SAQA All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.
SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Master of Philosophy in Community Mental Health 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
79314  Master of Philosophy in Community Mental Health 
ORIGINATOR
Stellenbosch University 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education  HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
Master's Degree  Field 09 - Health Sciences and Social Services  Promotive Health and Developmental Services 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  180  Not Applicable  NQF Level 09  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Registered-data under construction  EXCO 0324/24  2024-07-01  2027-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2028-06-30   2031-06-30  

Registered-data under construction

The qualification content is currently being updated for the qualifications with the status “Registered-data under construction” or showing “DETAILS UNDER CONSTRUCTION” to ensure compliance with SAQA’S Policy and Criteria for the registration of qualifications and part-qualifications on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) (As amended, 2022). These qualifications are re-registered until 30 June 2027 and can legitimately be offered by the institutions to which they are registered.

 

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
Purpose:

The programme will help to address the needs of stakeholders such as the national and provincial government and mental health programme, non-governmental organisations and national and provincial clinical and managerial health services (not only mental health facilities) that need to deal with mentally ill patient and their families and their society. Graduates from this program will also have the ability to generate new knowledge in this growing field, as they will have been enabled with excellent research skills.

The call for knowledgeable mental health practitioners and focused facilities is on the increase, and this proposed Master of Philosophy programme will aid both practitioners and the community in addressing this need.

Rationale:

The diagnosis, management and chronic care of mental illnesses have moved from the traditional academic and large mental institutions to care in the community. In South Africa the integration of mental health services into primary and general care is still a process in transition. Providing equitable, integrated mental health services remains a challenge.

Major academic institutions and large mental institutions provide mental health care according to a multi-disciplinary model, i.e. according to medical, psychological and social interventions. As patients are being moved out of large institutions, there is a growing need for the multi-disciplinary team to move services to the community. Mental health service provision poses a number of unique challenges to the mental health care worker. These include integration of services, engagement with families and psycho-social rehabilitation of patients within the community.

This qualification is aimed at mental health care workers who form part of the multi-disciplinary team with the aim, firstly, of providing further training and empowering these professionals to function in the public health system by improving not only clinical skills, but also the conceptual approach to managing the mental health care user. Secondly, the aim is to train mental health care workers in service planning, service-orientated research and evaluation of mental health services. 

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
It is assumed that learners are:
  • Fluent in written and spoken English.
  • Computer Literate.

    Recognition of prior learning:

    The qualification conforms to the University of Stellenbosch's policy regarding Assessment and Recognition of Prior Learning (ARPL). The policy stipulates that the responsibility for implementation of the Assessment and Recognition of Prior Learning resides with the Dean of the Faculty. Assessment and Recognition of Prior Learning policy and practices at departmental level is subject to an in-depth and thorough process of self-evaluation and external peer evaluation as a compulsory requirement in the process of periodical and comprehensive departmental evaluation. The Faculty of Health Sciences has an Assessment and Recognition of Prior Learning policy, to which any application for Recognition of Prior Learning must comply.

    Access to the qualification:

    The qualification is open to all learners who are in possession of one of the following:
  • MBChB.
  • MMed Psychiatry or the exit examination from the College of Psychiatrists, South Africa (FCPsych), which allows the candidate to practice as a psychiatrist.
  • Registration as a professional with the appropriate professional council of South Africa (i.e. HPCSA).
  • At least two or more years' professional experience will be an advantage. 
    		•

    RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
    Y 

    QUALIFICATION RULES 
    All the learning in the qualification is at NQF Level 9. 

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    Exit-Level Outcomes and Associated Assessment Criteria:

    Graduates from this programme will be able to deal with complex issues intelligently, solve problems creatively and be autonomous in their field of specialization in terms of knowledge, skills and understanding.

    Graduates will be able to:

    1. Be an independent learner and will have accepted the responsibility for lifelong continuous professional development.
    2. Perform independent analysis of new data and clinical problems using a wide range of methods and techniques appropriately.
    3. Plan, excecute, interpret and publish research relevant to the discipline.
    4. Integrate the knowledge of social constructions of mental illness into their daily practice.
    5. Lead a multi-disciplinary mental health team.

    Graduates will demonstrate:

    1. Comprehensive knowledge of the structure, nature and functioning of multi-disciplinary mental health teams.
    2. Advanced competency in the management of the above structures according to their designated clinical roles.
    3. Comprehensive knowledge of the social constructions of mental illness and a mature understanding of the influence of these constructions on the development, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of mental illness.
    4. The clinical skills and decision-making abilities necessary for effectively screening patients and managing psychiatric illness as well as special populations in the community.
    5. Thorough knowledge and application of the fundamentals of Ethics as it aplies to community psychiatric care. 

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    Integrated assessment:

    The University of Stellenbosch has a specific policy to ensure high standards in assessment practices. The programme coordinator is responsible for ensuring that staff involved in the programme adhere to the policy and to ensure explicitness, validity and reliability of assessment practices. Module assignments, as well as the thesis, will be assessed by faculty appointed internal and external examiners. The University also employs a system of internal and external moderation of assessment of all Exit Level modules.

    The Senate decision that all programmes be re-evaluated and improved on a yearly basis is implemented at all levels. The programme coordinator is responsible for initiating this process and reports to the faculty's programme committee. The evaluation process includes an internal and external evaluation as well as a self-evaluation process.

    The exit examination is under the auspices of The College of Psychiatrists of South Africa. 

    INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    This qualification complies with the requirements for a masters degree as required internationally in terms of both the carrying out and reporting of research and the developing of appropriate and relevant knowledge to enable the graduate to operate ethically and professionally in the field. 

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    The qualification articulates vertically with a Doctor of Pilosophy. 

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    The policy for External and Internal Moderation regulates the practices and procedures around moderation in programmes. The document "Quality Assurance of learning and teaching programmes at faculty level: Duties and responsibilities of Programme Committee Chairs and Programme Coordinators" spells out the details of these practices.

    Ongoing monitoring and appropriate intervention based on the informal and formal monthly feedback system has been common practice in the Department of Psychiatry for the past 20 years and is firmly based on ethical considerations relevant to clinical practice. Reports from moderators and external examiners are discussed in detail at a series of workshops held by the department of Psychiatry each year. 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    N/A 

    REREGISTRATION HISTORY 
    As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2012; 2015. 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    1. Stellenbosch University 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.