Bachelor of Social Work

at Southern Cross University - Gold Coast Campus Australia

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.

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.

Strength, Conditioning and Coaching

This major includes areas such as advanced strength and conditioning, applied skill acquisition and training for performance.

The Bachelor of Education qualifies you to be a teacher in Australia, and many countries overseas. Our evidence-based course draws on the Faculty of Education’s leadership and research in teacher education that is responsive to local and global contexts.
 
Graduates will be qualified as a teacher in one of the following five areas:

• Early Childhood/Primary (6 weeks to Year 6);
• Primary (Kindergarten/Prep to Year 6); English Primary Specialisation and specialisation in Science and Maths available
• Primary/Secondary (English Primary Specialisation and one Secondary specialisation);
• Secondary (Two teaching specialisations); or
• Secondary: Design and Technology (choose from Industrial Technology, or Food and Fibre, plus one Secondary specialisation).

The first year of the course provides a distinctive foundation with excellent grounding in literacy, numeracy, and subject content, as well as issues in contemporary education.
 
Within the four-year full-time equivalent degree (or 3.5 years fast tracked*), you also undertake core learning in Indigenous education, sustainability, inclusive (special) education, along with curriculum and pedagogy learning across disciplines.

Technology Secondary

In this specialisation you undertake Design and Technology secondary subjects and combine these with either Industrial Technology or Food and Fibre plus a second teaching area from a range of subjects.

Our two-year (or 18 months if fast tracked*) Master of Teaching program qualifies you to be a teacher in Australia, and many countries overseas. Teaching is a career in which you can make a positive and life-long impact on the lives of children and young people.
You can choose to specialise in early childhood education, primary education, or secondary education.  

As well as undertaking an education research project, this course includes professional experience learning via placement in early childhood education settings, schools, and/or community sites. Pre-requisites to meet national and state-based regulatory requirements, as detailed in Faculty of Education Professional Experience Requirements, must be met prior to attending professional experience placement. All professional experience learning days must be completed, and professional behaviour and conduct must be demonstrated.

All primary and secondary students across Australia need to successfully complete the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students (LANTITE) prior to undertaking the second professional experience placement.

Early Childhood

The Early Childhood specialisation qualifies you to become an early childhood teacher (six-weeks to five-years-old).

Information technology is not just a pathway to your future; your degree could help you shape the future. Technology is everywhere, affects everyone and is never still. If IT is your passion, our Bachelor of Information Technology immerses you in a field that is driving our world forward.

If you dream of developing amazing software, designing multimedia experiences or creating tomorrow’s smart systems, this degree provides the technical, analytical and creative skills you need. Study on campus or online and take advantage of optional internship units that add hands-on, real-life experience.

Tailor your studies through the choice of a major in business analytics, networks and cybersecurity, software development or user experience.

Whether as a programmer, designer, web developer, systems analyst, database administrator, project manager, ICT network professional or technical support personnel, the Bachelor of Information Technology is the beginning of what could be an amazing future.

Big Data Technologies

Provides students with the skills needed to investigate Big Data and solve real-world business problems through the application of modern data analytics tools.

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 Clinic at our Gold Coast campus.

Career opportunities for speech pathologists continue to grow nationally and internationally throughout the health and wellbeing industry, both in private practice and in working with health and education organisations and with various specialists.

The internationally-recognised MBA develops business knowledge and practical skills to advance your career in today’s competitive global markets. You'll gain a broad understanding of contemporary management operations, as well as learning how to solve complex issues and manage the challenges of technology and finance, and other critical business factors.

Your professional expertise will be honed by completing practical assessment activities in leadership, problem solving and communication skills. In addition to core units, the course builds substantial expertise in an area through the completion of a research project.

You have the option of selecting either a specialisation, which includes an industry research project, or choosing two elective units from a wide range of subjects together with the industry research project. The industry research project is ideal for developing extensive knowledge of an issue related to your current workplace or to a career you wish to pursue.

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.

The Bachelor of Social Work is an entry-level, professionally accredited qualification to practise as a social worker. The course prepares students to work in a diverse range of fields including health and mental health, child and family welfare, cross-cultural work and work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, youth work, homelessness, domestic and family violence, disability, drug and alcohol, community development, and advocacy.

Underpinned by core principles of social justice and human rights, the course engages students in contemporary anti-oppressive, decolonised and trauma-informed approaches to social work practice. This high job growth area offers a variety of careers in client service roles, service management, research, strategy and policy development.

Core units within the course cover essential theories, methods and skills for social work practice with individuals, families, groups and communities. These are complemented by foundational studies in Indigenous world views, sociology, politics, human development and social research.

An elective stream provides opportunity for students to pursue their interests and develop knowledge in a range of disciplines, and an optional embedded Honours program is available for those interested in research and pathways to further postgraduate studies and who have maintained a credit average across the first two years of study.  Note: Eligible students who are interested in undertaking the Honours stream in 2023 should consult the Bachelor of Social Work Course Coordinator prior to enrolling in elective units.

Please note: All students, including those enrolled online, are required to participate in on-campus learning for a minimum of 20 days/150hrs over the duration of the course. This requirement is stipulated by the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards (ASWEAS). On-campus enrolled students meet this minimum requirement by participating in four units with compulsory attendance. Online students meet this requirement by attending compulsory residential schools conducted at the Gold Coast campus. Units with compulsory participation and on-campus residential schools are identified in the course structure section below (‘note 2’). Students should also refer to the enrolment information for these units.

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.