Open main menu Close main menu

Menu

Study social work today

Master of Applied Practice (Social Practice)

Our Applied Practice suite is designed to help social workers, counsellors, and community development practitioners advance their skills in a variety of social practice situations. Further your ability to work with individuals, whānau, and communities, and transform your practice in ways that enhance social justice and reduce inequalities for communities.

Level
9
Credits
180 (1.5 EFTS)
Campus
Waitākere
Start dates
February or July
Duration
Full-time for 18 months or part-time for two to six years

Programme overview

Please note: This programme does not lead directly to professional registration. It's designed primarily for qualified and registered professionals who are currently working in the sector in various disciplines, including social work, counselling, community development, and other allied fields.

Develop your ability to work cross-sector in complex environments within the Aotearoa New Zealand's treaty partnership and wider cultural contexts, and advance your decision-making, problem-solving, and research skills. Extend your knowledge in a specialist area of social practice and enhance your career prospects while adding value to your organisation, community, and beyond.

Highlights

  • Advance your practice and contribute to your profession by completing work-relevant research and projects as part of your studies.
  • Ideal for those with practice-based skills who want to develop their management or workforce development competencies or validate their practice skills and ideas through research.
  • Taught by highly experienced lecturers with roles in the community and national organisations.
  • Graduates will likely find higher-level social practice roles or progress to study further.
  • Places community engagement and understanding at the heart of research through Te Tiriti o Waitangi and indigenous approaches.
  • Flexibility: choose full- or part-time study to fit in with your professional practice.
  • Fast-track options into thesis work for students with undergraduate degrees that have a strong social practice component at an advanced level. 
  • Various scholarship options available.

Postgraduate option

You also have the option of starting with our Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Practice (1 semester full-time, 1 year part-time). Once completed, you can then move into the Masters programme. 

Admission requirements

What you will need to study this programme. 


Domestic students

Academic requirements

You must have completed at least one of the following:

  • A Bachelor's degree or Level 7 Graduate Diploma in the same or similar discipline;
  • Provide documentary evidence of outcomes in the social work, community development, or counselling work environment to demonstrate an ability to perform in the programme and commit to achieving its outcomes;
And meet one of the English entry requirements;

Non-Academic requirements

  • A phone or face-to-face interview may be required as part of the application process.

Don’t meet these Academic requirements?

For more information, download the programme regulations (PDF 501 KB)


International students

Academic requirements 

You must have completed at least one of the following:

  • A Bachelor's degree or Level 7 Graduate Diploma in the same or similar discipline;
  • Provide documentary evidence of outcomes in the social work, community development, or counselling work environment to demonstrate an ability to perform in the programme and commit to achieving its outcomes;

And English entry requirements;

​If English is not your first language, you will also need at least one of the following qualifications:

Non-Academic requirements

  • A phone or face-to-face interview may be required as part of the application process.

Don’t meet these Academic requirements?

For more information, download the programme regulations (PDF 501 KB)

Courses and timetables

For more details on the courses, please click on the course names below. Please note that our systems are updating with new course timetable information for 2025; please check back again soon.

Courses Credits Aim
Applying Research to Practice (CISC8000) 15 credits (0.125 EFTS) To enable students to critically examine and contextualise practice and develop a critical understanding of how indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness, society, ethics, environment and law inform practice.
Community Informed Applied Research (CISC8001) 15 credits (0.125 EFTS) To develop the student to be able to critically examine and evaluate a body of literature in relation to a practice/work-based issue to arrive at a relevant and informed research question(s) and to contextualise and understand the relevance of this question to practice and the wider community
Applied Research Proposal (CISC8002) 15 credits (0.125 EFTS) Enable a student to engage industry and community relevant to discipline and then begin to create feasible and well-defined research questions as well as determine the most appropriate research method or range of methods to address these research questions.
Courses Credits Aim
Comparative Critical Reading (CISC8012) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) To critically analyse literature on a selected topic or specialist area through the comparative critical reading of texts. Students will engage with existing theory and practice in a given field to enable them to position their study within a body of knowledge.
Courses Credits Aim
Research Project (CISC9045) 45 credits (0.375 EFTS) To enable students to undertake a consultation project that identifies knowledge gaps and significant challenges faced by communities, professional bodies and/or industry; and to identify future priorities through robust and authentic engagement with appropriate communities, professional bodies and/or industries.
Research Dissertation (CISC9060) 60.0 credits (0.5 EFTS) To develop a student’s ability to undertake a dissertation or relevant output probably work-based, and will provide an opportunity for collaboration.
Research Thesis (CISC9090) 90.0 credits (0.75 EFTS) To develop a student’s ability to undertake a thesis or relevant output probably work-based, and will provide an opportunity for collaboration.
Research Thesis (Extended) (CISC9120) 120.0 credits (1 EFTS) To develop a student’s ability to undertake a thesis or relevant output probably work-based, and will provide an opportunity for collaboration.