Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Practice in Health and Wellbeing (Specialty)
If you are a health professional or an occupational therapist, this qualification can help you enhance your knowledge in your current practice. You will work with the Postgraduate Coordinator to tailor an individual study pathway to suit your learning needs. Your study and assignments will focus on your specialty area of practice, reflected in your qualification title.
Domestic
July
About the programme
Occupational therapists and other health professionals often utilise the same base knowledge and are increasingly working in teams together to achieve common goals.
In addition, postgraduate qualifications are being required more often by employers.
This high-level programme has been developed specifically to enable both occupational therapists and non-occupational therapists to complete a postgraduate certificate within the School of Occupational Therapy.
Deepen your theoretical knowledge to support your clinical reasoning, within the constraints of your practice environment, to ensure effective outcomes for clients of your services. Strengthen your academic skills of analysis, synthesis and critique in your research area. All of this will contribute to you being recognised as an expert clinical practitioner.
The mix of occupational therapists and non-occupational therapists provides a healthy environment for you to hear and learn about the topic with input from people from a wide range of professional backgrounds. Your study and assignments will focus on your specialty area of practice and you will graduate with this specialty reflected in your qualification title.
Studying part-time
We know full-time study isn't always possible. We also offer this programme part-time over two and a half years.
International
July
About the programme
Occupational therapists and other health professionals often utilise the same base knowledge and are increasingly working in teams together to achieve common goals.
In addition, postgraduate qualifications are being required more often by employers.
This high-level programme has been developed specifically to enable both occupational therapists and non-occupational therapists to complete a postgraduate certificate within the School of Occupational Therapy.
Deepen your theoretical knowledge to support your clinical reasoning, within the constraints of your practice environment, to ensure effective outcomes for clients of your services. Strengthen your academic skills of analysis, synthesis and critique in your research area. All of this will contribute to you being recognised as an expert clinical practitioner.
The mix of occupational therapists and non-occupational therapists provides a healthy environment for you to hear and learn about the topic with input from people from a wide range of professional backgrounds. Your study and assignments will focus on your specialty area of practice and you will graduate with this specialty reflected in your qualification title.
Studying part-time
We know full-time study isn't always possible. We also offer this programme part-time over two and a half years.
What You Study
Courses
You will work with the Postgraduate Coordinator to tailor an individual study pathway that is right for you. You will undertake existing courses from the School of Occupational Therapy postgraduate programme to complement your current knowledge and experience.
To gain the Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Practice in Health (Specialty), you must achieve 60 credits at Level 8. You will therefore complete two 30 credit courses from the following postgraduate courses:
|
Current courses |
Level |
Credit |
|---|---|---|
|
Research for Practice Learning outcomes The nature of this course is to ensure that students are able to justify the selection and use of appropriate research methods for practice within the New Zealand bicultural context. At the completion of this course, you will be able to:
Content
Assessment
|
8
|
30 |
|
Adventure Therapy Learning outcomes This course will provide students with theory and frameworks that will enable use of adventure therapy approaches in their practice in mental health, justice, education and wellbeing fields of practice. At the completion of this course, you will be able to:
Content
Assessment
|
8 |
30 |
|
Vocational Rehabilitation Learning outcomes Assisting an individual to return to work is a complex task requiring an in-depth and broad understanding of not only rehabilitation, but also the broader context of the workplace. This course aims to assist students to be evidence-based in their planning and delivery of return-to-work programmes within the New Zealand bicultural context. Please note: PC/PD434001 meets the 30 credits of postgraduate study as required by ACC and documented in Section 3.4 of the ACC document "Skills and Competencies Requirement for Vocational Rehabilitation Services". At the successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
Indicative content
Assessment
|
8 |
30 |
|
Trauma Informed Practice Learning outcomes The nature of this course is to ensure that students are provided with the theories and frameworks to be able to enhance an individual's capacity to manage the effects of trauma. At the completion of this course, you will be able to:
Content
Assessment
|
8 |
30 |
|
Motivation & Behavioural Change Learning outcomes Occupational therapy uses engagement in activity to assist people to change behaviours. While for some people change is essential to enable living with an acquired illness or disability, for others, change is desirable to improve health and wellness; for example, increasing amount of exercise, increasing socialisation, decreasing drug use (alcohol, nicotine, illicit drugs) or changing eating behaviours. The aim of this course is to provide postgraduate students with frameworks that will enhance their interventions when working with people presenting with issues related to motivation and behavioural change within the New Zealand bi-cultural context. At the completion of this course, you will be able to:
Content and process Guiding frameworks and theories for practice:
Theories of Motivation and Behavioural Change
Strategies
Assessment
|
8 |
30 |
|
Using Sensory Processing Principles with Diverse Populations Learning outcomes This course will enable students to be theoretically up-to-date and equipped to evaluate the need for, and benefits of, applying theories of sensory processing with diverse populations in a range of child, adolescent and adult settings within the New Zealand bicultural context. At the successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
Indicative content
Assessment
|
8 |
30 |
|
Negotiated Study Learning outcomes This course enables students to explore both theoretical and practical knowledge in a chosen area of interest. At the completion of this course you will be able to:
Content and process The content of this course will vary depending on your area of interest. The process undertaken will be as follows:
Assessment
|
8 |
30 |
Workload
Your workload
For the full-time programme, it is advisable to allow 18 - 19 hours per week, per course. As the full-time qualification involves two courses, you would be expected to spend approximately 30-36 hours per week studying.
Entry
Entry requirements
- You must hold a bachelor's degree OR qualifications accepted by the appropriate professional registration board.
- International students will be individually assessed to ensure you meet the entry requirements.
- If English is not your first language, you must provide:
- New Zealand University Entrance OR
- Overall Academic IELTS 6.5 with no individual band score lower than 6.5 (achieved in one test completed in the last two years), OR
- Acceptable alternative evidence of the required IELTS (see here for NZQA proficiency table and here for list of recognised proficiency tests).
If you need to improve your English Language skills, we offer a wide range of English programmes.
Want your existing skills recognised?
If you have extensive knowledge and skills due to practical experience in this area, please ask us about our recognition of prior learning process. You may have already gained credits towards this qualification and could achieve it in a shorter timeframe. Please email info@op.ac.nz or call 0800 762 786.
Fees
Domestic fees
International fees
Tuition fees
The tuition fees shown above are approximate only. There may be a slight fee increase per year once Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) rules and guidelines are applied. These fees also don’t include additional costs or living costs.
Studylink
Domestic full-time students can apply for a student loan through Studylink.
Some support may be available for domestic part-time students.
Apply at the same time as you apply for your course (you can withdraw your application anytime).
Student Services Fee
For most students, your tuition fee shown above includes a Student Services Fee – also known as the Student Levy. This compulsory fee covers your access to the student services we offer. This cost is tailored depending on how you're studying.
The international tuition fee does not include your Student Levy. This will be calculated when you enrol with us.
Click below to find out more about the Student Levy costs and services provided.
Fees Free* for domestic learners
If this is your first time doing tertiary study, or your first tertiary study was covered by the Targeted Training and Apprenticeship (TTAF) initiative, you may be able to get up to $12,000 of your fees covered for one year’s study or two years’ training.
All the details and criteria are on the Fees Free website and you can check whether you’re going to be able to access Fees Free by entering your National Student Number.
If you can access it, we’ll organise your fees with the Tertiary Education Commission when you’re enrolled to study with us. This funding doesn’t include additional costs or living costs.
* Please note: The Government has advised that they intend to change the Fees Free policy from 2025. The details of the change are yet to be confirmed. We'll update this information as soon as we can with any new details. The Fees Free policy for 2024 is unchanged.
