Diploma in Communication

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.

Massey’s Graduate Diploma in Fine Arts is for skilled graduates who want to gain new knowledge and skills in fine arts.

In the large art studio courses you’ll have the support to work in any media in an interdisciplinary studio environment. This includes sculpture, painting, drawing, performance, installation, moving image, photography, printmaking, site-responsive work, curatorial activities and art writing.

Other study could include a range of studio courses that develop your practice further. Critical and contextual studies also help expand your knowledge of art and design discourse.

The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) has a strong collective philosophy. By bringing together students from design and fine arts, the MFA fosters intense conversations and exploration. Embed yourself in a rich dialogue about your creative practice in Massey’s transdisciplinary Master of Fine Arts (Fine Arts) qualification, for artists and designers.

For designers and artists
Choose whether you want to graduate with an MFA in design, in fine arts or without endorsement if you believe your work cannot be framed in terms of either discipline.
We have had students join the qualification whose undergraduate training is in fashion design, photography, textile design, industrial design, graphic design, fine arts and even music.

More than just the design of buildings, spatial design is all about how people experience spaces. It intersects with the more traditional design fields of architecture, landscape design, interior design, urban design and environmental design.

People inhabit the world in many ways, but we all have spaces where we live, work, play, relax, perform, gather, learn, heal, and celebrate. The design of spaces affects how you feel, how you act, and how you interact with others: Does the layout of your local hospital make you feel reassured or stressed? Do you find you want to linger in some cafes but not in others? Does an office space make it easy and natural for people to get together? Do the views on a walk surprise and delight you because someone has thought carefully about the experience?

Spatial design can improve the standard and quality of our lives, enrich our culture and national identity, and contribute to business success. In spatial design studio courses, you'll learn to design for a host of spaces: private, public, retail, event, work, game, furnishing, experience, display, interface and performance. You learn to use the latest technologies and approaches to design spaces at the required scale, from the big picture (eg urban planning) to the fine detail of construction and materials.

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.

The Bachelor of Design with Honours (Integrated Design), you’ll select courses from two or more of the other seven majors in the Bachelor of Design with Honours. You’ll push your study beyond traditional design boundaries.

Choose courses to form a unique programme of study, in consultation with the qualification leader. You can choose courses from the following disciplines:

• concept design
• fashion design
• industrial design
• photography
• spatial design
• textile design
• visual communication design (including graphic design, illustration, advertising and branding, interaction design and more).

The Diploma in Business Studies is a flexible program that can be completed in one year full-time.

You will have regular access to leading industry-standard film production equipment and the opportunity to work in industry specific film crew roles on your own project.

You'll gain practical experience in a wide range of roles, before specialising in your chosen area and collaborating on independently-developed productions. You'll be working on a wide range of creative projects, using both contemporary filmmaking techniques as well as emerging technologies like Virtual Production.

The Film Production Major will train you in the art of developing and producing stories for film, and you'll gain expertise in telling the stories that are important to you and in helping others realise their creative visions as well.

In the Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours – BFA (Hons) – you’ll spend two-thirds of your time in the studio, experiencing different approaches to making art, and developing your own unique practice.

The qualification isn’t media-specific so you can focus on the methods and ideas of contemporary art production, and make bodies of new work that are responsive to a variety of contexts. Work, learn, and collaborate alongside students across disciplines and year levels. You can work across a range of media, such as:

• Sculpture
• Painting
• Drawing
• Performance
• Installation
• Moving Image
• Photography
• Printmaking
• Site-Responsive Work
• Curatorial Activities
• Art Writing.

The BFA (Hons) will stretch you, ground you in art theory and immerse you in art-making, with the support of some of New Zealand’s most notable fine artists.

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.