New Courses on Offer at Southern Cross University

An exciting array of new courses and mid-year intakes are on offer at Southern Cross University. Some are online or mixed mode, while others are being taught at the university’s Gold Coast campus, the city’s only beachside campus just 400m from the picturesque Kirra Beach.

A new double degree combines the Master of International Tourism and Hotel Management (MITHM) with a Master of Business Administration (MBA), with graduates receiving two internationally recognised management qualifications.

Course co-ordinator Dr John Haw says the course is specifically designed to give graduates a competitive edge in a dynamic and diverse industry that offers opportunities to travel and work in some of the most attractive destinations in the world. It also includes an Industry Research Project to explore a topic in-depth.

“This postgraduate degree combines advanced subjects in business and tourism management with the core business knowledge and management skills development of an MBA,” he says.

“Subjects areas include entrepreneurship and marketing, accounting and management, tourism planning, systems and contemporary hotel management, with graduates emerging as confident leaders of the global tourism and hotel industries.”

Southern Cross University is also offering a double degree in Psychological Science and Laws at its Gold Coast campus from Session 2, ahead of launching the full-time Bachelor of Psychological Science next year.

Head of the School of Law and Justice Professor William MacNeil says prospective students expressed strong interest in being able to study the double degree on location in the Gold Coast.

“As a result the Gold Coast campus now offers the Bachelor of Psychological Science, Bachelor of Laws double degree completely on campus – previously the psychology units of this course at the Gold Coast were only available online,” he said.

New Online Courses

Meanwhile, in response to industry demand, Southern Cross has recently launched online Master and Graduate Diploma courses in Mental Health and Mental Health Nursing, with shorter ‘Study Period’ intakes in July, August and October.

Course co-ordinator Dr John Hurley says it’s fitting the university offer the online courses, following recent reports that government expenditure and access rates by population have almost doubled in the past ten years.

“This has created significant demand for allied health workers with a specialisation in mental health and also mental health nurses. The Commonwealth Government recognises there is a powerful need to upskill and educate both the current and future mental health workforce, as reported by the National Mental Health Commission in 2014,” he said.

“As such, Southern Cross University’s decision to launch these courses online will benefit our students and potentially the Gold Coast community in the long term as more mental qualified health workers become available.”

Also, from Study Period 5 starting in August, Registered Nurses can now study the Graduate Certificate in Primary Healthcare Nursing online, with applications in healthcare leadership.

For those aspiring writers wanting a qualification under their belt, SCU is offering the Graduate Diploma of Creative Writing online part-time over two years. This is a new postgraduate course available online from Session 2 with units on creative non-fiction, literary studies, poetics, writing across the genres and writing as a profession.

Course co-ordinator Dr Lynda Hawryluk says there are many career paths for graduates including professions such as a writer of novels and scripts, a feature journalist, a critic and reviewer, an essayist, a poet or an editor.

“It may also lead to careers in writing about food, nature, art or travel, as well as writing positions for marketing and public relations companies, the public service and arts-related industries. Ideally it’s aimed at graduate-level students who want to get published and become professional writers and need a structured course to do so,” she said.

“Students will get the feedback they need to move to the publishing stage and pursue a profession as a creative writer. The course includes an extended writing project, and an optional work placement at the Byron Writers Festival.”

For those wishing to pursue a career in law, for the first time SCU’s Bachelor of Laws will have a mid-year intake at its Gold Coast campus. Later this year in October, the Master of Information Technology will be launched at the Gold Coast campus for the Session 3 intake.

Looking further ahead, next year on the Gold Coast a double Bachelor of Podiatry, Bachelor of Pedorthics degree will be offered. SCU was one of the first universities to offer a pedorthics degree when it was launched in 2013, and is the only university in the southern hemisphere to offer the course.

From 2019, Southern Cross will also offer a Graduate Diploma in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities which responds to an increasing demand for skilled professionals in this area following the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) rollout. The course can be studied online part-time over two years.

Not everyone needs an ATAR or OP to gain admission to Southern Cross University. There are other pathways to study including the 12-week Preparing for Success Program (PSP), the one-year diploma in science and two-year associate degrees. Successful completion of these pathway courses guarantees a place in a Southern Cross University Bachelor degree.

These courses are offered through SCU College with applications open now for Session 2.

To apply visit www.scu.edu.au