Postgraduate Specialist Study Programme Title: Specialist University Study Programme in Mental Health of the Family, Child, and Youth in the Community
Academic Domain: 7.0. Interdisciplinary Academic Domain
Academic Field: 7.01. Educational Sciences
Programme Duration: 3 semesters
Academic Title Awarded: Specialist Counsellor for Families, Children, and Youth (spec. educ.)
Programme Head: Prof. Tajana Ljubin Golub, PhD
(e-mail): tajana.ljubingolub@ufzg.unizg.hr
Deputy Programme Head: Prof. Jasna Kudek Mirošević, PhD
(e-mail): jasna.kudek@ufzg.unizg.hr
Postgraduate Specialist Programme Council:
- Prof. Tajana Ljubin Golub, PhD, Programme Head
- Prof. Jasna Kudek Mirošević, PhD, Deputy Programme Head
- Prof. Blaženka Filipan-Žignić, PhD, Member
- Prof. Emer. Majda Rijavec, PhD, Member
- Assoc. Prof. Tamara Jurkić Sviben, PhD, Member
The Postgraduate Specialist University Programme in Mental Health of the Family, Child, and Youth in the Community is designed to equip candidates with the competencies to identify underlying difficulties and to provide guidance and counselling to families, children, and youth. The overarching objective is the safeguarding of mental health and the prevention of illness, aligned with the World Health Organisation’s framework for primary prevention of mental health, as well as the mitigation of various forms of social deviance. The programme is based on a developmental approach to children and young people, integrating humanistic and holistic frameworks. Given the specific dynamics of the family unit, the training emphasises understanding the needs and developmental stages of children and youth, and addressing these requirements within the family context through familial support. Candidates acquire the requisite knowledge, values, attitudes, and skills to comprehend and support the psychological needs of children, youth, and families, thereby ensuring their health, psychological well-being, development, and learning. The primary focus rests on brief counselling interventions and preventive measures for individuals without severe psychiatric disorders, targeting the cultivation of psychological well-being and resilience.
During the first and second semesters, candidates undertake compulsory modules (five modules per semester), accumulating 30 ECTS credits per semester. In the third semester, candidates enrol in three elective modules and culminate their studies by authoring a postgraduate specialist dissertation, which carries 15 ECTS credits. This dissertation constitutes a professional paper or a research paper wherein the candidate demonstrates mastery of the curriculum and the capacity to autonomously investigate a selected theoretical or practical problem within the field of study.
Admission Requirements:
Completion of a pre-Bologna undergraduate or a graduate university study programme in social work, medicine, psychology, educational rehabilitation, theology, sociology, pedagogy, teacher education, criminalistics, or other domains within the social sciences and humanities. Applicants must hold a minimum of 300 ECTS credits and possess at least two years of relevant professional experience.
Tuition Fees per Semester: €1,659.04