Course details

Postgraduate Diploma in Health and Social Practice
NZQF Level 8

About the course

This programme is designed to extend and deepen an individual’s professional practice and apply an advanced body of knowledge in a range of fields of health and social practice which include, but is not limited to physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nursing, midwifery, social work, counselling and human services. It will offer learning opportunities designed to inform your practice and develop valued knowledge in Treaty-based practice. You will learn and grow professionally while undertaking interactive and experiential-based education.This postgraduate diploma will extend students' existing qualifications and will allow higher-level professional development that is interprofessional. Students will gain the skills to develop, analyse and generate solutions to complex and sometimes unpredictable problems. This qualification is relevant to practitioners from a wide range of practice contexts, and the resulting interprofessional interaction of health and social services practitioners will enhance and strengthen service delivery in the region.An interprofessional context will enable graduates to extend their capacity for critical and professional/clinical reasoning for specialist practice, leadership, and management in complex professional environments.Candidates may take up to three years to complete the postgraduate diploma. This programme is delivered by a combination of block courses and online.This programme will not lead to New Zealand health or social service professional registration.The Post Graduate Diploma in Health and Social Practice Mental Health and Addiction endorsement is a DAPAANZ Accreditation Programme and will meet the educational requirements for DAPAANZ registration.

About the provider

Based in Hamilton, the Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec), is one of the country’s largest institutes of technology. We deliver high-quality education across vocational (technical) and professional fields of study to approximately 13,000 students, across over 130 different courses.

At Wintec students are educated in a way that builds their confidence and gets them work-ready. We differ from other types of tertiary providers in the way students get the chance to put their theoretical learning into practice from the very start. You will get to work on real-life projects based on relevant topics and themes as if you were in the workplace. You will also get involved in work placements. This means that by the time you graduate, you will be confident in your skills and knowledge, and know-how to apply your learnings. Our academic staff have years of industry experience between them, which means they can guide you on your journey.

Wintec maintains collaborative relationships with local industry and iwi to identify the needs of the region and community. Fostering strong networks that our students and graduates benefit from is a high priority for us.  Understanding the needs of local industry, what type of graduates they need now, and what they will need in the future is critical to assisting industry and our graduates.