NOTES:

1.    The Australian PhD is reserved for Research.  It is NOT a professional degree [ http://www.psych.unimelb.edu.au ]  A research degree is not acceptable for State Registration purposes. 

2    The difference between an Australian Professional Masters and an Australian Professional Doctorate is the size of the thesis.  The extra placement is to accommodate data collection. [ http://www.psych.unimelb.edu.au ]

3.    Australian Professional Psychology Degrees do not include an intra-mural internship.  This is a private arrangement between the graduate and a professional working in the graduate's area of expertise. The relevant State Board must approved the arrangement before it is deemed to begin. The supervisor must submit regular written reports and the student must submit case studies and any other material which the Board prescribes.  Satisfactory completion of these years complete the requirements for State Registration. No other examination is required.  The Australian Psychological Society requires a similar apprenticeship and, provided the supervisor is approved by both bodies, the requirements for both authorities are usually combined in the one process. 

SUMMARY OF EQUIVALENCIES:

1. An Australian Bachelor Degree [3 year Bachelor] with a major in psychology is roughly equivalent to an American Masters degree in psychology in terms of years of psychology studied, but is academic rather than professional.

2. An Australian Post Graduate Diploma in Psychology [3 year Bachelor + 1  year p/g]  is equivalent to a 2 year American Masters Degree in that it is professionally orientated and contains a minor research project.

3. An Australian Honours Degree in Psychology [4 year Bachelor] has no counterpart in the American system but is roughly equivalent to the second year of a PhD in psychology except that a dissertation is required.

4.  The Australian PhD is equivalent to the American {Research} PhD in terms of years of psychology, but contains more research and less coursework.

5.  An Australian Coursework Masters plus required supervision is equivalent to an American professional PhD but with more experience.

6. An Australian Coursework Doctorate plus required supervision is equivalent to an American professional PhD but with more research.

7. There is no direct Australian equivalent of the American D.Psych.

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References:  

Third International Mathematics and Science Study {TIMSS} Report:   http://timss.bc.edu/TIMMS1/Highlights.html
              http://nces.ed.gov/timss.publist.html     http://nces.ed.gov/timss/twelfth/index.html [see #executive summary] 
              Highlights from TIMMS: Overview and Key Findings Across Grade Levels
              National Center for Educational Statistics:
              Office of Educational Research & Improvement, US Dept. of Edu.  [NCES 1999-081]

VCE [Year 12, Victoria, Australia] Psychology: http://www.mgc.vic.edu.au/curriculum/vce/psych.htm

Melbourne University Psychology:  http://www.psych.unimelb.edu.au

Radford University Psychology:  http://www.runet.edu/~psyc-web/graduate/index.html

Berkeley University Psychology:  http://ls.berkeley.edu/dept/psychology/directory.htm

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