Why Study / Key Benefits

The Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and Guidance Studies (PGDipCounGuidSt) at Massey University is a 120-credit, NZQF Level 8 postgraduate qualification focused on developing advanced conceptual knowledge of counselling and guidance practice, helping skills, human-service contexts, and research-informed practice. Massey describes it as particularly suitable for graduates already working in human services or people who want to develop professional capabilities in counselling and guidance.

Key benefits include:

• Develops advanced knowledge of counselling and guidance theories and practice.
• Covers counselling in family, couples, cultural, educational, child and adolescent contexts.
• Develops the ability to critically engage with research relevant to helping and human-service settings.
• Provides a theoretical foundation for Massey's Master of Counselling.
• Can be studied by international students online from outside New Zealand.
• Can be completed in one year full-time or over a longer period part-time.
• Provides relevant academic development for people already working in helping or human-service roles.

Programme Structure and Subjects / Topics

The current qualification requires 120 credits from the following 30-credit courses. The programme page presents these as the compulsory-course selection from which the 120 credits are completed.

1. 253741 Working with Children and Adolescents – 30 credits

This course examines ethical, legal, developmental and systemic factors affecting child and adolescent wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand. It also covers theoretical frameworks and practices relevant to counselling and guidance with children and adolescents.

2. 253750 Counselling Theory – 30 credits

This course examines the theoretical foundations of counselling, including counselling's place in society, philosophical foundations, empirical status, major principles and selected counselling approaches.

3. 253754 Family and Couples Counselling – 30 credits

This course examines theoretical approaches to counselling families and couples, including concepts of family and couple relationships, systems theory and counselling processes.

4. 253755 Culture and Counselling – 30 credits

This course examines the significance of culture in counselling, using a multicultural perspective with particular attention to the Aotearoa New Zealand context.

Disciplines / Specialisations

The qualification is awarded without a specialisation. This is explicitly stated in Massey's qualification regulations.

Although there is no formal specialisation, the four courses provide study across several counselling and guidance areas:

• Counselling theory
• Child and adolescent counselling and guidance
• Family and couples counselling
• Culture and multicultural counselling
• Human services and helping skills
• Guidance and wellbeing.

Programme Highlights

Important features of the current programme include:

• NZQF Level 8 postgraduate qualification.
• 120 credits.
• One-year full-time study option.
• Part-time study option.
• Distance and online delivery.
• Open to international students studying online from outside New Zealand.
• Normally starts in Semester One.
• Four 30-credit courses make up the current 120-credit course schedule.
• No formal specialisation.
• Academic rather than professional counselling qualification.
• Strong theoretical foundation for further study in the Master of Counselling.
• Covers counselling theory, children and adolescents, family and couples, and culture.
• Research-informed critical thinking is part of the programme.

Career Outcomes

Massey states that graduates with the postgraduate diploma normally work as helping professionals or use the qualification to add counselling and guidance knowledge to an existing role.

Potential areas where the knowledge may be relevant include:

• Human services
• Community services
• Education and student-support environments
• Guidance-related roles
• Family and community support
• Helping-professional roles
• Existing counselling/guidance responsibilities within professional employment.

Latest Updates / Special Requirements

The most important current programme-specific point is that PGDipCounGuidSt is not itself a professional counselling credential. Students should not describe completion of this diploma alone as qualifying them to practise as a counsellor.

Other important requirements and conditions are:

• A relevant bachelor's degree or equivalent is required.
• Official transcripts from other universities must be supplied.
• Massey's English-language requirements apply.
• The programme is normally commenced in February because the core courses are double-semester courses ending in October.
• Students seeking progression to the Master of Counselling need at least a B-grade average in the PGDipCounGuidSt and must undergo the separate selection process.
• The Master of Counselling has additional professional and suitability requirements.

International Student Visa Requirements

The PGDipCounGuidSt is currently offered online and is explicitly open to international students studying from outside New Zealand. Therefore, an international student who remains overseas for the programme does not normally need a New Zealand student visa simply to undertake the online programme.

If a student intends to undertake study physically in New Zealand, the applicable immigration requirements must be checked with Immigration New Zealand. The relevant visa for a standard fee-paying international student is generally the Fee Paying Student Visa.

Current Immigration New Zealand requirements include:

• Offer of place from an approved education provider.
• Evidence of sufficient funds to pay tuition fees or evidence of an applicable scholarship.
• Evidence of sufficient living funds or an acceptable sponsor.
• Acceptable medical and travel insurance.
• Meeting health and character requirements.
• Demonstrating a genuine reason for coming to New Zealand to study.
• Evidence that the student can leave New Zealand at the end of their stay