James Cook University Australia

For Miss Stephanie Soh, 24, choosing to take the path less travelled was an easy decision.

After her O levels, the former Raffles Girls' School student enrolled in a private school to obtain a diploma in counselling, which was accredited by the Australian College of Applied Psychology.

Explaining her choice, she said that the polytechnics did not offer psychology-related courses at the time, and she had her heart set on pursuing the subject.

Now in her honours year, Miss Soh said: 'I've been interested in psychology ever since I was a teen. It was something I have always wanted to study.'

After obtaining her diploma, she enrolled in James Cook University Australia, Singapore Campus (JCU) to pursue a three-year Bachelor of Psychology degree. Her programme is fully accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council and is recognised by the Singapore Psychology Society, allowing graduates to practise psychology in both Australia and Singapore.

JCU is the only Australian university that offers a complete learning pathway from the undergraduate bachelor's programme to the postgraduate doctorate programme.

Miss Soh said she liked the way her degree was structured over shorter semesters.

She explained: 'We take a maximum of four modules a semester as compared to other universities, where they take a maximum of six or seven. This allows us to focus on the modules we are taking.'

She also credited her lecturers for imparting valuable people skills to her.

She said: 'I've learnt to become more perceptive and sensitive, and I've also become more self-aware.'

Her lecturers at JCU are all higher degree holders, who are stationed in Singapore.

She said they have taught her to constantly question the things happening around her.

'They conduct classes in a way that teaches us to not take everything at face value and to question everything we learn. It helps us to develop important cognitive skills,' she said.

One module that stood out for Miss Soh was the Social Psychology module, where the method of assessment was particularly unique.

She recalled: 'We had to blog once a week about a current news event or something that was happening around us. We then applied a theory that we had learnt in class to the event to try and explain the phenomenon.

INTERACTIVE

'I found this really interesting as other classes got to comment on the entries so it was very interactive.

'Because we used what we had learnt in class and applied it to everyday examples, the theories stuck in our heads better.'

Miss Soh is in the invitation-only honours programme, which requires her to design and conduct an independent research project that will culminate in a thesis.

After she graduates, she plans to do her Masters in clinical psychology.

She said: 'I feel that it will be the best way for me to combine my passion for psychology with helping other people and contributing to society.'

JCU is the first Australian university to have an on-campus psychology clinic where supervised practice for the master's and doctoral programmes is conducted. Students also practise at local institutions and clinics.