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University of Canterbury

Christchurch , Christchurch ,New Zealand

Master of Arts - Child and Family Psychology

The postgraduate Child and Family Psychology programme is unique within New Zealand and taught by academic and clinical staff from the University of Canterbury’s School of Health Sciences with other teaching staff as appropriate.

Our Postgraduate Diploma in Child and Family Psychology was designed to meet market demand for registered psychologists specifically trained to work with children, adolescents and families.

Our programme places a strong emphasis on consideration of strengths and resiliencies as well as challenges and difficulties, all within the context of the child's environment. We focus on children’s mental health and emotional well-being as well as their learning. We also aim to reflect the social and political context of children in Aotearoa (New Zealand) with an appropriate bicultural emphasis. We also include areas such as parenting, adult mental health and relationships in recognition that children and adolescents do not exist in isolation but are part of family and wider community systems.

Campus Information

Ilam Campus

The University has a main campus of 76 hectares (190 acres) at Ilam, a suburb of Christchurch about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the centre of the city.

Intakes

  • Feb Deadline: Dec
  • July Deadline: May

Application Processing Time in Days: 20

Application Process

More Information Required 
14 Days
Possible Interview Call from Institution
0 Days
Provisional/Unconditional Offer 
20 Days
Visa Process
30 Days

Minimum English Language Requirements

English Level Description IELTS (1.0 -9.0) TOEFL IBT (0-120) TOEFL CBT (0-300) PTE (10-90)
Expert 9 120 297-300 86-90
Very Good 8.5 115-119 280-293 83-86
Very Good 8 110-114 270-280 79-83
Good 7.5 102-109 253-267 73-79
Good 7 94-101 240-253 65-73
Competent 6.5 79-93 213-233 58-65
Competent 6 60-78 170-210 50-58
Modest 5.5 46-59 133-210 43-50
Modest 5 35-45 107-133 36-43
Limited 4 32-34 97-103 30-36
Extremely Limited < 4 < 31 < 93 < 30

Job Opportunity Potential

Postgraduate study can bring many career benefits eg, specialist skills and enhanced knowledge, entry into specific occupations, higher starting salary/progression rates, research capability/achievement, and evidence of high academic attainment/self-discipline.

PSW Opportunity

  • During study, all students on a student visa can work up to 20 hours per week during semester and full time during vacations.
  • After completing Level 7 Bachelor’s Degree or Higher Qualification, a student will get a three years open post-study work visa.
  • After completing Level 8 Post Graduate courses of 1 year, students get 1 year PSW.

Admission Requirement / Eligibility Criteria

Academic entry requirements

Students must have qualified for an Aotearoa New Zealand bachelor's degree (or be entitled to enrol for the MA with other qualifications of an equivalent standard).

You must also satisfy the prerequisites for a major subject. Prerequisites vary between departments, but normally good grades in 300-level courses in the subject is required.

If you do not meet the prerequisites in your chosen subject, you may be able to complete a qualifying course, or substitute relevant professional practice or other work experience that satisfies your ability to pursue postgraduate-level studies in that subject.