Bachelor of Midwifery

at Southern Cross University - Coffs Harbour Campus Australia

From the elite athlete to the growing teenager, physical and mental health are essential to a balanced life. In this course you can immerse yourself in the psychology of what drives our behaviour and how this relates to sport and exercise.

Our accredited Bachelor of Exercise Science and Psychological Science provides a scientific understanding of the structure and function of the human body as it relates to movement, the interrelationships between health and disease, and the psychological basis of physical activity.

You will complete core units in exercise science including anatomy, biomechanics, physiology, strength and conditioning, and motor control as well as core units in psychological science that include assessment, methodology and principles of behaviour.

Career opportunities exist as a psychologist (with additional postgraduate training) and in careers that carry therapeutic connections to sport and exercise, such as professional athlete counselling, rehabilitation, or within the education sector.

The Bachelor of Midwifery prepares you for entry to professional midwifery practice. You will develop the skills and knowledge necessary to provide quality, woman-centred care through safe and effective midwifery practice in accordance with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council standards for practice.

Study areas include anatomy and physiology, midwifery theory and practice, primary healthcare, perinatal mental health, care during preconception, pregnancy, labour and birth, and early parenting.

Graduates will be equipped to work in multi-disciplinary teams and in partnership with women to contribute to healthier outcomes for mother and baby.

Graduates of this degree will be eligible for registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and practice as a Registered Midwife across a range of settings.

How do we think and learn? How do we control our movements and behaviour? What makes us tick? Exploration of the human mind and behaviour is a fascinating field and this degree is an equally fascinating educational journey into behaviour, cognition, and psychological principles and theory.

We have designed our Bachelor of Psychological Science to be a rich, flexible, and highly engaging learning experience. It will shed light on how humans work, individually and in sociocultural groups, and will take you inside your own head –to develop a deep and real understanding of your own thoughts, emotions, and behaviour. It will take you across many different fields of psychological practice –many you will never have considered. You will be working with an academic team comprising active researchers publishing their work in international journals.

This degree will help you develop strong analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as proficiency in research and statistics, all of which will inform your ability to apply scientific approaches in professional settings as well as enhancing your understanding of yourself and of the world.

The one-year Bachelor of Psychological Science with Honours adds to the skills and knowledge acquired during the Bachelor degree, and moves students closer to a career as a registered psychologist.

You will explore pre-professional skills in psychology, such as interview and counselling skills, culturally responsive and ethical practice in psychology, basic assessment strategies in psychology and psychometric theory, and how to appraise evidence-based psychology interventions across different settings.

With the guidance and support of our academics, you will conduct a research project in psychology and grow your understanding of research methodologies and data analysis.

Psychology honours completed after a three-year accredited sequence of study in psychology is the minimum qualification required to apply for the fifth year of accredited study. This is part of the 5+1 pathway for provisional registration as a psychologist in Australia. It is also required training to apply for Clinical Masters programs and can qualify graduates for entry into postgraduate research programs such as a PhD.

Do you want a health career that could transform the lives of others by helping them achieve tangible results?

Occupational therapists’ work is diverse. They adapt environments, activities or equipment to enhance participation in everyday tasks, assisting people of all ages and abilities to do what they need and want to do at home, work, school and in the community.

You will develop a range of clinical skills in the University’s state-of-the-art facilities and during your professional placement, preparing you for work in diverse health care environments.

As an occupational therapist you could for example develop inclusive playground experiences and environments for children of all abilities; you could recommend workplace changes that would assist an injured worker to return to work; or you could design home modifications or public transport changes that would ensure access for a person using a power wheelchair.

Indigenous Health

This major can be studied at Gold Coast and Coffs Harbour campuses and offers students the opportunity to build theoretical and practical capabilities in cultural protocols and Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Embedded placement opportunities equip graduates with the professional skills required to contribute to the improvement of health and social outcomes in Australian communities.

In order to meet the Australian occupational therapy competency standards this course is structured in accordance with professional body recommendations. All students complete studies in the following areas:

Professional Areas: occupational therapy theory and practice; occupational therapy assessments and interventions related to biomechanical, sensorimotor, psychosocial and cognitive performance, activities, engagement and participation at home, at school, at work and in the community; occupational transitions across the lifespan; evaluation of occupational therapy programs; health promotion; and professional experience/fieldwork.

Social Sciences: psychology and sociology for health sciences, Australian health care system, Indigenous studies, research methods, nutrition in health, and small business and entrepreneurship.

Biological Sciences: anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, and neuroscience.

At Southern Cross University in the Bachelor of Nursing, we are committed to preparing the highest quality nursing graduate with knowledge and attributes that meet the needs of a challenging and complex healthcare environment.

Course learning for the Bachelor of Nursing is progressively scaffolded over the three years and during this time students are immersed in a range of innovative learning experiences from which their cognitive, emotional and clinical capabilities actively grow, and their capacity to engage, think critically and reflect are refined to inform their nursing interventions.

Theoretical learning is coupled with supervised clinical placements which provide invaluable real-world learning opportunities for students. Sourced to meet the learning outcomes of our program, we offer a range of primary, secondary and tertiary placements in local, regional and remote facilities where students can explore diverse career options.

Speech pathologists assess and treat adults and children exhibiting acquired or congenital disorders of speech, fluency, voice, language, swallowing and multimodal communication.

The Bachelor of Speech Pathology prepares you for entry into professional speech pathology practice.

Topics covered include phonetics and linguistics, audiology and neurology, working alongside and interacting with students from other health disciplines. As well as taking advantage of our state-of-the-art facilities, you will receive hands on experience via clinical placements in schools, hospitals, nursing homes and the Southern Cross University Health Clinics at our Gold Coast, Lismore and Coffs Harbour campuses.

Career opportunities for speech pathologists continue to grow nationally and internationally, often working with various specialists in diverse settings such as; private practice, not for profit organisations as well as government health and education services.

Do you dream of coaching athletes or inspiring people to achieve better health and wellbeing? Are you fascinated by human anatomy, human physiology and how they apply to sport and exercise? Are you keen to probe the minds of elite athletes and uncover what gives them the winning edge? The Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science can turn your sporting passion into a career.

This degree provides a comprehensive study of sport sciences and how the human body responds to exercise. You’ll learn about human movement, biomechanics, movement control, exercise physiology, exercise and sport psychology, coaching and exercise prescription, with the opportunity to specialise in either business management, physical education or strength, conditioning and coaching.

Our graduates work in many areas of sport and health, including sports psychology, nutrition, teaching, coaching, performance testing, health promotion and education.