UNISA Psychology Course Application 2025/2026

UNISA Psychology Course Application 2025/2026

UNISA Psychology Course Outline. Below is a piece of constructive information on UNISA Psychology Course offered in the 2025/2026 Academic year.

Psychology is one of the best courses offered by the University of South Africa (UNISA). Details required to apply to study Psychology at UNISA can be found in the 2025/2026 UNISA Prospectus.

Applicants should carefully read the UNISA Requirements before they apply for the 2025/2026 UNISA Online Application.

Continue Students should Login to myUNISA.

UNISA PSYCHOLOGY

FOR THE COLLEGE OF HUMAN SCIENCES: BA students must choose between first-level modules in Psychology and Industrial and Organisational Psychology.

Students who select Psychology as a major subject are advised to include the first-level module in Anthropology (APY1501) and the module PLS2601 in Philosophy (Critical Reasoning) in their curriculum.

FOR THE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY: Students who select Psychology as a major subject are advised to take first level modules in Statistics (or Mathematics) and/or Philosophy before or together with third-level modules.

Major combinations:

NQF Level: 5: PYC1501, PYC1502

NQF Level: 6: PYC2601, PYC2602 or PYC2603, and RSC2601

NQF Level: 7: PYC3701, PYC3712, PYC3703, PYC3704, and PYC3705

Wellbeing in the HIV/AIDS and Social Care Context – PYC4806

Purpose: Is to equip Students with knowledge, values and skills to enable them to engage with gender and culture-sensitive social education on issues such as HIV and AIDS, peer counselling and care in various professional contexts and to promote the psychosocial wellbeing of the communities in which they work and live. Furthermore, Students will be able to develop, implement and evaluate social and behaviour programmes and policies in the workplace and facilitate behaviour change within a local, national, continental and global context.

Basic Measurement and Questionnaire Design – PYC2606

Purpose: Is for students to demonstrate knowledge about the design and implementation of a basic psychological questionnaire. The knowledge, skills and values required for successful completion of the module are fundamental to measurement in the social sciences.

Psychological Assessment – PYC4807

Purpose: The paper in psychological assessment provides the student with a grounding in psychometric test theory and illustrates the practical application of knowledge of psychological testing in situations such as the classroom, industry and clinical settings. The emphasis is not on how to use particular tests, but on responsible test use and meaningful interpretation of psychological test data. Knowledge of psychological testing and the correct use of test results are a professional responsibility, as well as being of considerable personal interest. This paper is particularly relevant for students interested in professional training but will also be useful to anyone with an interest in the assessment of human functioning.

HIV/AIDS Care and Counselling – PYC2605

Purpose: To equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills to deal with HIV/AIDS within health, welfare, counselling and educational contexts.

Community psychology: Building foundations – PYC2614

Purpose: Of this module is to introduce learners to the histories that shaped the emergence of community psychology globally and in South Africa. They will be introduced to the different principles, values and intervention models applied in community psychology and how these are informed by various theories and schools of community psychology. The module adopts a relational, observatory and narrative approach through which the learners will have an understanding of current contextual issues in their communities and how these can be attended to through community psychology interventions. By the end of this module, learners should be able to conceptualise community psychological applications, initiatives and interventions.

UNISA Ecosystemic Psychology – PYC4808

Purpose: In this paper students are introduced to the cybernetic paradigm and ecological thinking about human behaviour. First and second order approaches to observation, description and research are explored, and the students personal involvement in the observed processes are emphasised.

UNISA Social Psychology – PYC3701

Purpose: To gain insight into the theoretical aspects of social perception and cognition, attitudes, identity, and prejudice, pro- and antisocial behaviour and group behaviour, in order to facilitate the application of social psychology in areas such as clinical psychology, health, organisations, and society in general.

UNISA Therapeutic Psychology – PYC4809

Purpose: This paper introduces students to the study of the following: Existential Therapy Person-centred Therapy; Gestalt Therapy Reality Therapy; The counsellor as person and professional; Behaviour Therapy Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Postmodern Approaches Ethical issues In addition to the introduction to the above approaches, we expect that students should acquire an in-depth knowledge of a specific therapeutic approach of their choice and be willing to disclose how studying this approach affected their self-understanding.

Cognition: Thinking, Memory and Problem Solving – PYC3703

Purpose: To introduce students to cognitive psychology as a field involving the scientific study of mental processes such as perception, memory, reasoning, problem solving, and intelligence. The module provides an overview of cognitive psychology and tries to help students to develop the ability to (a) interpret, and critically evaluate research and theories about human cognition, and (b) practice and improve their own critical thinking, problem solving and memory skills. The following topics are covered in the module: a brief history of cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, perception, memory, knowledge representation, problem solving, decision making and reasoning, and human and artificial intelligence.

UNISA Psychology of Work – PYC4810

Purpose: The Psychology of Work paper comprises the application of psychological theory, principles and research to issues that are important to workers and management in organisations. The implicit point of departure is that the psychology of work is, in a sense, applied social psychology. In the practical component of the course a student must describe aspects of their work situation. Important issues given attention to are amongst others organisational behaviour; basic human processes; individuals in organisations; group processes; influencing others; organisational processes such as the work environment, organisational structure and design, and organisational change and development.

Psychological Research – PYC3704

Purpose: To enable students to describe the research process, critically evaluate different types of published psychological research, and to execute basic procedures required for data analysis.

UNISA Sport Psychology – PYC4812

Purpose: Sport psychology is an interdisciplinary field, involving both sport scientists and psychologists, which is not only aimed at helping sport participants to achieve maximal performance, but also to enhance the quality of their involvement in sport.

Transformative Counselling Encounters – PYC3705

Purpose: Of this module is to equip students with the necessary skills, competencies and values to engage in purposeful encounters between people through meaningful engagement in a counselling framework. Students will develop skills on how to be develop and display sensitivity with regards to the ethos of context appropriate counselling and also understand its potential to enhance humanness and well-being in society. They furthermore acknowledge reflexivity as tools towards social transformation. This module responds to recent initiatives by the Department of Health aimed at making counselling more accessible to a broader constituency. Successful completion of the module does not qualify students to be fully fledged counsellors. The module instead serves as a foundation towards a career in counselling and is guided by the professional ethics of counselling.

Cognitive NeuroScience – PYC4813

Purpose: The module introduces students to current research and theory in cognitive neuroscience. It presents an overview of neural structures and functions, describes the key imaging and electrophysiological methods used in cognitive neuroscience research, and acquaints students with core domains in this area such as attention, vision, memory, language, lesion studies, executive functions of the brain, and the social and emotional brain. The module will be useful to psychology students who are interested in the connection between cognition and neuroscience, and who want to acquire some knowledge of theoretical issues, concepts, and research techniques in this interdisciplinary area. Qualifying students are able to consider the theories and research regarding normal functioning of the human brain as well as the concomitants in behaviour and adaptive functioning after brain injury.

UNISA Social Psychology – PYC3711

Purpose: It is evident that a large body of knowledge is derived from Eurocentric contexts and transferred to the African context as gospel truths. Africans, for millennia have been treated as second class (and dehumanised) citizens, their contexts completely ignored and their way of life discarded, ridiculed and pathologised. If, therefore, we are to begin thinking about ‘transformation’, we must take into cognisance how individual subjectivities are shaped by and give shape to geographical and cultural contexts. The purpose of this module is therefore to equip students with contextual information, skills, values and competencies to be able to explain, analyse and differentiate between the theoretical aspects of social psychology with careful consideration to their South African context and their everyday life. This module will provide students with a critical lens to engage with the social psychological concepts.

UNISA Community Psychology: Ecologies of Knowledge – PYC4814

Purpose: Of this module is to equip learners with the necessary competencies and values to gain an understanding of how knowledge is created and reproduced in and around communities, as well as in the discipline of community psychology. Learners will be able to interpret particular instances of community knowledge reproduction and knowledge creation in terms of broad historical discourses and ideologies, governing policies and protocols, interest groups (individuals, institutions and sectors), and relevant techniques. Learners will be able to characterise particular communities (including on-line communities and the community of teachers and learners) in terms of how they have been socially constructed and what the effect of different constructions might be.

Abnormal Behaviour and Mental Health – PYC3712

Purpose: The module equips students with knowledge, skills and attitudes to gain a coherent understanding of abnormal behaviour as conceptualised in diverse sociocultural contexts. The module is designed to facilitate student’s application of knowledge in the recognition, explanation and referral of instances of abnormal behaviour to relevant service providers and act as agents for the promotion of mental health in communities. On completion of the module students should recognise signs and symptoms of abnormal behaviour in various sociocultural contexts and describe abnormal behaviour according to both African and Western perspectives. Students should be able to explain the development of abnormal behaviour according to different theories. They will have knowledge of relevant resources/referral agencies accessible to their communities and be able to identify appropriate ethical responses to instances of abnormal behaviour and the promotion of mental health in their communities.

UNISA Community psychology: Working for change – PYC3716

Purpose: Of this module is for learners to gain an understanding of intervention strategies in community psychology. Learners will gain an in-depth understanding of various theories of community psychology intervention and the application of these to a particular organisation. Learners will know how to negotiate entry into and involvement in a community organisation, non-governmental organisation, non-profit organisation or community-based organisation, or any group that renders a service to a community. This will allow learners to gain practical know-how and apply their theoretical understanding of how individuals function in community organisations, and gain an understanding of how such organisations function in communities. Learners will gain appreciation for the fact that change is a complex, contradictory, and confusing phenomenon; rather than coming away with some really neat, clean, all-encompassing and dangerous theory that pretends to explain everything about how change happens.

Research Methodology – HMPYC80

Purpose: Students who complete the module can demonstrate knowledge about the design, conduct and ethics of a small research study, and objectively assess the application of various qualitative and quantitative designs and methodologies in terms of fitness for purpose and context. The knowledge, skills and values required for successful completion of the module are fundamental to studying literature and delivering research outputs in social science.

UNISA Basic Psychology – PYC1501

Purpose: To gain insight into basic terms, concepts and fields of study in psychology, through studying topics such as the Western and non-Western roots of psychology, contextualisation of knowledge, biological basis of behaviour, perception, thinking, problem-solving, intelligence, and creativity.

Research Report – HRPYC81

Purpose: This module is one of the papers offered in the honours programme in Psychology, for the Honours BA, Honours BA (BSW) and Honours BSc qualifications. Students who complete the module can design and conduct a basic research study and report the findings in the form of a written document. The knowledge, skills and values required for successful completion of the module are fundamental to studying literature and delivering research outputs in social science.

UNISA Psychology in Society – PYC1502

Purpose: To gain insight into the way in which human behaviour and experience are shaped in societal and environmental contexts, stress processes, motivation in the context of sociopolitical dynamics of society, interpersonal relationships, group functioning, the social nature of work and various social issues (violence, poverty, racism, multiculturalism, gender bias, community development, and the ecological crisis).

Psychopathology – PYC4802

Purpose: Psychopathology embraces the description, study and interpretation of abnormal behaviour according to various theoretical approaches such as the medical model, the psychodynamic model, the learning theories, the humanistic-existential perspective, the family systems and ecosystemic approaches. Selected themes in child and adult psychopathology with emphasis on various contexts and South African society are studied.

Personality Theories – PYC2601

Purpose: To gain insight into the most important personality theories explaining human functioning and behaviour, and to apply these theories (e.g. of Freud, Jung, Rogers, Allport, Maslow, Frankl, the social cognitive learning approach, and the African perspective) in real-life situations.

UNISA Social Psychology – PYC4803

Purpose: Social psychology is the scientific study of the nature and causes of behaviour in social contexts or situations. In our course we examine the fundamental connection between individuals and situations. Social psychological concepts such as identity, social cognition, attribution, attitudes, group processes, prejudice, aggression, pro-social behaviour, social influence and interpersonal relationships are addressed. In an applied section, students complete a research project on a topic of their choice under the guidance of a lecturer.

Child and Adolescent Development – PYC2602

Purpose: To demonstrate an understanding of the physical, cognitive, emotional, social, personal and moral development of the child and the adolescent, and to promote the optimal development in the child and the adolescent.

Personology – PYC4804

Purpose: The purpose of this course work is structured around real-world scenarios that require to be understood in terms of persoanlity characteristics and dynamics. Students are required to apply personality theory in the formulation of interview questions and questionnaire items. Students complete a series of assignments for which they are required to provide context and questions for psychological interviews and questionnaires based on personality theories. They have to self and peer review interview questions and questionnaire items submitted by themselves and fellow students. In addition to the assignments students have to sit for an examination that is structured in terms of tasks similar to those completed in the assignments.

Adulthood and Maturity – PYC2603

Purpose: To demonstrate an understanding of the physical, cognitive, emotional, social, personal and moral development of the adult, and to enhance the adult’s psychological maturity and satisfaction with life.

UNISA Developmental Psychology – PYC4805

Purpose: Developmental Psychology is the study of human development over the entire life span, from conception to death. Developmental Psychology supplies important background information for students who would like to become clinical or counselling psychologists. Knowledge gained by studying developmental psychology is also most valuable for parents, teachers, social workers as well as people in the health professions and in the business world or industry.