Bachelor of Therapeutic and Sports Massage
Course details
| NZQF Level | 7 |
|---|
About the course
The Bachelor of Therapeutic and Sports Massage is a three-year degree that combines hands-on practice with in-depth knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and massage techniques.
Develop advanced skills to support recovery, performance, and wellbeing—ready for work in clinical, sports, or wellness settings.
SIT now offers our Year 2 / Level 6 and Year 3 programmes through HyFlex ('Hybrid-Flexible'), using a mix of online classes for the theoretical papers, and face-to-face classes on the Invercargill campus for the practical components during block weeks.
Year 1 / Level 5 is an on-campus course in Invercargill.
SIT's Bachelor of Therapeutic and Sports Massage was the first named massage degree programme to be approved in New Zealand. It has been taught since 2002 and students have been graduating since 2004. Health care delivery has moved beyond clinical competence and beyond copying previously successful clinicians. Today's practitioners need to relate to a wider health care team and respond to the expressed needs and expectations of families, pressure groups, professionals and the wider community (Higgs & Edwards, 1999).
Backed by SIT's recognised infrastructures and academic community, the programme promotes research driven education, strong training in a community-based clinic, and exceeds suggested industry requirements in both academic areas and clinical practice.
Graduating students from this degree have good opportunities for employment, both nationally and internationally.
Graduates are critical thinking, reflective practitioners with technical and professional competence, sound reasoning and research literacy, and have a capacity to manage knowledge and its acquisition during their working lives.
Send us an emailto learn more.
In the first year, the degree is taught with a combination of online and face-to-face classes at our Invercargill campus. For those not residing in Invercargill, alternative options may be available—please contact the Programme Manager. In the second year, classes are delivered via the HyFlex ('Hybrid-Flexible') model. HyFlex allows students to stay in their hometown massage therapy clinics and communities. The teaching approach includes a mix of online learning, practical experience, and traditional classroom instruction during compulsory block courses in Invercargill. In the third year, 100% of the teaching and learning occurs online.
The programme specifically aims to prepare graduates who as independent health care professionals will work with people of all ages and varying stages of health and wellness.
You will learn:
- To become an empowered self-directed learner who can reflect on self and practice.
- Comprehend, critique, and apply knowledge from therapeutic and sports massage and other related disciplines in an appropriate and safe practice context.
- Actively contribute to the profession of massage therapy, demonstrated by ongoing personal and professional development.
- Recognise, value, critique and apply research to massage therapy practice and knowledge.
- Develop professional competence within the ethos of a multi-disciplinary approach to health care.
Entry requirements
School Leavers and Applicants Under 20 Years of Age
NCEA Level 3 - three subjects at Level 3, made up of:
- 14 credits each, in three approved subjects
- Literacy - 10 credits at Level 2 or above, made up of five credits in reading and five credits in writing
- Numeracy - 10 credits at Level 1 or above, made up of specified achievement standards available through a range of subjects, or unit standards - package of three numeracy unit standards (26623, 26626, 26627- all three required)
Application by Mature Entry (20 Years and Above)
Applicants in this category will have achieved the age of 20 by March 1 of the first year of enrolment in the programme and have provided evidence of relevant prior learning and experience.
Provisional Part-time Admission
An applicant who does not meet academic criteria may be provisionally admitted to enrol in one or more Year One papers. Upon successful completion of the papers, the student may apply for special admission or admission by mature entry.
Additional Criteria
In addition, the following requirements also apply to applicants in all admissions and categories:
- Applicants are required to provide two confidential references from people who are able to affirm that the applicant is of good character and reputation and is suitable to work with vulnerable clients
- Applicants are asked to make a confidential declaration as to whether or not they have prior criminal convictions. They are advised at the time of the request for information that a prior conviction may not necessarily exclude them from admission
- Applicants must have a level of health and abilities commensurate with achieving practice competencies in the programme. Applicants are required to complete a health declaration and further reports may be requested with the consent of the applicant
English Language Requirements
Applicants, whose first language is not English, or who come from a country where the language of instruction in schools is not English, are required to provide evidence of having achieved one of the following
NCEA Level 3 with University Entrance, or
an International Baccalaureate Diploma or Cambridge A-level qualification for which the teaching and assessment was conducted in English; or
Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA), or Trinity College London Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CertTESOL); or
Successful completion of all primary education (being the equivalent of New Zealand primary school years 1 to 8) and at least three years of secondary education (being the equivalent of three years from New Zealand secondary school years 9 to 13) at schools in either New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States one of the countries listed in Rule 18.5 where the student was taught using English as the language of instruction; or
Successful completion of at least five years of secondary education (being the equivalent of New Zealand secondary school years 9 to 13) at schools in either New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States where the student was taught using English as the language of instruction; or
Successful completion of a Bachelor's Degree, Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Bachelor Honours degree, Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, Masters' Degree or Doctoral Degree, the language of instruction of which must be in English and which must be from a tertiary education provider from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom or the United States or
Successful completion of one of the following internationally recognised proficiency tests listed below to the level required of the programme of study and with all scores achieved in a single test during the two years preceding the proposed date of enrolment
IELTS test - Academic score of 6 with no band score lower than 5.5
TOEFL Paper based test (pBT) - Score of 550 (with an essay score 5 TWE)
TOEFL Internet based test (iBT) - Score of 60 (with a writing score of 18)
Cambridge English Examination - B2 First or B2 First for schools or C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency with a score of 169. No less than 162 in each skill.
OET - Minimum of Grade C or 200 in all sub-tests
NZCEL - Level 4 (Academic)
Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE (Academic) score of 50 with no band score lower than 42
Language Cert - C1 Expert International ESOL Written (LRW) PASS with no less than 25/50 in each skill and Spoken (S) PASS
Trinity ISE - ISE II with no less than distinction in any band
*This course is not available to international students.
About the provider
Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) provides quality tertiary education and training across a wide range of subjects and qualifications. From certificates to postgraduate studies, we offer NZQA programmes for students to learn at a level and pathway that suits them.
We are home to the Zero Fees Scheme and are the only tertiary provider in New Zealand to offer a no tuition cost education to domestic NZ students for every year of study, at all levels.
We offer SIT programmes at campuses in Invercargill, Queenstown, Gore, and online through SIT2LRN Distance Learning.
We also have a specialised faculty in rural education at Telford in Balclutha, South Otago.