Planning your BA conjoint
Plan the best pathway through your BA conjoint degree.
How many courses to enrol in
Enrol in a total of 135 points each year to finish in four or five years, depending on your programme (135 points is the equivalent of nine 15-point courses). It may be possible to take extra courses in Summer School, or to take only 120 points each year and take one extra semester to complete.
You would normally take four or five BA courses each year. However, the number of BA courses you take in any given year may depend on the demands of your other degree.
Each conjoint combination is different. Your BA enrolment will depend on what you need to do for your other degree and you may not be able to follow the first-year pattern above. Get advice from both faculties and work out how to meet the requirements for both degrees.
Advice for first-year students
In your first year you will usually enrol in a total of nine courses. Unless you have to give priority to courses for your other degree, you should take four or five BA courses.
Choose the two BA subjects which interest you the most and take two courses in each (both subjects should be available as BA majors).
We don’t recommend that first-year students take five courses (75 points) in their first semester at University, as this is too heavy a workload to begin with.
You will most likely need to take the Waipapa Taumata Rau course. You can choose one WTR course from either of your programmes. You should take this course in your first semester.
For your second BA year you can choose one or two subjects to take at Stage II. If you take two subjects at Stage II, you should have a choice of majors and also the option of doing a double major.
BA subjects and courses
The BA conjoint must include 255 points from BA courses. You cannot include courses that are not BA courses; however, you can take 15 points from any University programme as part of your conjoint programme as a whole (unless your programme includes Engineering or Law).
The BA conjoint must include one major subject or two major subjects (a double major). The major for your BA and for your other degree must not be in the same subject.
Stage I courses
You can take Stage I courses after your first year, provided they fit into the degree requirements. You can include up to 90 points at Stage I (six 15-point courses) in your BA conjoint.
Stage II and III courses
Your BA conjoint must include at least 165 points (eleven courses) above Stage I, including at least 75 points (five courses) at Stage III (this includes courses for your major).
Stage II and III courses have prerequisites. As a very general rule, you must have passed two courses at Stage I to enrol in Stage II, and two courses at Stage II to enrol in Stage III.
The Stage III requirement
The overall Stage III requirement (five courses) is two more than you need for a single major (three courses). You may take these fourth and fifth Stage III courses in any BA subject, provided you have the prerequisites.
General Education
You must ensure that your BA conjoint will consist of 255 points and that your conjoint programme as a whole will consist of the points specified in the requirements.
General Education requirements for conjoint programmes
Your conjoint programme as a whole must include 15 points (one course) in General Education. This General Education course will not be taken as part of either component degree. You are not required to complete 15 points in General Education for each component degree, but as part of your conjoint programme.
If you are a new student studying an undergraduate degree with us in 2025 you will most likely need to complete one General Education course and one Waipapa Taumata Rau course.
You should avoid leaving General Education until your final year.
Conjoint programmes with Engineering or Law
If you are in the BA/BE(Hons), BA/LLB or BA/LLB(Hons), you must take the WTR course but do not have a General Education option.
Planning advice for specific conjoints
Note: the major for your BA and for your other degree must not be in the same subject.
Some Management courses are BCom courses and not BA courses. If you want to count a Management course as a BA course, you must ensure that it is included in the BA schedule for Employment Relations and Organisation Studies.
You may not major in both Management in the BCom and Employment Relations and Organisation Studies in the BA. You may not have a major in Economics in both degrees.
Check with the Faculty of Engineering if you want to take Mathematics courses for your BA. You should not take Mathematics courses if their content overlaps with BE courses.
You should not take Social Science for Public Health as a BA major as there are compulsory courses common to both degrees.
In your first year you take two Law courses and six BA courses (a total of 120 points). If you are accepted into Law Part II, consult Student Hubs.
The BA/LLB requires particularly careful planning – consult both faculties before you enrol each year.
You may include up to 30 points from BA Music courses in your BA conjoint. These courses must be chosen from the BA schedule (list of courses) for Music.