Core aspects of Undergraduate Study

All first-year undergraduate students will take our Waipapa Taumata Rau (WTR) course.

Designed to transition you into University life, your Waipapa Taumata Rau course provides knowledge vital to your studies and essential skills (like critical and ethical thinking, effective communication, and the ability to work well with others).

The course teaches you why place matters, introducing you to knowledge associated with the University, the wider city, this country, and its people and history, including Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

Find your Undergraduate programme and enrolment information here.

General Education is a feature of our degree programmes that is unique in New Zealand. It enables you to gain an appreciation of disciplines outside your main field of study and mix with students from across the university. It also exposes you to cross-disciplinary research. 

Most students enrolled in a bachelors degree are required to pass one General Education course as part of their programme.

Learn more about General Education here.

A selection of transdisciplinary courses will be available as a General Education option from 2025.

Transdisciplinary learning focuses on development of the skills and mindsets needed to respond to complex problems. It works on the idea that complex issues can be solved if worked on collectively through collaboration, discussions and co-design.

You can explore the different transdisciplinary learning opportunities here.

In addition to disciplinary knowledge, our undergraduate programmes also contain a set of capabilites that the University wants students to attain while studying. These include sustainability, people and place, knowledge and practice, critical thinking, solution and seeking, communication, collaboration, ethics and professionalism.

Learn more about Graduate profiles here.