Master of Applied Health Sciences (Wellness and Rehabilitation)

Master of Applied Health Sciences (Wellness and Rehabilitation)

Master of Applied Health Sciences (Wellness and Rehabilitation)

If you have a passion for health, wellness and rehabilitation, and want to enhance your knowledge with postgraduate study then the Master of Applied Health Sciences (Wellness and Rehabilitation) is for you.

SIT is now offering this course in HyFlex ('Hybrid-Flexible') which combines face-to-face and online learning. This offers you the ability to study from anywhere. Full-time or part-time on campus options are also available.

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Key Details
Invercargill / Hyflex
Qualification:
Masters
Level:
9
Credits:
180
Duration:

18 months full-time

Blended Delivery and part-time options available

Study Modes:
Onsite or Flexible Distance
Dates:

2025 Semester 1: 17 February to 27 June

2025 Semester 2: 21 July to 21 November

2025 Project: 17 February to 27 June

2025 Project: 21 July to 21 November

2025 Project - Part Time: 17 February to 21 November

2025 Project - Part Time: 21 July to 24 April 2026

2025 Thesis: 17 February to 21 November

2025 Thesis: 21 July to 24 April 2026

2026 Semester 1: 16 February to 26 June

2026 Semester 2: 20 July to 27 November

2026 Project: 16 February to 26 June

2026 Project: 20 July to 27 November

2026 Project - Part Time: 16 February to 27 November

2026 Project - Part Time: 20 July to 23 April 2027

2026 Thesis: 16 February to 27 November

2026 Thesis: 20 July to 23 April 2027
Fees:

This programme is eligible for the Zero Fees Scheme.

  • NO tuition fees
  • Direct material costs $947.50; Research Project $470.00; Thesis $692.00 (GST inclusive)

International Fees can be found here.

The Master of Applied Health Sciences (Wellness and Rehabilitation) is aimed at wellness and rehabilitation practitioners and recent graduates (in fields such as chiropractic, health sciences, massage therapy, medicine, naturopathy, nursing, occupational therapy, osteopathy, physiotherapy, sport and exercise) who want to undertake an advanced programme of study in order to prepare for further study or to assist with obtaining a more senior position.

You will learn to extend your capability in critical and professional/clinical reasoning for specialist practice, leadership, and management in professional settings.

The areas of focus in this programme are:

  • Completing health, wellness, and rehabilitation research
  • Health and wellness
  • Holistic wellness
  • Nutrition for wellness
  • Pain management
  • Musculoskeletal and Neurological Rehabilitation
  • Cardiovascular, Pulmonary and Metabolic Health
  • Female health and wellness
  • Wellness for the older population
  • Massage therapy for wellness and rehabilitation

The programme will be delivered through HyFlex ('Hybrid-Flexible') which combines face-to-face and online learning. This offers you the ability to study from anywhere. Full-time or part-time options are available as well. This course is taught using a mix of online learning, practical experience, classroom teaching and workshops.

Master of Applied Health Sciences (Wellness and Rehabilitation) students will undertake a coherent programme of 180 credits approved by the programme manager and will follow one of two pathways.

The first pathway is the Masters of Applied Health Sciences via Research Projects:

Students will need to complete the following courses:

  • WR800 Wellness and Rehabilitation Principles
  • WR810 Research Skills for Professional Practice
  • WR901 Research Project

and an approved selection of two courses worth 60 credits from the following list:

  • WR804 Cardiovascular, Pulmonary and Metabolic Health
  • WR805 Musculoskeletal and Neurological Rehabilitation
  • WR806 Pain Assessment and Management
  • WR807 Special Topics: Nutrition for Wellness

Elective 30 credits at level 8 or above from a relevant postgraduate programme.

The second pathway is the Masters of Applied Health Sciences via Research Thesis:

Students will need to complete the following courses:

  • WR800 Wellness and Rehabilitation Principles
  • WR810 Research Skills for Professional Practice
  • WR902 Thesis

and an approved one course from the following list:

  • WR804 Cardiovascular, Pulmonary and Metabolic Health
  • WR805 Musculoskeletal and Neurological Rehabilitation
  • WR806 Pain Assessment and Management
  • WR807 Special Topics: Nutrition for Wellness

Students will need to complete the following courses:

  • WR800 Wellness and Rehabilitation Principles
  • WR810 Research Skills for Professional Practice
  • WR902 Thesis

and an approved one course from the following list:

  • WR804 Cardiovascular, Pulmonary and Metabolic Health
  • WR805 Musculoskeletal and Neurological Rehabilitation
  • WR806 Pain Assessment and Management
  • WR807 Special Topics: Nutrition for Wellness

Course descriptions:

WR800 Wellness and Rehabilitation Principles

This course enables practitioners to develop knowledge and skills in lifestyle wellness coaching to improve people’s health habits and coach people towards achieving their personal, health and fitness goals. Practitioners will also apply the principles and practices of an interdisciplinary and client-centered approach to wellness and rehabilitation within their clinical or industry setting to enhance lifestyle management and healthy outcomes.

WR804 Cardiovascular, Pulmonary and Metabolic Health

The course will explore cardiovascular, pulmonary and metabolic health and wellness. This course assumes knowledge of the body’s response to normal anatomical/physiological function and directs the student towards a progressive and more critical understanding of altered, complex health states. This will include the multiple interrelationships of physical activity for daily living, exercise physiology and exercise prescription, to complement and inform advanced wellness practice. Students will design and implement quality integrated wellness and rehabilitation programmes for clients with cardiovascular, pulmonary and metabolic health conditions. Students will reflect on case management as a complete approach to wellness with emphasis on empowerment rather than dependence.

WR805 Musculoskeletal and Neurological Health

The course will explore musculoskeletal and neurologic health and wellness. This course builds on knowledge of the body’s response to physical activity, normal anatomical/ physiological function and directs the student towards a progressive and more critical understanding of altered, complex health states. This will include the multiple interrelationships of physical activity for daily living, exercise physiology and exercise prescription, to complement and inform advanced wellness practice. Students will design and implement quality integrated wellness and rehabilitation programmes for clients with musculoskeletal and neurological health conditions. Students will reflect on case management as a complete approach to wellness with emphasis on empowerment rather than dependence.

WR806 Pain Assessment and Management

This course enables students to develop knowledge about pain assessment and management from an holistic perspective. Students will also apply the principles and practices of an interdisciplinary and client-centered approach to pain management within their clinical or industry setting to enhance lifestyle management and healthy outcomes.

WR807 Special Topics: Nutrition for Wellness

This course is used to explore current issues and make use of the particular expertise of individual staff members, including visitors. Students will critically examine current developments and emerging issues in a specified topic area. The course will investigate current issues of nutrition as therapy for wellness. The emphasis will be on nutrition strategies for specific populations with New Zealand.

WR810 Research Skills for Professional Practice

This course provides an introduction to quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research methodologies used in health sciences. Students will develop knowledge of fundamental biostatistical concepts and skills of critiquing and evaluating research within their clinical or industry setting. Students will apply these learnings to the design of a master’s level research project proposal.

WR901 Research Project

The student will develop expertise in conducting applied research that informs professional practice in wellness and rehabilitation.

WR902 Thesis

The student will develop expertise in conducting publishable research about wellness and rehabilitation.

Graduates of this programme may seek employment in the private or public sector undertaking a range of roles including:

  • ACC case manager, 
  • advanced massage therapy practitioners, 
  • clinical leadership and clinical specialist roles, 
  • complementary and integrative medicine professional, 
  • disability support services manager/professional, 
  • health promotion advisor, 
  • rehabilitation professional, 
  • spa/clinical practice manager, 
  • specialist advisor and health management roles, 
  • wellness, and life style coach.

Students will have completed all requirements of a bachelor degree or graduate diploma in a relevant field (such as chiropractic, health sciences, massage therapy, medicine, naturopathy, nursing, occupational therapy, osteopathy, physiotherapy, sport and exercise) with at least a 70-74% average at Level 7.

To proceed to the Master of Applied Health Sciences (Wellness and Rehabilitation) from the Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Health Sciences (Wellness and Rehabilitation) or equivalent programme, applicants will be expected to have achieved a 70% grade or higher on average in that programme of study. All postgraduate diploma level papers must be at Level 8 or above.

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 6.5 with no band score lower than 6
TOEFL Paper based test (pBT) - Score of 590 (with an essay score 5.5 TWE)
TOEFL Internet based test (iBT) - Score of 79 (with a writing score of 21)
Cambridge English Examination - C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency with a score of 176. No less than 169 in each skill.
OET- Minimum of Grade C+ or 300 in all sub-tests
NZCEL - a) Expiring Level b) Current: a) Level 5 (Academic) or (Professional) b) Level 5
Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE (Academic) score of 58 with no band score lower than 50
Language Cert - C1 Expert International ESOL Written (LRW) HIGH PASS with no less than 25/50 in each skill and Spoken (S) PASS or C2 Mastery International ESOL Written (LRW) PASS with no less than 25/50 in each skill and Spoken (S) PASS
Trinity ISE- ISE III with no less than pass in any band

* New versions of some NZCEL qualifications, and in some cases new qualifications, were published on 13 June 2017. These are intended to replace pre-existing versions and qualifications, which have been given expiring status until discontinued on 31 December 2019. (a) denotes expiring (b) denotes current

The overall programme of study requires 180 credits for successful completion of the Master of Applied Health Sciences (Wellness and Rehabilitation). In order to be awarded the Master of Applied Health Sciences (Wellness and Rehabilitation), a student must have been credited with all required papers as specified in the programme schedule.

Papers within the Master of Applied Health Sciences (Wellness and Rehabilitation) programme are assessed using a criterion referenced approach. Students will be awarded, as appropriate, a summative grade for each paper that is completed. This grade will be recorded by faculty staff and included in the student’s individual transcript result that is forwarded to students at the conclusion of the academic year.

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