Discretionary Entrance applicants
If you are under 20, a New Zealand or Australian citizen or permanent resident, and do not hold a University Entrance qualification, you can apply for admission by Discretionary Entrance.
You must have gained National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 2 or higher, and exceptional results in Year 12. You will be assessed on your academic background and a recommendation from your school principal. If you have been away from school for one term or longer you will be interviewed by a course adviser from the University’s Schools and Community Engagement Team. You must display a high level of motivation and maturity.
Australian applicants’ most recent year of schooling must have been in New Zealand. Discretionary Entrance is not available to international students.
If you have undertaken Year 13 study beyond 1 June in any year, you cannot apply in that year, but may be considered for mid-year admission the following year.
Entry requirements
You must meet the University Entrance Standards for literacy and numeracy, Literacy - 10 credits at Level 2 or above*, made up of,
- 5 credits in reading
- 5 credits in writing
Numeracy - 10 credits at Level 1 or above*, made up of:
- Achievement standards – specified achievement standards available through a range of subjects, or
- Unit standards - package of three numeracy unit standards (26623, 26626, 26627- all three required).
*For Level 1, 2 and 3 standards that contribute to University Entrance requirements, visit NZQA's NCEA page.
You must sit a minimum of 4 subjects based on the NZQA list of subjects approved for University Entrance, (there are some minor differences in subject names between the list and those offered in Level 2 NCEA). The list is available from the careers adviser at your school, or from NZQA.
For more information, please visit NZQA's NCEA page.
You must also meet the subject requirements of your chosen programme, as listed in the Discretionary Entrance: Subject, credit and other requirements table below. You must attain Merit and Excellence grades for the majority of credits across all your level two subjects. For entrance to some programmes, you need to have completed certain subjects.
Discretionary Entrance: Subject, credit and other requirements 2025
| Programme | Credits | Subject and credit requirements (Tables A and B are included above) |
Other requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor of Arts (BA) | 80 | - | - |
| Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) | 80 | - | - |
| Bachelor of Communication (BCM) | 80 | - | - |
| Bachelor of Dance Studies (BDanceSt) | 80 | - | Subject to the qualitative evaluation of an audition* |
| Bachelor of Design | 80 | - | - |
| Bachelor of Education (Teaching) (BEd(Tchg)) | 80 | - | Subject to satisfactory interview, police check, safety checks and referees' reports. (You may also be required to sit literacy, numeracy and IELTS assessments.) |
| Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) | 80 | - | - |
| Bachelor of Global Studies (BGlobalSt) |
80 | 16 credits in each of three subjects from the NCEA approved subject list. Study of an additional language is encouraged. | - |
| Bachelor of Laws (LLB (Part I)) | 80 | - | Students will be selected into Part II on the basis of their results in both their Part I Law courses and their non-Law courses (Law GPA). |
| Bachelor of Music (BMus) | 80 | Minimum 16 NCEA credits in Music. | Subject to the qualitative evaluation of:
|
| Bachelor of Property (BProp) | 80 | - | - |
| Bachelor of Science (BSc) | 80 | - | - |
| Bachelor of Sport, Health and Physical Education (BSportHPE) | 80 | - | - |
The Bachelor of Architectural Studies (BAS), Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (BE(Hons)), Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc), Bachelor of Nursing (BNurs), and Bachelor of Urban Planning (Honours) (BUrbPlan(Hons)) programmes do not accept Discretionary Entrance applicants.
* An audition or workshop/interview can include evaluations of one or more recorded and/or live performance elements. For more information, please see:
Contact
Phone: +64 923 5025 (within Auckland)
Phone: 0800 61 62 63 (outside Auckland)
Phone: +64 9 373 7513 (from overseas)
Email: admission@auckland.ac.nz