Diploma of Social and Psychological Science

Pursue a career supporting and improving people's wellbeing.

Key Information

Duration

2 trimesters (8 months)
3 trimesters (12 months)

Intakes

Trimester 1, 2, 3

Location

Mount Gravatt (Brisbane)

Southport (Gold Coast)

CRICOS-092486M

Domestic International

FEES

Domestic students

2023 Tuition Fees: A$22,750

2023 Non-Tuition Fees: Refer to Incidental Fees

More details about fees and payment options
Domestic International

FEES

International students

2023 Tuition Fees: A$31,000

2023 Non-Tuition Fees: Refer to Incidental Fees

More details about fees and payment options

Social and Psychological Science Overview

This program is designed to provide you with the foundational knowledge and skills for further study in the areas of psychology, counselling, human services and social work.

You will develop an understanding of key theories of social and psychological science and structures of human services within their broader historical, socio-cultural, political and economic contexts.

Additional workshops focus on the critical and reflective thinking skills important to understanding the complexities of human cognition and behaviour, interpersonal relationships and social systems in contemporary society.

"The Diploma of Social and Psychological Science gives me the opportunity to choose between a number of psychology study areas before I commit to my bachelor degree."

Brooke T.,
Diploma of Social and Psychological Science

Pathways to a Griffith University Degree

QTAC codeDegree codeProgramCampusCredit granted*Quota†
088131/ 0881411637Bachelor of Child, Youth and Family Practice‡Logan80 CP 
088151/ 0881611394Bachelor of Human Services‡Gold Coast / Logan80 CP 
088241/ 0882311012Bachelor of Psychological Science‡Gold Coast / Mt Gravatt80 CP 
088211/ 0882211372Bachelor of Social Work‡Gold Coast / Logan80 CP
Credit eligibility for other programs
088111/ 0881211548Bachelor of Counselling‡Gold Coast / Mt Gravatt70 CPUnlimited places for Gold Coast / 5 places (Mt Gravatt only)
088561/ 0885511014Bachelor of Psychology (Honours)‡Gold Coast / Mt Gravatt70 CP5 places
088261/ 0882511619Bachelor of Laws (Honours)Gold Coast / Nathan40 CP 
Progression:
Students will progress to their bachelor degree upon completion of their Griffith College diploma with a GPA equivalent to Griffith University’s admission rank requirement for entry to the bachelor program. Contact Griffith College for GPA to rank equivalencies. Diploma students who do not meet the progression requirements for their pathway to Griffith University can apply for a place in their preferred degree via QTAC, and be considered along with other external applicants subject to QTAC admissions requirements and processes.

*80 credit points is equivalent to one year of full-time study. Completion of degrees where students obtain less than 80 credit points of advanced standing in the degree, may take additional time.
†If student numbers exceed the quota, places in each degree will be awarded on the basis of the highest GPA and the highest average mark across completed Diploma courses.
‡There are placements associated with this program and graduates will be required to satisfy a number of specific criteria. Students should refer to the checklist of pre-placement and placement requirements for their Health discipline on the Placement Essentials website for full details of the requirements regarding clinical placement to ensure that they meet eligibility for placement.

Degree codeProgramCampusCredit granted*Min. GPA requirements†Quota‡
1637Bachelor of Child, Youth and Family Practice§Logan80 CP4 
1394Bachelor of Human Services§Gold Coast / Logan80 CP4 
1012Bachelor of Psychological Science §Gold Coast / Mt Gravatt80 CP4 
1372Bachelor of Social Work§Gold Coast / Logan80 CP4 
1548Bachelor of Counselling§Gold Coast / Mt Gravatt80 CP4Unlimited places for Gold Coast / 5 places (Mt Gravatt only)
Credit eligibility for other programs 
1014Bachelor of Psychology (Honours)§Gold Coast / Mt Gravatt70 CP45 places
1619Bachelor of Laws (Honours)Gold Coast / Nathan40 CP5
*80 credit points is equivalent to one year of full-time study. Completion of degrees where students obtain less than 80 credit points of advanced standing in the degree, may take additional time.
†International students must achieve the required minimum GPA to progress to their chosen Griffith College bachelor degree.
‡If student numbers exceed the quota, places in each degree will be awarded on the basis of the highest GPA and the highest average mark across completed diploma courses.
§There are placements associated with this program and graduates will be required to satisfy a number of specific criteria. Students should refer to the checklist of pre-placement and placement requirements for their Health discipline on the Placement Essentials website for full details of the requirements regarding clinical placement to ensure that they meet eligibility for placement.

Where Could This Diploma Take Me?

With a Diploma of Social and Psychological Science from Griffith College you could start your journey towards one of the careers below:

  • Psychologist
  • Youth worker
  • Child safety officer
  • Counsellor
  • Welfare officer
  • Correctional services officer
  • Social worker
  • Human resources
  • Community planning and development

Sample Program Structure

Students who enter with an IELTS (or equivalent) < 6.0 will be required to undertake the free Language Development Modules as part of their program.

First Trimester

1201QBT Academic & Professional Skills Development

The course offers students a broad introduction to the skills involved in acquiring information and in displaying knowledge to others. It includes the basic knowledge and skills required to successfully participate in an undergraduate degree program and to operate effectively in a professional context.

5902LAL English Language & Communication for Health 

English Language and Communication for Health is only offered to students from a non-English speaking background (NESB). Students whose first language is English are not permitted to undertake this course. The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the language, knowledge and communication skills required for study and practice in their health disciplines, and to enable them to develop and practice English language skills relevant to the academic culture of Australian universities. The course therefore involves intensive English language practice and language immersion activities, with elements applied to contextualised, discipline specific settings.

*Domestic students whose first language is not English, and International students who enter with an IELTS (or equivalent) < 7.0 must undertake the English Language & Communication for Health course.

This course introduces human services within its broader historical, socio-cultural, political and economic contexts. It examines the Australian post - welfare state and the contested ideas, philosophies, theories, institutional forms and professional identities associated with it. The course provides a set of frameworks and concepts for analysing historical, present and future changes in the structures and content of human service provision. The purpose is to familiarise students with the language, key concepts, tensions and trajectories of the diverse human services field, whilst assisting students to use such concepts in analysis of specific areas of human service pertinent to their professional interests.

This course enables students to consider human services work with people from diverse cultural and minority group backgrounds who represent a truly unique combination of traits, cultures, experiences, and backgrounds. Within this diversity, some identities come to be socially, culturally, and politically privileged and accepted as "normal" while others are marginalised and oppressed. This creates significant gaps in marginalised persons' experiences of equity, health, wellbeing, and social justice. The course examines points of tension between the norms and traditions of other cultures and those of Australian society. In particular, students will develop an understanding of diverse groups who currently experience social marginalisation in Australia and elsewhere.

This course provides an introductory-level overview of several fields within psychology. It focuses on developmental and social processes and their relationships to individual differences in behaviour. It also provides a broad introduction to the areas of developmental, personality, abnormal and social psychology.

Second Trimester

1007HSV – Human Services Processes

This course sets out the foundations for human services processes and practices, establishing students as 'emerging practitioners' and providing the knowledge, skills and values framework for development of professional identity. In particular, it tracks the identification of need, service delivery models and systems, and the organisational context in which assessment and intervention processes take place across the domains of practice. The course also explores the influences of knowledge and theory, and uses case analysis to identify the perspectives of service users, as well as the challenges for practice. This course is structured around the idea that human service practitioners are decision makers and that their decisions can affect the lives of many people. Students are encouraged to develop a critical awareness of the characteristics of different human service systems and processes. The 'helping process' is introduced and discussed including stages of engagement, assessment, intervention, termination, and review.

†Required for students articulating to Bachelor of Social Work, Bachelor of Human Services and Bachelor of Child and Family Studies.

1001PSY – Introductory Cognitive & Biological Psychology 

This course provides a foundation for understanding the cognitive and biological bases of human behaviour, including the role of the brain and neural processes in behaviour, perception (how the senses allow you to see, hear, taste, touch and smell the world around you), conditioning and learning (how humans and other animals learn about their environment), cognition and memory (how people think, solve problems and remember). Drawing on various research traditions in experimental psychology, this course demonstrates how cognitive and biological psychology contributes to our knowledge of human well-being and performance. Students apply this knowledge through a series of practical in-class exercises.

‡Required for students articulating to Bachelor of Psychological Science and Bachelor of Counselling.

This course aims to expose students to the wider social and cultural context in which health and human services operate, including an understanding of culture, globalisation, environmental sustainability and issues surrounding disadvantage.

This course is designed to facilitate, guide and stimulate your interest and commitment to an increased understanding of what constitutes effective communication and to develop your ability to communicate effectively. To assist with your skills acquisition, this course has been designed using an active learning approach. Learning actively will provide you with the opportunity to develop both a theoretical understanding and a practical ability to communicate and interact interpersonally. In preparation for your role as a professional in the field, you will be encouraged in this course to think of yourself as a practitioner-in-training. One of the implications of this, is that we expect you to be self-managing in terms of your own learning and the learning of your colleagues.

1010HSV Lifespan Development

This course provides students with an understanding of the lifespan development and learning of the person from psychological, sociological and biological perspectives, and the inter-relationship of these perspectives with cultural, social, legal, economic and political frameworks.

§Social stream

1003PSY Research Methods & Statistics in Psychology

This course introduces students to the core concepts of statistical analysis. It is introductory in nature and provides materials across a broad range of statistical techniques and methods. The focus of this course is to provide students with the ability to recognise situations in which statistical analysis may be useful, and the relevant techniques and methods that apply in those situations.

^Psychology stream

Current Program Structures and Course Outlines