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Academics

Fields of Study: Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences and Engineering

Attend the same classes as University of Waikato students, choosing from a wide range of disciplines. The University of Waikato ranks top in the nation in the following: Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour; Molecular, Cellular and Whole Organism Biology; Music, Literary Arts and Other Arts; Communications, Journalism and Media Studies; Education; Accounting & Finance; Chemistry; Computer Science, Information Technology, Information Sciences; Management, Human Resources, Industrial Relations and Business; Pure and Applied Mathematics.​

Unique study opportunities

  • Take courses in Maori language, performance and culture.
  • Enroll in a Science Capstone course at the Hamilton or beach side Tauranga campus and complete an interdisciplinary group project on a topic of relevance to the science community.

Language

Language of Instruction: English

Language Study: Optional

Additional foreign language study is available. Check the university course catalog.

Courses and credit

Requirements While Abroad

To successfully complete this program:

  • Take a full-time course of study: At least 21 quarter/14 semester UC units each semester.
  • You may take one course per semester for pass/no pass credit. 

Current Program Courses

Before you enroll in courses, review the calendar, restrictions, and prerequisites for all courses to ensure success.

Course Numbers and Division
Class codes are made up of letters (representing the discipline area) and numbers (representing the year level). First-year level New Zealand courses (where the numerical portion of the code begins with ‘1’) will be assigned lower-division UC credit, while second- and third-year level courses (where the numerical portion of the code begins with ‘2’ or ‘3’) will be assigned upper-division UC credit. 

Graduate courses are not open to UCEAP undergraduates.

Catalogs and resources

  • University of Waikato Course Catalog: Browse undergraduate course offerings (called papers) in Trimester A (spring) and Trimester B (fall).
  • New Zealand Universities Comparison Chart: Compare the University of Waikato with other New Zealand immersion programs available through UCEAP.
  • UCEAP Course Catalog: See a list of courses students have taken on this program. This is not a current representation of course offerings on this program. Reference the above links to review recent course offerings. 
  • Campus Credit Abroad: Learn the types of credit (major, minor, general education, elective) students from your campus received at this location.

Academic Culture

To help you acclimate to New Zealand campus life and culture, there are a few key differences and similarities with UC to be aware of:

  • The New Zealand semester is longer and has a slower pace than the UC semester or quarter.
  • Students address local lecturers and tutors informally by their first name.
  • Similar to UC, the main forms of teaching are lectures (50-500+ students), tutorials (10-25 students), seminars (30+ students; half lecture, half tutorial), and labs/practicals.
  • All lectures are recorded—beware of waiting until the last minute to watch them. In New Zealand, students are expected to be independent and show initiative. Instructors won't chase you up if you miss classes or assignments.
  • Assignments tend to require heavy research and critical analysis.
  • You’ll need to use New Zealand English for assignments.

Grades

You will earn direct UC credit and grades for all coursework. New Zealand university grades are criterion-referenced rather than norm-referenced (curved). This means that your performance on an assignment will be prepared to a predefined standard, not to the performance of your classmates. Your lecturer will advise you of this standard via grading rubric.

Grades for the fall semester are typically available in December. Grades for the spring semester are typically available in August. Requests for early grades cannot be accommodated.