Victoria offers inaugural scholarships for new Bachelor of Health degree

Victoria University of Wellington is offering inaugural scholarships to mark the official launch of its new Bachelor of Health degree this week.

NEWS RELEASE: 13 July 2017
The degree programme will begin in 2018 and students enrolling for the first year can apply for a scholarship worth up to $5000.
The three-year degree is non-medical and will give students a foundational understanding of health services, policy and strategy, the social aspects of health and how health issues affect different populations. Students will choose from five majors: Population Health, Policy and Service Delivery; Health Psychology; Health Promotion; Health Informatics; and Health Software Development.
“Our goal is to prepare the next generation of health sector professionals,” says Professor Gregor Coster, Dean of Victoria’s new Faculty of Health. “It’s a superb degree for anyone who wants to make a difference to the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders.
“A huge amount of work has gone into the design and development of this degree and it is exciting to now be able to put the programme in front of students looking to enrol next year,” he says.
“The majors have been chosen to respond to existing and emerging priorities in the health sector, including areas where there are shortages. We’ve had strong support from the health sector for the focus of this degree programme.”
The new faculty draws on expertise from across Victoria University, including the Graduate School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, and the Health Services Research Centre. Professor Coster says the University’s proximity to government and business, coupled with its strengths in public policy, makes it a great place to study health and wellbeing.
“As New Zealand’s capital city university, we have unique access to government departments and agencies, District Health Boards, NGOs, business, science and community groups. We know that there is strong demand in the sector for the kinds of training we will be delivering in this degree programme.”
Graduates are expected to go into areas such as health promotion, management and research, as well as health information technology and software development. The course also has a strong focus on health outcomes for Māori and Pasifika communities.

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

More information about the Bachelor of Health is available here.