Bachelor of Business in Public Relations

at The University of Waikato - Hamilton Campus New Zealand

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.

If you're organised, enjoy problem-solving, meeting new people and work well in teams, then Human Resource Management may be the right career for you.

Studying Professional Writing at Waikato teaches you high-level skills as a reader, writer and editor with excellent verbal, grammatical and analytical skills to excel your writing career.

The Master of Professional Writing offers a research-led and strongly practice-based qualification in professional and creative writing. The core paper is designed specifically to enhance the workplace readiness of graduates, and elective papers range across a variety of fields from creative writing to writing for promotional purposes and advertising, for digital media and for scholarly and professional publication.

Students have the opportunity to include a writing internship and all MPW students will be offered an on-campus professional writing mentor, who will provide professional advice and direct students towards on-campus writing opportunities. Candidates for the Creative Writing Thesis are selected on the basis of assessment of a portfolio of work; students accepted for the Creative Writing Thesis complete a book-length manuscript of publishable standard.

Software is everywhere: from spacecraft to smart watches. Software Engineers design, develop, maintain and oversee complex software-intensive projects while assuring their quality. These highly interconnected systems must meet multiple requirements, including correctness, usability, performance, safety and security. They leverage technologies, such as cloud, web, database, networks, mobile, IoT and embedded systems.

You'll work with a range of software systems, from operating systems and networks to real-time and embedded systems. You'll learn about distributed and parallel systems. You'll also develop knowledge and skills relating to engineering, scientific and business application software.

There's a strong connection between critical, complex systems and the people who use them or are affected by them. At Waikato, the relationship between systems and human interaction is emphasised.

You'll be able to develop your professional skills by doing 800 hours of real-world work experience. This work is supported by the Cooperative Education Unit. You'll be able to work on major research design projects which have a commercial focus and have an opportunity to showcase your work to industry at the annual Oji Fibre Solutions Engineering Design Show.

The Political Science program will ask you why some crises lead to armed conflict while others resolve peacefully - why democracy thrives in some countries while it dies in others. We challenge you to learn lessons from international politics and to consider political solutions to international crises. We push you to consider tough questions like those involving equality and freedom - must one be sacrificed for the other to flourish?

Political Science is a highly flexible program and will give you job opportunities from local to national government, media, education, industry, business, labour organisations and social services. We also offer minors in Public Policy and in International Relations and Security Studies which further allows you to investigate relevant contemporary issues.

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.

The world needs competent and trained Civil Engineering professionals to address the increasing challenges in urban and rural facilities and infrastructure.

Civil engineers design and construct the fundamental requirements of society in key areas such as earthquake proofing, energy recovery, water/waste management, power generation, road networks, transport management, agriculture and forestry development.

As a Civil Engineering graduate from the University of Waikato you will have the practical and theoretical skills to help create, improve and protect our built and natural environments.  You will be ready to meet the strong demand for your skills both in New Zealand and around the world.

You will gain the knowledge and expertise required to work as a professional civil engineer including skills in the following areas:

• Construction Engineering
• Structural Analysis
• Geotechnics and Geotechnical Engineering
• Water Engineering
• Mathematics, Computing and Modelling
• Project Management
• Structural Design
• Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Design
• Transport Engineering
• Environmental Engineering.

Supply Chain Management gives you the skills to make companies more efficient, competitive and responsive to customers' needs. Learn how to take raw goods and turn them into products that reach customers.

Supply Chain Management is essential if you plan to be a logistics manager, operations manager or e-commerce manager. You'll learn how to create a smooth supply chain and handle the entire distribution process, from the factory production line to the customer.

Find out what goes into meeting customer needs throughout production, distribution and the delivery of products. You'll understand the design and operation of international supply chains, transportation and logistics networks, and how to build partnerships to work towards a common goal.

This subject will give you the business and communication skills needed to manage complex information systems and organisational relationships.

Finance is all about achieving the best return relative to risk, and helping organisations add value for their shareholders. Studying Finance at Waikato University will prepare you for highly paid positions in the financial and business sectors anywhere in the world.

Practical assignments will prepare you for exactly what you'll encounter in your financial career. For example, students get to work on a funds simulation project using real data, and prepare a report on a publicly listed New Zealand or Australian company, while playing the role of a trainee investment analyst.

You also have the opportunity to do a practical workplace internship or applied research project as part of your degree.

If you enjoy mathematics, accounting, economics, and using analytical tools to find the meaning behind numbers, than finance may be the right fit for you.

You'll explore connections to previous generations, how they influence today, and if they were really all that different. History isn't just what happened before, but is also an investigation into, and use of, reliable research methods. We'll challenge you to ask questions, use critical enquiry into historical evidence and consider new ways of looking at the past in light of that new evidence.

When you study History, it isn't just for the classroom either. New Zealanders are keen to gain new perspectives on the "hidden history" of the pre-Waitangi Tribunal. People are also fascinated to learn their family's story and the circumstances that surround their ancestor's immigration to New Zealand.

Te reo Maori is an official language of Aotearoa/New Zealand. The study of te reo will enhance your identity as an individual and will help you establish a framework for other worldviews, international links and connections.

The ability to be fluent in both Maori and English has become increasingly important within a number of professional areas including education, medicine, research, media, government and tourism.

You'll learn in a supportive environment incorporating new and exciting ways to deliver the language and with practitioners who are committed to the ongoing survival, retention and maintenance of te reo Maori.