New Victoria University qualification for careers in health and wellbeing

Victoria University of Wellington has launched a Bachelor of Health degree aimed at producing skilled graduates for existing and emerging jobs in the wider health sector. The three-year degree programme begins in 2018. This non-medical degree offers students the chance to make a difference to people’s lives and to become leaders in the field of health. It’s led by passionate teachers and researchers from across the University and has strong support from health-sector leaders.

The Bachelor of Health (BHlth) will give students a foundational understanding of health services, policy and strategy, the social aspects of health and how health issues affect populations in New Zealand and beyond. It provides options to focus on health psychology, digital technology and health software development.

The Bachelor of Health has five majors to choose from, allowing students to hone their interests and take advantage of other courses offered at Victoria such as Education, Psychology and Public Policy.

Students enrolling in the first year in 2018 can apply for a scholarship of up to $5000.

This degree opens the door to a range of potential roles such as health promotion practitioner, health researcher, health software developer or information manager, to name a few.

There’s strong demand for people with such degrees in government agencies, local and regional councils and district health boards; in iwi authorities and Pacific Island development agencies; and in private-sector health organisations. They need people who can see the big picture and can use their skills to ensure New Zealand’s future is a healthy one.

Debbie Chin, chief executive of Capital and Coast District Health Board says, “With New Zealand’s growing population and demographic changes, emerging fields of health research such as health informatics, information systems and health psychology are becoming increasingly valuable. We want to ensure that we are arming future medical professionals with the skills and knowledge to deliver flexible and positive health outcomes for our communities into the future.”

The director of research for Orion Health, Kevin Ross, says health is going through a revolution enabled by data and software. “We need a highly skilled workforce that can supplement its health knowledge with the insights from data analysis, ultimately designing better systems and policies for better health delivery and management.”

With Wellington at the heart of New Zealand and the seat of government, Victoria is a great place to study health and wellbeing and make a real difference to health outcomes in New Zealand and internationally.

The Faculty of Health is developing a range of new postgraduate Health qualifications that will be available from 2019. There will also be pathways to other postgraduate programmes such as the Master of Public Policy and Bachelor of Commerce with Honours in Information Systems.

“With New Zealand’s growing population and demographic changes, emerging fields of health research such as health informatics, information systems and health psychology are becoming increasingly valuable.” Debbie Chin, chief executive of Capital and Coast District Health Board