New Zealand has an internaional reputation as a provider of quality education. The country offers a safe learning environment which provides excellent study opportunities and support services for international students. Courses are available in academic, professional and vocational studies at universities, polytechnics and institutes of technology, colleges of education (teacher training), Wananga, private education providers and secondary schools.

Before starting their studies at a New Zealand university, many international students enrol for courses at a New Zealand secondary school, polytechnic or private education establishment. Some of the country's universities also offer foundation courses which give international students the oppotunity to bring their English language skills and academic performance up to university entrance standard. Courses which focus solely on English language are also available.

New Zealand secondary schools provide a broad education for students, generally aged from 13 to 18 years. Most schools are established and funded by the New Zealand Government but there are a number of secondary schools with special philosophical or religious traditions. These receive limited state funding. All schools prepare students for state examinations and are subject to stringent quality assurance assessments. During their final year of study (usually at age 17 or 18), students may sit for a university entrance examination.

Twenty-one tertiary education instiutions, which are known as polytechnics or, in some cases, institutes of technology, from the New Zealand polytechnic system. These institutions are state funded and provide education and training at many levels, from intoductory studies to full degree programmes. Most universities have agreements which recognise the sucessful completion of a course of study at a New Zealand polytechnic or institute of technology as an entrance qualification. Some students are able to enter a university course of study with credit towards their chosen degree programme.

There is an increasing number of private tertiary institutes and training establishments in New Zealand. These providers offer a wide range of courses including English language study options. International students often enrol in these courses either to improve their English language prior to commencing university study or to pass examinations required for university entrance.

Code of Practice

A Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students that ensures all education providers protect the welfare of their international students will come into force in 2002. Only signatories to the code will be allowed to enrol international students. New Zealand's universities have agreed to be bound by the Code.

Ensuring that education providers act fairly and reasonably when recruiting students, the Code will give prospective students confidence that they can trust the institution that they choose to enrol in.

Copies of the Code are available on request from the universities or from the New Zealand Ministry of Education website at www.minedu.govt.nz

Universities in New Zealand

University education was established in New Zealand in 1870 and has a similar tradition to the British university system. There are eight state-funded universities in New Zealand, all of them internationally respected for their academic and research performance. In addition to a centrally co-ordinated system of quality assurance audits at both institution and programme level, each university undertakes internal quality checks.

All New Zealand universities offer a broad range of subjects in Arts, Commerce and Science. Each has developed its own specialist subjects such as Medicine, Engineering, Veterinary Science, Computer Studies, Agriculture and Environmental Studies.

Composition of University Degrees

Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral degrees are offered by all New Zealand universities. A range of undergraduate and postgraduate diplomas is also available, along with honours programmes (usually requiring an additional year of study)

Undergraduate Study in New Zealand

At most New Zealand universities the course of study for a Bachelor's degree consists of a prescribed number of units, papers or courses. In each subject there are usually first-year (stage 1 or 100-level), second-year (stage 2 or 200 level) and third-year (stage 3 or 300 level) Courses. A second-year courses may be commenced only after prescribed passes in the subject at stage 1 and a third-year course only after required passes in the subject at stage 2.

In each subject the student is required to attend a given number of lectures, tutorials and/or laboratory periods per week. In some courses field trips provide opportunities for on-site study of natural phenomena or social processes. These learning contacts are supplemented by personal reading and research. Students are expected to develop independent study skills with a minimum of professional supervision.

Grades given in tests, assignments and pracical work count towards the final grade for a course. Most courses have a final written examination held either at mid-year (June) or the end of the academic year (October/November).

Postgraduate Study In New Zealand

The first degree a student is able to gain in New Zealand is as elsewhere, a Bachelor's degree. With a completed Bachelor's degree, a graduate may be able to go on to a Master's degree. These degrees may be awarded with Honours, an indication both of the challenge the course presents and of the student's achievement in it.