Master of Social and Community Work (Applied)

The Master of Social and Community Work (Applied) (MSCW(Applied)) programme is designed for students who already hold a bachelor's degree to attain a qualification that will allow them to become professional social workers. It is also suitable for mid-career social workers who are looking for a recognised professional qualification in social work.

The MSCW(Applied) covers key elements of social work practice: models of practice, family and children, community organisations and policy settings, kaupapa Māori and Indigenous approaches to practice, and research and evaluation skills. Students will also complete two fieldwork placements with social service agencies where they will have the opportunity to learn within a professional setting supervised by a registered social worker.

Every applicant shall:

i. be a graduate, having completed an undergraduate degree programme of at least 360 points in an area considered to be suitable as background for postgraduate study in Social Work;

ii. have achieved an average grade of at least B in the 300-level major-subject papers for the applicant’s undergraduate degree programme;

iii. provide evidence, to the satisfaction of the Social Work Admissions Committee, that the applicant is a fit and proper person to be a social work student.

iv. provide evidence of prior skills or formal training in: Maori language and culture, the Treaty of Waitangi, social issues in New Zealand society, social research methods, and human development.

Note: For applicants who do not meet some of these criteria, the Social Work Admissions Committee can request completion of coursework (e.g. for Certificate of Proficiency at the University of Otago) prior to admission to the programme.

English language requirements

• IELTS (Academic module) (including IELTS Online) - Overall score of 6.5, no individual band below 6.0.
• TOEFL iBT - Overall score of 90 and a writing score of 21.
• C1 Advanced (previously Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)) or C2 Proficiency (previously Cambridge English Proficiency (CPE)) - Overall score of 176 (with no individual band below 169).
• Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic - Overall score of 58 with no communicative skills score below 50.
• Language Cert - International ESOL: C1 Expert (LRWS) with a high pass overall and no less than a pass in each skill OR C2 Mastery (LRWS) with a pass overall and no less than a pass in each skill.
• NZCEL - NZCEL 5 Academic endorsement
• English New Zealand's Accredited Pathway Assessment - Assessment Level 3 (with no skill lower than Level 2).