New Zealand Certificate in Animal Care (Companion Animals) (Level 3)

This course is designed to provide education and training for people wishing to progress to higher levels of tertiary training, or gain employment in animal-related industry sectors, including veterinary practices, animal laboratories, pet shops, kennels, animal welfare agencies, farms and representatives for animal drug companies.

School Leavers

Applicants should be a minimum of 16 years of age, and have attained NCEA Level 2 as follows:

• 60 credits at Level 2 or above, plus 20 credits from any level, and
• Literacy – minimum of 10 credits at Level 1 or above through either specified assessment standards available through a range of subjects and English for Academic Purposes unit standards 22750 and 22751 (minimum total of 10 credits), or unit standards – package of three literacy unit standards (26622, 26624, 26625 – all three required)
• Numeracy – a minimum of 10 credits at Level 1 or above through either achievement standards – specified assessment standards available through a range of subjects (minimum total of 10 credits), or unit standards – package of three numeracy unit standards (26623, 26626, 26627 – all three required)

Mature Applicants

Applicants over the age of 20 years at time of enrolment will be considered where they can demonstrate the ability to succeed in a programme. Examples of demonstration of ability to succeed are the provision of evidence of successful completion of a programme of study at Level 2 or above, and/or employment in the related sector for one or more years. They may be admitted subject to programme regulations approved by the head of faculty in consultation with the programme manager as appropriate. Personal commitment and a belief in one’s own ability to succeed are important personal traits and will always be taken into consideration during the selection process.

English Language Requirements

Applicants, whose first language is not English, or who come from a country where the language of instruction in schools is not English, are required to provide evidence of having achieved one of the following

NCEA Level 3 with University Entrance, or

an International Baccalaureate Diploma or Cambridge A- level qualification for which the teaching and assessment was conducted in English; or

Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA),or Trinity College London Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CertTESOL);or

Successful completion of all primary education (being the equivalent of New Zealand primary school years 1 to 8) and at least three years of secondary education (being the equivalent of three years from New Zealand secondary school years 9 to 13) at schools in either New Zealand,,Australia,Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States one of the countries listed in Rule 18.5 where the student was taught using English as the language of instruction; or

Successful completion of at least five years of secondary education (being the equivalent of New Zealand secondary school years 9 to 13) at schools in either New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States where the student was taught using English as the language of instruction; or

Successful completion of a Bachelor's Degree, Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Bachelor Honours degree, Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, Masters' Degree or Doctoral Degree, the language of instruction of which must be in English and which must be from a tertiary education provider from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom or the United States or

Successful completion of one of the following internationally recognised proficiency tests listed below to the level required of the programme of study and with all scores achieved in a single test during the two years preceding the proposed date of enrolment

IELTS test - General or Academic score of 5 with no band score lower than 5
TOEFL Paper based test (pBT) - Score of 500 (with an essay score of 4 TWE)
TOEFL Internet based test (iBT) - Score of 35 (with a writing score of 14)
Cambridge English Examination - B2 First or B2 First for schools with a score of 154. No less than 154 in each skill.
OET - Minimum of Grade C or 200 in all sub-tests
NZCEL - a) Expiring Level b) Current: a) Level 3 (General) or (Workplace) b) Level 3 (General)
Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE (Academic) score of 36 with no band score lower than 36
Language Cert - B1 Achiever International ESOL Written (LRW) PASS with no less than 25/50 in each skill and Spoken (S) PASS
Trinity ISE - ISE I with no less than distinction in any band

* New versions of some NZCEL qualifications, and in some cases new qualifications, were published on 13 June 2017. These are intended to replace pre-existing versions and qualifications, which have been given expiring status until discontinued on 31 December 2019. (a) denotes expiring (b) denotes current

To satisfactorily complete the New Zealand Certificate in Animal Care (Companion Animals) (Level 3), and be awarded this qualification the student must successfully achieve:

• A minimum of 70 credits in accordance with the Programme schedule for the New Zealand Certificate in Animal Care (Companion Animals) (Level 3).
• The student will normally be expected to complete the New Zealand Certificate in Animal Care (Companion Animals) (Level 3) full-time over six months or part-time over two years.

Please Note: Students failing to engage in study as per programme requirements may forfeit Zero Fees entitlement.

Graduates of this Level 3 Certificate may wish to apply for one of our on-campus Veterinary Nursing programmes.

Monday - Thursday 9am-4pm