Bachelor of Government and International Relations /Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Dual Degree)

at Griffith University - Mount Gravatt Campus Australia

This degree delivers advanced professional learning for teachers and those with a professional involvement in education including school bursars, school development officers and training personnel. It will help you develop greater expertise in educational practice or research and can contribute to current teachers' professional development requirements.

Depending on your career aspirations and interests, you can complete majors in the following areas:

• Autism Studies
• Early Childhood Studies (not accredited with ACECQA)
• Educational Leadership
• Educational Technology
• Learning and Professional Development
• Special Needs Education
• Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
• Wellbeing in Education

The Bachelor of Psychological Science will give you a thorough grounding in clinical, developmental, biological, cognitive, social and organisational psychology.

You will learn how to:

• Apply psychological theories to topics such as thinking and perceiving, motivation, stress, health, criminal activity, and group behaviour;
• Evaluate and understand tests that measure intellectual, behavioural and emotional states;
• Use interpersonal skills and the principles of counselling to help people with personal, health, vocational and social difficulties.

As an International student, you will receive dedicated support from your arrival in Australia through to your departure after graduation. You will be introduced to Griffith through an orientation program, and receive ongoing social, personal and academic support throughout your degree.

When you choose law and criminology at Griffith, you'll be studying among the world’s best. Griffith ranked as the highest Australian university for law in the Academic Rankings of World Universities 2019, which includes both Griffith Law School and the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice.  

This double degree is built on practical experience and taught by award-winning teachers and researchers, who will help you work towards your ideal job. You'll be immersed in authentic experiences and graduate with the networks and support to launch your career in law or criminology.

With this degree, you'll be a part of the leading school of criminology in Queensland. You'll learn from internationally recognised experts and industry leaders who bring their authentic and compelling crime experiences to your study.

In your first year, you'll learn about the current trends in crime in Australia and overseas. Academic and professional experts will explain proven ways that crime can be examined, prevented and reduced. You'll participate in courses that include the police, courts and criminal law, forensic psychology and homicide.

In your second and third years, you'll narrow your focus into a key area of criminology and criminal justice based on your interests and desired career. You can choose from elective courses in policing, corrections, working with offenders and victims, counter-terrorism, or crime analysis and investigation.

Industry and expert connections
In your final year, you'll have the option to complete a professional placement and gain practical experience, which helps expose you to potential careers of interest and employers. You may also have the opportunity to study abroad and gain invaluable learning and experience that can increase employment opportunities.

You will also have the opportunity to gain experience in cutting-edge criminological research through the Criminology Undergraduate Research Internship Program. You'll be mentored one-on-one by criminology experts and can select an internship to suit your interests from a diverse range of research projects. Internship opportunities are offered on a competitive basis three times a year and usually last four to six weeks. It's a priceless opportunity only available through Griffith.

In this specialised double degree, students will learn about the causes of crime and society's response to it, whilst developing a core of IT technical knowledge related to Information Systems and Network Security.

Graduates of the program will have a broad and coherent body of knowledge in the fields of criminology and criminal justice, including an in-depth understanding of various theoretical frameworks underpinning the study of criminal behaviour, victimisation and criminal justice responses to crime, and crime prevention.

Additionally, students will have a broad and coherent body of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) knowledge, with depth in the underlying principles and concepts in ICT problem solving (i.e., how to use modelling methods and processes to understand problems, handle abstraction and design solutions), ICT professional knowledge (i.e., ethics, professionalism, teamwork concepts and issues, interpersonal communication, societal issues/legal issues/privacy, history and status of discipline), technology building (i.e., programming and human-computer interaction), and/or technology resources (i.e., hardware and software fundamentals, data and information management, and networking).

This is your opportunity to expose yourself to an intensive research environment. You will develop expertise in research and learn the concepts, methods and skills required to apply knowledge with creativity and initiative to new situations. The Master of Philosophy (MPhil) is awarded on the basis of independent supervised study that produces a substantial piece of research as judged by independent experts of international standing.

This program prepares students to teach in primary or secondary settings. Students undertake a foundation first year and then undertake studies in either primary or secondary education from Year 1/Trimester 3. Students undertake professional practice which includes observation and participation in schools, practice teaching and community field studies.

In this double degree, you'll develop an understanding of the vital importance of human services within Australia's legal and social systems.

Through the human services component, you'll learn how to build a better future for individuals and families. You'll also be empowered by a greater understanding of the principles of social justice and social inclusion. In the criminology and criminal justice component, you'll learn about the causes of crime and how society responds to them through the justice system.

Industry and expert connections
Your study will include courses about policing, working with offenders and victims, and analysing and preventing crimes. You'll hear from academic and professional experts about how crime can be prevented and reduced.

You'll also undertake a range of courses to prepare you as a human services practitioner to create a more socially just world.  

You'll receive plenty of hands-on experience in your final year of study. Within a genuine human services environment, you'll put theory into practice in a supervised setting. This experience will enhance your skills in the workplace and get you ready to graduate job-ready.

Graduate Outcomes
You may find opportunities in policing and security, intelligence, probation and parole, child protection, crime analysis, courts and justice services, crime prevention and regulatory agencies.

You will be prepared for a career in areas such as law enforcement, working directly with offenders in welfare and counselling roles and in criminological research and policy roles.

If you are keen to work as a psychologist, this degree will give you a thorough grounding in clinical, developmental, biological, cognitive, and social and organisational psychology.

You will learn how to use interpersonal skills and the principles of counselling to help people with personal, health, vocational and social difficulties.

You will also learn how to apply psychological theories to topics such as thinking and perceiving, motivation, stress, health and criminal activity.

In fourth year, you will begin formal research training and be introduced to professional psychological practice. You will complete an honours research project and study four core courses. You will need to achieve the required level of academic performance in the earlier years of the degree to be eligible for the fourth year of study.

You will have the opportunity to put your academic studies into practice through a professional practice placement.

Combining business with psychological science can give you the skills and knowledge needed to work as a specialist providing advice to organisations on management and personnel issues, and helping them develop training programs, set policies, or manage organisational change.