Massey University
Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington is part of Massey University. The roots go back to 1886 with the founding of the Wellington School of Design, making us Aotearoa New Zealand’s oldest creative arts school. The school also offers Aotearoa New Zealand’s most comprehensive range of creative arts degrees across our three schools: Ngā Pae Māhutonga Wellington School of Design; Whiti o Rehua School of Art and Te Rewa o Puanga School of Music and Screen Arts, with world-class facilities underpinning our internationally acclaimed degrees in Design, Māori Visual Arts, Fine Arts, Commercial Music and Screen Arts. In a first for Aotearoa tertiary education, Toi Rauwahairangi also offers a Mātauranga Toi Māori major, which engages te ao Māori within a creative practice pathway.
With an excellent reputation for innovative creative arts research and practice, Toi Rauwhārangi ranked 1st for design and visual art research in the most recent New Zealand government Performance Based Research Funding round, and placed 2nd in the Asia and Pacific region in the 2024 Red Dot Design Ranking (our 10th consecutive year the in the top three and the only NZ school to feature in the top 5). We are the top-ranked art and design school in New Zealand in the international QS rankings.
Undergraduate study
At undergraduate level we offer our well-established and industry recognised four year honours degrees—BDes (hons); BFA (hons); BSA (hons) and CCM (Hons)—with an optional three year degree exit point. You can also transition from our undergraduate degree straight into a postgraduate Masters degree at year four.
In Design we offer specialisms in visual communication design (including pathways in graphic design, illustration, interaction design, branding, experience design and typography); spatial design; industrial and product design; concept design; photography; textile design; fashion design and an innovative integrated design major that allows the combination of two design majors creating an interdisciplinary approach to practice. Our Commercial Music and Screen Arts majors include music technology; music practice; music industry; factual and documentary production; film production; game development; visual effects; animation and immersive media.
Postgraduate study
At the Masters level, your study can be strongly disciplinary-focussed or span fields and knowledge systems. We offer 12-18 month Master of Design, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Commercial Music and Master of Screen Arts as 180 credit programmes, where the first 60 credits of your learning includes taught components (studio, research methodologies, and an elective of your choosing), followed by a 120 credit thesis to develop and showcase your creative practice research. We also offer a 2-year Master of Māori Visual Arts, and a PhD programme in which you will develop a sustained piece of advanced research work in a creative arts discipline. Find out more at https://creative.massey.ac.nz/postgraduate/.
University of Auckland
The practice of design has dramatically evolved in response to emerging technologies and the growing need for industries to respond to a rapidly changing world. Across all business sectors, employers seek designers who can create solutions to complex problems – through creative making, entrepreneurial thinking and consideration of all potential outcomes. There’s a wealth of opportunity for skilled designers in business, health, science, art, entertainment, manufacturing and other industries. By studying Design with the University of Auckland, you’ll become adept with new techniques, tools and methods. You’ll imagine, create and test solutions for both immediate and future scenarios. You’ll engage with real projects in partnership with both peers and industry professionals. In this way you’ll create positive change in local, communal and global contexts. Our studio-based learning environment, fully-equipped workshop and digital resources will help you to bring your ideas to life.
The Design Programme at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland, sits within the Faculty of Engineering and Design.
Bachelor of Design (BDes)
Studying a Bachelor of Design at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland, involves exploring new technologies, creative methods, and real-world challenges. You’ll design with people and for impact, contributing to innovation, equity, and sustainable futures. This degree suits those who enjoy collaboration, critical thinking, and developing design solutions that address complex social, ethical, cultural, and environmental challenges. Through real-world project briefs and studio-based learning, you’ll experiment with making, prototyping, and co-design. You’ll explore how design affects social, environmental, political, and cultural systems, using both digital tools and material practices. You’ll learn from leading researchers and industry specialists working across design, technology, sustainability, and social innovation. The BDes can also be studied as a conjoint degree, letting you combine design with Arts, Commerce, Engineering (Honours), or Science to broaden your career opportunities and impact.
Master of Design (MDes)
The Master of Design provides you with the means to navigate, engage with and design in a variety of professional contexts; for-profit, non-profit and governmental, bringing both theoretical and practical skills to bear on today’s most significant problems. The goal of the MDes is to enhance your employability. With the critical thought and practice that comes from postgraduate study, you’ll be well positioned to lead projects as a strategist and practitioner. You’ll have a strong working knowledge of current technologies and the ability to adapt to those which emerge. You’ll have a multidisciplinary mindset, able to frame issues from a social and economic standpoint, and be capable of customising and applying your skills to any employer’s needs. With live projects and current industry professionals contributing to your learning, the networks developed in the MDes will leave you well-placed to contribute design solutions locally and globally.
PhD in Design
Our research centres on the role of design in sustainable innovation at the complex intersection of socio-technical-ecological systems. Our focus areas include global challenges, emerging technologies, local community practices, and business. We offer two pathways for doctoral study: a traditional PhD by thesis, and a PhD by thesis with a creative practice component. The traditional PhD by thesis is a formal piece of advanced research, with a final examined thesis of up to 100,000 words. The PhD by thesis with creative practice component allows you to submit an exhibition, design or performance as examinable work alongside a thesis of up to 60,000 words.
Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
At Te Herenga Waka, Design is about innovation. While developing the skills and knowledge that industry currently demands, you’ll also be pushing the limits and forging the future of design practice.
Undergraduate:
The Bachelor of Design Innovation (BDI) is a three-year undergraduate degree designed to prepare you for a career in one of the many expanding design-related industries. During studio classes and seminars your teachers will show you how to take an experimental approach to design that encourages creative and thoughtful design solutions. You’ll major in one of eight areas—Animation and Visual Effects, Communication Design, Design for Social Innovation, Fashion Design Technology, Game Design, Industrial Design, Interaction Design or Media Design. A feature of this degree is that it’s cross-disciplinary, meaning you’ll be encouraged to study and work with subject areas outside Design. This will make sure you gain a thorough grounding in design and its connections with the real world.
Postgraduate:
Master of Design (MDes): Advance your knowledge in the area of design that interests you, and enhance your theoretical and practical design expertise. Master of Design is a research degree for students who already have a solid understanding of design research methodology.
Master of Design Innovation (MDI): Expand on your Bachelor’s degree and get a head start in your career with advanced study and research in design. Master of Design Innovation is ideal for students interested in independent research—in the form of a research portfolio—and some coursework, that aims to change the status quo of design through disruptive or breakthrough innovation. Students can choose the area of research and design from our list of available disiplines so you can choose the area of research and design that interests you.
Master of Design Technology (MDT): Become an expert in digital technologies so you can tell stories with visual effects (VFX), gaming, animation, or extended reality (XR). Master of Design Technology is an intensive coursework-based programme and ideal for students holding a Bachelor’s degree in design who are looking to up-skill with advanced techniques and high-tech professional practice.
Master of Fine Arts (Creative Practice) in Design Visual Narrative (MFA CP): Master the art of visual storytelling and explore the expressive possibilities of narrative through design. The MFA(CP) in Design Visual Narrative is ideal for those passionate about comics, hybrid literature, narrative games, concept art, production design, and tabletop role-playing games. This programme combines coursework and creative practice, developing your storytelling chops in the visual medium of your choice. Collaborate with students from film, theatre, music, or animation and visual effects. Author a final creative work with the help of award-winning faculty staff. The MFA(CP) in Design Visual Narrative is your portal to envisioning the stories of tomorrow.
Master of User Experience Design (MUXD): Boost your skills in how people interact and experience products and services. These experiences could be on a screen, like a website or an app, or in a physical space, like wayfinding in a museum. The Master of User Experience Design is a conversion degree with some coursework. It is aimed at industry professionals and recent graduates, you don’t have to have an undergraduate Design degree to apply.
PhD in Design: The Doctor of Philosophy at Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Design Innovation focuses on a thesis that produces an original body of research that expands the design discipline. Students work closely with two supervisors on largely independently driven work. Typically on-site, the PhD may be studied by distance in suitable cases.
Unitec
For the last 25 years Unitec has offered a learning experience for designers that has propelled our graduates to national and international acclaim. Within Unitec’s Design and Contemporary Arts department, students are immersed in an evidence-based programme that links the facilities of the hand, the eye, and the brain, with industry experts, real world projects, and entrepreneurial conceptualization. Through our intimate cohort sizes, we prepare our graduates for the professional world on a one-to-one basis, ensuring that each graduate outcome is specifically and uniquely crafted to each student. We provide ample learning spaces and access to cutting-edge production technologies in realising each students’ creative intentions.
Bachelor; The Bachelor of Creative Enterprise is a recent qualification that balances creative drive with commercial sensibilities. The Graphic Design stream within this qualification allows each student to pursue their own strengths through a combination of reflective practice and the latest in Design Thinking methods. This empowers our students to ideate and resolve solutions within the framesets of culture, environment, and people. The Bachelor of Creative Enterprise enables students to specialise within the practices of interactive, animated, and traditional graphic design as well as generalise as a graphic all-rounder.
Postgraduate; Within our Post Graduate programme we offer a year-long Diploma of Creative Practice and an 18-month Master of Creative Practice. Students are led on individual research-based projects as well as group taught components that cover research methodologies and critical comparative reading.
Unitec Graduates; Our recent Graduate Evandah Steadman said “The thing I liked about Unitec was – Yes, there are smaller classes, but it means there are more real-world opportunities per person. I took hold of every opportunity, and with the mentorship of my tutors I came out with a solid understanding of design, my own process, and real-world experience that I wouldn’t of had anywhere else.” Learn more about another of our recent graduates in this Hot New Things Feature
Otago Polytechnic School of Design
Study one of the School of Design’s acclaimed design programmes and become an industry-ready, creative designer with great prospects for a successful career. Designers find innovative solutions to material, social and ecological problems. We are creative, confident and contribute to change. Immerse yourself in an innovative and supportive environment which allows you to engage in real-world projects, develop your individual voice as a designer and learn how to work in a design team. Take advantage of our strong international relationships, award-winning teaching expertise and first-rate facilities.
Bachelor; Communication Design encompasses a wide range of media and processes. Learn about key areas of Communication Design including graphic design, photography, advertising and web design, and gain the skills to pursue a career in a rapidly expanding global media environment. To tell stories through image, text, sound, moving image and interactive media.
Postgraduate; Bachelor of Design (Honours) If you have already achieved excellence in your undergraduate degree, this postgraduate qualification is a great opportunity to extend and deepen your knowledge and understanding of design research methods and professional design practice. Graduates of this programme will be well-prepared for further postgraduate study or employment in a design creative lead role. Master of Design This qualification allows you to develop a significant body of scholarly creative work which is presented in a public forum and supported by an exegesis or equivalent. Alternatively, you can complete this programme through a thesis which could form the basis of academic journal articles. Graduates will be well-prepared for doctoral-level study, an academic career or a lead design or design management role. Master of Design Enterprise Want to develop the ability to provide design and design-led strategy expertise within an organisation or enterprise? Engage in industry-based research tailored to suit your particular needs. Postgraduate Certificate in Design This qualification introduces you to postgraduate study in a guided learning environment. Extend and deepen your knowledge and understanding of design research methods and the professional design environment. Graduates will be well-prepared for further postgraduate study such as our Postgraduate Diploma in Design or Master of Design Enterprise qualifications, or for employment in a wide range of creative or design management roles. The Postgraduate Diploma in Design is ideal for graduates who want to extend and deepen their research skills and professional design practices through applied design research projects which are self-generated or developed with industry or community partners.
Media Design School
For over twenty years, the award-winning Media Design School in Auckland has been offering qualifications that speak to emerging media environments. Our faculty and students have cemented Media Design School’s reputation as New Zealand’s most awarded tertiary institute for digital and creative technology qualifications by creating work that is consistently regarded among the very best in the world not only in Graphic Design, but also Game Art, Game Programming, Creative Advertising, Motion Graphics, Interactive Design, and 3D Animation and Visual Effects.
If you are interested in becoming a part of the creative arts community but you’re not sure which degree would suit you best, our foundation programme is a great way to discover which career in creative or digital design is for you.
In our purpose-built campus located in the innovation Precinct of Wynyard Quarter, Media Design School assists students to think globally and have opportunities beyond New Zealand. Through our unique relationship with Torrens University, Australia’s newest and fastest growing university, we focus on a commitment and promise to producing global graduates and strong industry connections, firmly rooted in a culture of social change-making, while sharing our strong Be Good ethos.
Bachelor; The evolving needs of creative industries are at the heart of development and delivery of our Bachelor of Media Design. Within three years, students develop technical, conceptual and strategic skills in their chosen major − Graphic Design, Motion Design or Interactive Online Design − as well as a broad interdisciplinary understanding of the industry and related fields making them agile in the workforce. The Bachelor of Media Design (in Graphic Design) teaches you how to communicate using text, image, and form to make visual connections. We will help cultivate your ideas into meaningful interactions.
Postgraduate; Graduate Diploma of Creative Technologies, In this course you’ll have one year to refine your craft – you’ll have the opportunity focus on your interests, if you are looking for a supportive hands-on learning environment that focuses on developing practical skills through working on self-initiated projects, then the Graduate Diploma of Creative Technologies (GDCT) is for you. The GDCT will help you further develop your production and design skills through project-based and problem-solution learning. You’ll investigate, propose and produce projects in the creative area of your choice that compliment your existing skill-set. As you choose your own research topic, you may opt to work across multiple disciplines, to broaden your skill base and increase your career options.
Media Design School Graduates; Recent graduate Dannah Soriano said “I chose MDS because of its reputation being the #1 digital school in Asia Pacific. And since it’s a relatively small institution, there’s a higher chance of being mentored outside class hours.” Graduates from our programmes go on to work in a diverse range of careers, depending on the focus. Hear what our graduates have to say about MDS in this Hot New Things feature.
AUT Art and Design School
AUT is the best place to study art and design to acquire the thinking and skills to ensure you develop a unique creative voice. You will be immersed in an environment where innovation and technology will fuel your creativity. Shared studio spaces, cutting-edge labs, experienced lecturers and industry contact provide the best environment for you to launch a career in the creative realm. Our major study areas include: communication (formerly graphic) design, digital design, fashion design, product design, spatial design, textile design and visual arts.
AUT is ranked in the top 100 art and design schools in the world*. This prestigious ranking reflects the high quality of our programmes and staff, the employability of our graduates, and our recognition as a world leader in practice-led art and design research.
AUT’s programmes offer a balance of originality, creative and design thinking, and conceptual development, along with theoretical and professional studies. Our students work on industry partnered, or entrepreneurial art and design projects, and we challenge them to become socially and ethically engaged.
Bachelor; The Bachelor of Design is creative and practical, with strong input from industry partners like Weta Workshop, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Auckland Art Gallery, Creative New Zealand and Kate Sylvester. As a Bachelor of Design student you have access to world-class facilities, collaborate with other art and design students, and in your final year you may be able to showcase your work at the AUT School of Art and Design festival or the AUT Rookie fashion show.
Postgraduate; The Bachelor of Art and Design (Honours) is an intensive one-year degree that enables you to undertake research within the field of art and design. If your appetite for art and design has been stimulated by your undergraduate studies, it’s time to consider taking those studies further. Certificate in Cultural and Creative Practice; Explore ideas and concepts related to cultural expression in as little as one semester. Implement creative strategies while developing expertise related to your chosen field, contributing to a vibrant creative community and critiquing notions of leadership and entrepreneurship in the cultural and creative sector. Creative thinking will empower your decision-making and inform your professional encounters. The Master of Design is a research degree aimed at developing your design expertise and empowering your decision-making. Specialising in industrial design, fashion design and textile design, communication design, digital design or spatial design, you will work on interdisciplinary projects. Implementing creative research strategies, and continuing to develop expertise in your chosen field, you will contribute to a vibrant, collaborative design culture. The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is t undertaken by research only and leads to advanced academic and theoretical knowledge in a specialist area. Doctoral studies present you with the opportunity to generate new ideas that can benefit business and society. You will make a significant original contribution to knowledge and understanding in your field of study and meet recognised international standards for your work. AUT’s academic supervisors are recognised world-class researchers in their fields who have the expert knowledge to guide and advise you throughout your PhD.
AUT Graduates; Recent AUT graduate Stephanie Zwerink said,“I chose AUT based on recommendations, ease of transport, and the facilities. Having the opportunity to select from a range of minor papers was great. It meant that I had the opportunity to explore digital fabrication techniques, dabble a bit in product design, and collaborate with students from other disciplines. I also learned a lot about design, obviously.” Learn more about our recent Graduates in these Hot New Things interviews or in these Postgraduate Design profiles with Tatiana Tavares, Cassie Khoo, and Albarrán González.
