Work integrated learning curriculum for undergraduate psychology: a case study

Abstract

A four-year undergraduate degree in Psychology is offered by the University of Southern Queensland on the Springfield campus. In addition to providing the more usual opportunities for students to develop competencies required in a four-year undergraduate psychology degree, as outlined by APAC requirements, this degree program also requires students to engage in and progress through a series of scaffolded Work Integrated Learning (WIL) activities, with the goal of producing more industry-aware and work-ready graduates. These activities constitute six courses offered in semesters one and two over the first three years of the program. WIL activities range from highly-structured, university-based opportunities to learn and practise practitioner skills to participation in university-supported, client-driven team projects and individual, externally supported professional placements in psychology and psychology-related industries. It is proposed that these activities vary in a number of ways including locus of support and degree of learning complexity. A multi-dimensional, learner-centred model of this curriculum will be presented and discussed.