Graduates Usually Do & Why This Degree Works

When you finish this double degree, you won’t just have a diploma — you’ll have a versatile skill set that blends psychology with business. That means you’re not limited to one path. You could go into roles like:

Organisational Development / Change Management – use your understanding of people to help businesses evolve and thrive.
Marketing or Digital Marketing – combine insights about human behaviour with strategy to create campaigns that really resonate.
Human Resources / People & Culture – shape company culture, manage recruitment, or drive employee engagement.
Entrepreneurship – start your own business or run one smarter, backed by solid business knowledge and psychological insight.

Here’s why this degree is especially powerful:

Hands-On Experience: You’ll complete a professional placement (around 240 hours) in a real business, giving you practical skills and confidence before you even graduate.
Accreditation That Counts: The psychology part is conditionally accredited with the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council. If you choose Accounting, your courses align with CPA Australia and Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand — perfect if you want a professional accounting career.
A Learning Model That Keeps You Engaged: SCU’s “six-week unit” approach is immersive, helping you stay focused and motivated as you progress through your studies.
Strong Graduate Outcomes: About 93% of business graduates from SCU find employment — a clear sign that employers value the skills you’ll gain.
Flexible Options: On the business side, you can specialise in areas like Accounting, Financial Services, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Business Analytics, International Business, Tourism/Event Management, or Aviation Management.
Long-Term Career Value: This degree doesn’t just prepare you for your first job — it sets you up for ongoing growth. You could go deeper into psychology and become a psychologist, or climb the business ladder, or even do both.

Future Study Options:
If you decide to become a licensed psychologist, this degree puts you on the right path — leading to an Honours year, then a Master of Professional Psychology, plus an internship to meet registration requirements. On the business side, the foundation you build makes it easy to pursue postgraduate study, like a Master of Business or an MBA, while developing essential research, teamwork, and leadership skills along the way.

In short: This double degree gives you a rare mix — the ability to understand people deeply and make smart business decisions. If you enjoy working with people, solving real-world problems, and want a future with lots of options, this is a strong, supportive choice.