Australia

"The Study of Psychology in Australia is on of the most popular university choices, with all tertiary across the country offering undergraduate and/or post graduate education opportunities."

“ "The study of Psychology is one of the most popular university choices in Australia.” There are currently 37 public universities that offer 518 accredited psychology courses through Australia. The education is similar to the United States in that students apply to an undergraduate program for a BA or BS, though some universities in Australia offer direct acceptance into a Psychology degree (BPsych). Instead of the 4 year undergraduate in the states, Australian universities have the basic three year major in Psychology followed the fourth year being an Honors study or graduate study in Psychology. Australia is known internationally for its Australian Psychological Society which currently has 15,000 members. A popular study being researched in Australia currently is coaching psychology. The University of Sydney has until specifically studying only coaching psychology. Coaching psychology has been studied in Australia since 1926 and is widely studied around the world.

Coaching psychology became one of the first studies that Australia was known for. To this day students and professionals are expanding on this coaching psychology. However, the history of psychology in Australia lies mainly within the Australian Psychological Society, a link below will take you directly to the society’s website for extensive detail. Not only did Australia begin to rise with the psychological society but also with minds of William James and John C. Eccles, James’ son.

John C. Eccles will forever be famous psychologists from Australia. He was a neurophysiologist known for his research in nerve cell communication. Eccles was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1903. His parents were teachers and successfully taught Eccles well in that he was rewarded a scholarship for school which was not likely then. His main interest was the brain and nervous system. He proposed that the “binding of a chemical, now known to be the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, by the muscle cell led to depolarization, or a loss of electrical charge.” He worked as a research psychologist in Australia until he was sixty-three until Australia required him to retire. He was then offered a position from the “American Medical Association to become the director of its institute for Biomedical Research in Chicago.” Eccles passed away in 1997. Another famous psychologist, among the many, in Australia is Catherine Madigan. Madigan has created a country wide study known as Shyness and Social Anxiety. She has created a website and hired a team of psychologist to assist her in this research study. The Shyness and Social Anxiety study is known internationally and gained a lot of support. In fact, Madigan was asked to speak the international conference in Sydney that the Australian Psychology Society holds about her research.

Sources: //John C. Eccles - Embarks on Neurological Research, Returns to Australia, Begins a second career in United States//. N.p., 20 June 2003. Web. 13 Feb. 2010 .

//The Australian Psychology Accreditation Council//. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2010. .