Diploma in Arts

at Massey University - Wellington Campus New Zealand

The Bachelor of Commercial Music (Honours) is a one-year degree, with taught courses followed by an independent project. You’ll get one-on-one mentorship and support from our industry-connected academics.

You’ll gain more skills in research, development and creating prototypes and learn how to make your work professional. Your creative work will be research-driven, as you explore your place in the complex, ever-changing music industry.

This includes world-class recording facilities and technology labs, as well as a range of immersive media technologies. You’ll learn from well-connected academics who have extensive research and performance expertise in New Zealand and across the globe.

Go beyond your bachelor’s degree and advance your fashion design skills with a Postgraduate Diploma in Design.

The Postgraduate Diploma in Design is an opportunity for you to upskill in creative practice, modern fashion design technology, and theory.The Postgraduate Diploma in Design is an opportunity for you to upskill in creative practice, modern fashion design technology and theory.

Specialise in Game Development for your Bachelor of Screen Arts with Honours at Massey

Encompassing a broad range of disciplines, including game design, art, audio, coding, and production. Game development is a field that truly embraces interactive screen media.

You will develop skills in critical thinking, logic, design, 3D modelling and texturing, animation, and team-based production while building fun, engaging, and challenging worlds, experiences, and adventures.

You’ll be ideating, designing, and developing games. Using industry-standard software and real time engines and techniques, you'll will work through game design, art and aesthetics and programming to create unique and original experiences for desktop, console and mobile platforms.

Expressive arts is unique in New Zealand and was created in response to student demand. As part of your study, you will be able to choose from a range of activities such as devising, directing and writing theatre, writing creative works including fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, writing for children, and screenplays, or filming and producing digital video.

Go beyond your bachelor’s degree and advance your photography skills with a Postgraduate Diploma in Design.

The Postgraduate Diploma in Design is an opportunity for you to upskill in creative practice, modern photographic skills, technology and theory.

The Bachelor of Screen Arts with Honours (Animation) major caters for those interested in joining the industry, as well as providing pathways for students wishing to gain studio employment or explore the medium as independent filmmakers.

Our focus is on skills using sophisticated, industry-standard 3D and 2D software to greatly enhance workflow. By becoming artistically and technically competent, you will work smarter instead of harder, freeing you to enjoy your craft as capable animators within a variety of team-based production environments.

In this major you will learn how to animate, focusing on the principles of the craft and learn how to model, texture and light 3D assets. There will be opportunities to work in team-based production environments, as well as on personal animation projects.

Commonplace across all major broadcasters and platforms is the audience's desire to consume factual series, bite-size web content and formatted shows from around the world. Factual Production is usually associated with non-fiction broadcast and includes formats such as documentary, chat shows, comedy, quiz and reality shows etc. In addition to broadcast TV, these formats are distributed across a number of different digital platforms both real-time and pre-recorded.

You will go on a journey of discovering compelling real-world true stories and characters lighting the screens of Aotearoa, as well as the international market. This deep dive into factual development, production and post- production reveals the mechanisms of fun and formatted, multi-camera, and studio shows all the way to long-form storytelling around the big issues of the day and character-based features.

We will investigate how the story or format defines the best approach to making the content, alongside explorations to discover your unique, creative voice. 

In the Music Industry major, you’ll learn how to market and support musicians, developing the skills and networks to become an essential behind-the-scenes music industry professional.

Study artist development and management, and how record labels and distribution networks work, including modern platforms like Spotify and social media. Get experience project-managing live music for concerts, tours and festivals.

Engage critically with the music industry, considering the philosophy, politics and economics of commercial music. Explore new business models that challenge traditional industry conventions.

Work with students from across Massey’s commercial music degree to work on gigs, tours, music videos and online promotion.

The Graduate Diploma in Screen Arts is an opportunity for people who have already completed a degree to add an additional subject area to their learning.

You’ll be studying with other students in courses at 200 level and above across the majors offered in the Bachelor of Screen Arts with Honours. These are:

• Animation
• Factual Production
• Film Production
• Game Development
• Immersive Media
• Media Technology
• Visual Effects

Working in a production focussed environment, you’ll respond to briefs that combine creative studio practice, storytelling, professional practice and portfolio development, using industry-standard production facilities, studios and labs.

Study musicianship and performance in the popular genre of your choice — whether you’re a singer, DJ, or in a band, Music Practice will give you the skills and confidence to take risks and make it in the music industry.

In the Music Practice major, you’ll learn songwriting, composition, musicianship, and performance from some of New Zealand’s top musicians and professionals. The Bachelor of Commercial Music has strong connections with the music industry in New Zealand and around the globe, guaranteeing you an immersive, real-world-focused music education.

You’ll develop your writing and performing craft in your instrument or interface of choice—that could be an instrument, your voice, or your computer.  Learn to produce and compose music with industry-standard software and hardware, in some of the best facilities in the Southern Hemisphere.