Why Study / Key Benefits

• The Graduate Certificate in Health (GradCertHlth) is a short postgraduate qualification designed to provide foundational health knowledge and skills in a relatively short timeframe.
• It is suitable for professionals wanting targeted health-sector knowledge and for people seeking to enter health-related employment even if they are not currently working in the health industry.
• Students develop knowledge of core health concepts, principles and policy and learn to apply them in different health contexts.
• The programme emphasises culturally safe practice, particularly in relation to M?ori and Pacific communities.
• Students also develop digital communication and health-information technology skills for engaging with diverse communities.
• UC describes postgraduate Health Sciences as covering non-clinical areas such as health education and promotion, policy and decision-making, health information technologies, and public-health intervention.
• The certificate can provide a pathway towards further postgraduate study, including the Graduate Diploma in Health.
• UC currently ranks second in New Zealand for Employer Reputation and Employment Outcomes in the 2027 QS rankings, according to UC's August 2026 update.

Programme Structure and Subjects / Topics

The qualification consists of 60 points.

The current programme page identifies one introductory 15-point course from:

• HLTH101 Introduction to Health Studies
• HLTH106 Te Wero – M?ori Health Issues and Opportunities
• HLTH112 Anatomy and Physiology

The current UC programme page lists the following advanced options:

• HLTH302 Evidence in Health
• HLTH306 Te Kete Hauora – M?ori Health Knowledge and Understandings/Internship
• HLTH307 Human Nutrition Over the Lifespan
• HLTH312 Health Planning, Implementation and Evaluation
• HLTH316 Professional Skills in Mental Health and Addictions I
• HLTH321 Health Internship
• HLTH323 Critical Analysis of Health Education Practices
• HLTH326 Professional Skills in Mental Health and Addictions II
• BIOL351 Cell Biology 2
• GEOG325 Health, Wellbeing and Environment
• HSRV311 Qualitative Research Methods
• PACE390 Professional and Community Engagement Internships
• PSYC330 Forensic Psychology
• PSYC336 Industrial and Organisational Psychology
• PSYC341 Environmental Psychology
• PSYC348 Contemporary Issues in Family Psychology
• PSYC373 Neuroscience and Neurological Disorders
• PSYC374 Health Psychology
• PSYC375 Intermediate Research Methods and Statistics
• PSYC376 Working with People – Introduction to Professional Skills in Psychology
• PSYC378 Psychology of Social Media
• PSYC379 Introduction to Psychopathology
• PSYC380 Risk and Resilience in Human Development
• PSYC381 Applied Neuroscience: Brain Imaging
• PSYC382 Culture and Cognition
• PSYC384 Learning and Behaviour Analysis
• PSYC385 Human Factors: The Forces that Shape Behaviour with Products, Technology, and Systems
• SPCO309 Applied Exercise Physiology
• SPCO343 Performance Nutrition and Recovery Monitoring
• SPRT322 Physical Activity and Wellbeing
• SPRT323 Applied Sport and Exercise Psychology.

Disciplines / Specialisations

There are no formal majors, minors or endorsements in the Graduate Certificate in Health.

Instead, students can build an area of interest through their course choices. Current options span areas such as:

• Health studies
• M?ori health
• Anatomy and physiology
• Health policy and planning
• Health evidence and research
• Mental health and addictions
• Nutrition
• Health and wellbeing
• Psychology
• Public/community health
• Health education
• Environmental health
• Professional and community engagement
• Exercise and sport-related health.

Programme Highlights

• New qualification first offered in 2026.
• 60-point postgraduate qualification.
• Six months full-time.
• Up to two years part-time.
• February or July intake.
• Designed for both existing health-sector professionals and people looking to enter health-related employment.
• Flexible delivery with campus, distance and UC Online course options.
• Strong emphasis on culturally safe practice and M?ori and Pacific health perspectives.
• Combines foundational health learning with advanced interdisciplinary topics.
• Can provide a progression route into the Graduate Diploma in Health.

Career Outcomes

UC states that completing the Graduate Certificate can support entry into the health industry and health-related organisations.

Potential areas supported by the curriculum include:

• Health-sector support and coordination
• Community health organisations
• Health education and promotion
• Health policy and planning
• Health programme support
• Public and population health
• Health information and analysis
• Mental-health and wellbeing-related organisations
• Nutrition and physical-activity settings
• Community and social-service organisations
• Government and local-government health-related roles
• Health research support.

Latest Updates / Special Requirements

• The Graduate Certificate in Health is new in 2026.
• UC's current programme page has expanded the published elective list beyond the shorter list shown in earlier 2026 material. The current page should therefore be used when discussing available course choices.
• The formal regulations require 45 points at 300-level from the Bachelor of Health schedule, so students should not assume every course shown on the programme page will be available in every semester. Prerequisites and actual course offerings must be checked.
• Some courses have prerequisites or restrictions. For example, certain advanced health courses require previous Health, Psychology or other study.
• No formal major, minor or endorsement is available.
• Honours, Merit and Distinction are not awarded for this qualification.
• Students can potentially progress from the Graduate Certificate to the Graduate Diploma in Health, subject to meeting the Graduate Diploma's admission requirements.

International Student Visa Requirements

For an international student studying the programme physically in New Zealand, the relevant visa is generally the New Zealand Fee Paying Student Visa, subject to Immigration New Zealand's assessment.

Current INZ requirements include:

• Offer of Place from an approved education provider.
• Evidence that tuition fees have been paid, can be paid, or are covered by an acceptable scholarship.
• Evidence of sufficient living funds.
• Acceptable medical and travel insurance.
• Good health and character.
• Genuine intention to study in New Zealand.
• Evidence that the student can leave New Zealand at the end of the authorised stay.