Course details

Summary

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) is Otago's most flexible undergraduate degree programme, enabling students to study from a selection of more than 40 arts and social science subjects, as well as papers offered elsewhere in the University. Academic breadth is complemented by in-depth knowledge gained through majoring in one or two subjects with the option of minors in one or two others.

Students are taught by research-active scholars, are expected to undertake a diverse range of learning tasks and are challenged to develop their intellectual independence. Graduates of the programme are well-informed, versatile, independent thinkers with the information literacy, communication, research and interpersonal skills necessary for a career or further academic study. The completed BA is an entry qualification for the PGDipArts in the major subject of the degree.

Psychology

Psychology is the science of behaviour. Psychologist’s study the way humans (and other animals) interact with the world and each other.

For example, Psychology examines how our abilities change with age, and what might underlie abnormal behaviour. It investigates how we process and store information using our senses and memory, and how our experiences shape our behaviour.

Psychologists also study how behaviour relates to the functioning of the brain, and why things such as drugs, hormone levels and lack of sleep can influence the way we behave. Applied psychologists use this knowledge to address problems as diverse as sleep disorders, industrial relations, phobias, drug rehabilitation, aircraft safety and hyperactivity.

Programme Requirements

100-level

PSYC 111 Brain and Behaviour; PSYC 112 Human Thought and Behaviour; Either STAT 110 Statistical Methods or STAT 115 Introduction to Biostatistics is recommended

200-level

PSYC 210 Principles of Psychological Research; PSYC 211 Brain and Cognition; PSYC 212 Social and Applied Psychology

300-level

Four of:

PSYC 313 Cognition and Neuropsychology; PSYC 315 Social Psychology; PSYC 317 Biopsychology; PSYC 318 Developmental Psychology; PSYC 319 Comparative Cognition; PSYC 321 Special Topic; PSYC 323 Sensation and Perception; PSYC 325 Psychology in Legal Contexts; PSYC 326 Cognitive Engineering; PSYC 327 Psychology of Language.

Students intending to advance to postgraduate study should also take PSYC 311 Quantitative Methods

Plus

198 further points which may include STAT 110 or STAT 115; must include 54 points at 200-level or above.

Up to 90 points may be taken from outside Arts

Entry criteria

The minimum requirement for students is the completion of a high school qualification plus satisfactory completion of one year's study at an approved tertiary institution or successful completion New Zealand Foundation Year programme.

We also accept the following International qualifications: International Baccalaureate: IB Diploma with a minimum of 26 points; GCE Advanced Levels: minimum grade of 8.

English Language Requirements:

IELTS score of 6.0 in the academic module (with no individual band below 6.0); Internet-based TOEFL Score of 80 (writing 20); Paper-based TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 550 (TWE 4.5); CIE Cambridge International Examinations Grade E or better in AS English; Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) - Overall score of 176 (with no individual band below 169); Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) - Overall score of 176 (with no individual band below 169); GCE 'A' Level or 'AS' Level English Language or English Literature - grade C or higher; GCE 'AS' Level General Paper (English) - grade C or higher; APIEL (Advanced Placement International English Language) Examination - grade 3 or higher; IB International Baccalaureate - English at Higher or Standard level in Language A: literature, Language A: language and literature, or at Higher level in Language B; Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic - Overall score of 58 with no communicative skills score below 50.