Specialisations and electives
Professional Internship elective
Employers want graduates who can readily fit into and work well in an organisation. This means they want graduates who are able to plan and organise their work, solve problems, work in teams, use technology effectively and understand how to be effective in the workplace.
These are skills that are developed through the Professional Internship elective, which gives you the opportunity to apply your skills to a work setting in a relevant justice organisation.
Past students have completed placements with:
- Victoria Police
- welfare and victim support services
- Corrections Victoria
- youth justice services
- Magistrate's, Children’s and Supreme Courts.
Completing a professional internship will help you learn by observing and participating in team environments, and train you to make informed decisions about employment at the end of your studies.
You may complete your internship by
- placement within a relevant justice organisation for a minimum period of 20 days; OR
- completing a 20 day internship with the Bridge of Hope Innocence Initiative at RMIT (successful applicants for the Initiative only).
Electives
Your internship can be completed within Australia or in another country in an organisation or agency that is aligned with your study interests and career aspirations. In this multidisciplinary degree, you'll complete 12 psychology courses and 8 criminology courses. A further 4 elective courses are available across the 3 years of the degree.
Elective specialisations include
- criminal intelligence
- forensic studies
- drug-related crime
- international policing
- customs and border security
- youth justice
- terrorism.
Structure
Year 1
Study the foundations and principles of:
- psychology
- criminology
- law
- crime and information technology
- cross-cultural communications.
Year 2
Explore biological, developmental, cognitive and social psychology. Contemporary criminology studies will include case management in order to develop skills in dealing with clients, in interviewing and for managing people in various contexts.
Year 3
Cover advanced concepts such as psychological assessment and psychopathology. Forensic psychology and criminal behaviour analysis are capstone courses, bringing together your learning across the 3 years.