Bachelor of Arts in History

at The University of Waikato - Hamilton Campus New Zealand

Literature encompasses the total human experience and comes forth in stories, songs, laments and praise. It draws out the nuances of human nature and imagination and compliments the other arts.

English at Waikato stays relevant by constantly evolving and adapting to newer art forms including film, graphic novel and creative non-fiction.

You'll be immersed in fiction, plays and poetry and explore their potential to shape our world. You'll also have the choice to specialise in creative writing and learn from award-winning writers as well as have the opportunity to publish in Mayhem, our online literary journal. Your writing will gain clarity and subtlety as you develop your unique voice.

Prepare yourself for a career in primary, composite, intermediate, and middle schools or Kura, working with children from five to 13 years old.

You'll gain a solid foundation in all aspects of the New Zealand curriculum. You'll also learn about professional and ethical practices, child development, issues that face teachers and learners with special needs, teaching children from diverse backgrounds, classroom management, environmental education for sustainability, and the wider contexts of school, community, and national systems.

On practicum, you'll take an active role in the classroom over several weeks in a school, under the guidance of an associate teacher. This includes a minimum of one day per week in the first year of your degree, a six-week block in the second year, and an eight-week block in the third year.

During your degree, you'll experience different types of schools and work with a range of age groups.

The rapid growth of domestic and international tourism and migration has led to an increasing demand for graduates who have a thorough understanding of tourism in its wider social, cultural, economic and political contexts.

Tourism and hospitality is one of New Zealand's fastest-growing export industries, and it can take your career to new places.

The industry encompasses hotels/resorts, cruise ships, sport and leisure operators, restaurants, cafes, bars, theme parks, entertainment, arts and cultural attractions, special events, and much more.

The study of tourism involves predicting the future – working out what people want from their leisure and travel pursuits, and how those wants are delivered and managed. You'll study the structure of different tourism organisations, aspects of hospitality and leisure, and the environmental and economic impacts of tourism operations.

Employers are looking for skillful, business-savvy managers who can plan, control, make strategic decisions, and understand the legal requirements for this sector - and that's where you come in.

• Learn how to design and deliver memorable travel experiences
• Build practical knowledge in areas such as service management, designing operational systems, business strategy, leading teams of staff, and managing financial resources.
• Gain skills in destination marketing, event management, and inter-cultural communication.

Efficiently converting the world’s raw materials and commodity goods into products is important to the global economy.  To do this, we need to understand the properties of materials as diverse as food, wood, metals, plastics and fuel.

By studying Materials and Processing at the University of Waikato, you will learn how to add value to raw materials used to manufacture a number of useful products, while minimising waste.  These products can be as varied as dietary formulae, foods, ceramics that can withstand high temperatures, new metal alloys, pharmaceuticals, laminated boards, functional proteins, and composites.

Materials and processing skills are used in industrial and other activities where materials are undergoing chemical, biochemical or physical changes.

Human Resource Management prepares you to play a pivotal role in company needs – the person who recruits, develops and trains employees to achieve success.
Gain the essential skills to recruit, develop and manage an organisation's most valuable asset - its people.

Studying Human Resource Management at Waikato turns you into a strategic player who knows how to position employees for the long-term success of a company.

A career in human resources is all about selecting the right people for the right jobs; then knowing how to train, develop and motivate staff to improve their individual performance. It means you'll be involved in all areas of staff recruitment, salaries, employee benefits, training programs, managerial behaviour and staff productivity.

We'll teach you how to achieve the best results from employees through practical workshops, where you'll apply human resource management practices to address real situations in the workplace.

You’ll also learn about employment relations laws, health and safety, work-life balance, organisational culture, and managing conflict, negotiation and diversity in the workplace.

Students are encouraged to apply HR professional practice to real situations in the workplace, such as carrying out a health and safety audit of an organisation to assess whether the building complies with New Zealand legislation.

Studying Economics will help you see the world in a different light; and understand how to apply this new perspective to help resolve issues in our society. You'll learn how to help people, governments and businesses make better decisions about using natural and financial resources to meet different goals.

Economists contribute to government decision-making on many different issues, such as shaping new laws and taxes, or advising on international trade agreements. They can also be involved in recommending incentives and penalties geared towards changing people's behaviour, such as encouraging people to leave their car at home.

You'll learn how to explain the reasons for different market structures, analyse the implications of government policy, anticipate how people might react to price changes, and demonstrate the gains from trade.

If you're passionate about business, current affairs, finance or maths then economics may be a good fit for you. Economics brings together ideas from many different areas: politics, psychology, sociology, geography, law and statistics.

Study Music with leading performers, composers and musicologists; and perform in the acclaimed Dr John Gallagher Concert Chamber, part of the University of Waikato's purpose-built performing arts academy.

If music is your passion, then Waikato has a program of study to suit. We teach Western Classical Music – from Baroque to contemporary, through performance, composition and musical scholarship. If you're inclined to the modern, we offer papers in sonic art and new technologies.

Our staff are highly qualified professionals, active nationally and internationally as composers, performers and musicologists. Music is their passion too, and our common aim is to help you develop the technique and understanding you'll need to reach your full musical potential.

Geography matters because it is about basic human relationships - between people and the environment, and between people and other people. Ranked among the top geography program in the world, the Geography program at Waikato is the only solely human geography program in New Zealand.

Geography at Waikato goes beyond the classroom and opens you up to numerous career opportunities. Upon graduation, our students pursue careers in urban and regional planning, regional economic development, travel and tourism development, environmental consultancy, as well as the property and housing industry and local government.

Linguistics is the scientific study of language and, given that language impinges on virtually everything we do, it is a broad and interesting subject. Linguistics at the University of Waikato is a top 250 QS-rated programme and will deepen your appreciation for language, as well as provide essential understandings relevant to any career where language is a key component.

Language is a tool we all use instinctively, without necessarily understanding its precise structure. By studying Linguistics, you'll gain an inner working knowledge of language design and organisation. You'll learn about different sounds, words and clause structures, and how they work in world languages. You'll explore different cultures and societies to see how linguistic behaviour changes by location, as well as in various situations.

Your Linguistics studies will also give you a commanding understanding of the English language which can lead to careers in journalism, free-lance writing or academia.

International Management deals with business activities that span the globe, across countries and cultures. New Zealand businesses must learn how to operate in countries that have very different laws, economic systems, technology and cultural values to our own.

In this subject, you will learn about some of the barriers and opportunities facing New Zealand exporters, how to develop strategies for entering and servicing international markets, the benefits of e-commerce technologies, managing international alliances and networks, cross-cultural communication, and some of the key strategies used by companies that operate across national borders.

This subject will prepare you for an exciting range of careers in the commercial sector, particularly in exporting, international management, finance, tourism, and government departments such as New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. Alongside your international management papers, you can also choose to learn or continue to learn a foreign language.

International Management may suit you if you're adventurous, business minded, enjoy overseas travel, and have good communication and language skills (or are willing to learn a language.