Bachelor of Social Sciences in Linguistics

at The University of Waikato - Hamilton Campus New Zealand

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.

Chemistry is fundamental to our understanding of all branches of science and for a wide range of industries.  A degree in Chemistry from the University of Waikato means you'll gain an excellent grasp of Chemistry theory, supported by a strong emphasis on practical expertise.

Employers recognise Waikato Chemistry graduates for their analytical and problem solving skills as well as for their high-level of practical abilities – including hands-on bench and modern instrumentation skills.

A Chemistry qualification from Waikato appeals to a wide range of employers including analytical, forensic, industrial, environmental and medical laboratories. There is a shortage of Chemistry graduates in New Zealand and overseas and a critical shortage of qualified Chemistry teachers.

Better building materials and textiles, improved medical aids, new alloys, more productive agriculture, better environmental control and remediation – all rely on the chemical expertise you'll gain from studying at Waikato.

The structure of our chemistry major includes a range of highly theoretical, highly applied, quantitative and qualitative aspects. It will develop your analytical and problem-solving skills, which can be applied to many other disciplines.

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.

Practical, hands-on learning
As a Supply Chain Management student, you'll be encouraged to apply what you learn in the classroom to real-world situations. For example, you could use a computer simulation program to coordinate the flow of materials along a supply chain, and forecast customer demand to ensure that products arrive in time.

You'll have the opportunity to apply what you've learnt to the workplace and gain technical skills. For example, you might work in teams to produce a set of recommendations for a real company to adopt new business technologies.

Students will gain hands-on experience using SAP, the world's leading enterprise resource planning application. And use Microsoft Project to practice running projects from start to finish, by putting the right resources and budget in place.

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.

Screen and Media Studies at Waikato makes sure you keep pace with new tools and platforms for the rapidly evolving media industry. You'll get high-quality learning experiences with up-to-date resources in our top 250 QS-rated program.

During your studies, you'll gain knowledge and learn transferable media skills that can be applied to future technical, social or experiential advancements. It is an area of study for critical, creative and innovative minds and attracts those who wish to not only understand concepts and ideas but also bring them to life. Knowledge is gained from study and hands-on experience writing media content, constructing films, exploiting and adapting media technologies, or designing games.

We expect our students to take their work beyond the classroom and enter competitions and festivals for more experience and greater exposure. Our students have been finalists in film festivals nationally and internationally, contributed specialised skills to feature-length film productions and work for, or run, their own media companies.

Our Screen and Media Studies major for the Bachelor of Arts has the staff expertise and resources to help you launch your career and inspire you to be an innovator in New Zealand and abroad.

The demand for experts in Earth Sciences continues to grow as we look to better manage our soil, water, minerals, energy and coastal and marine resources, as well as understand natural hazards  such as floods, earthquakes, tsunami, landslides and volcanic eruptions.

The Earth Sciences major at Waikato consists of four main sub-disciplines: geology, soil science, hydrology and coastal processes. The first two years concentrate on fundamental knowledge and skills across all subdisciplines. In your final year, you’ll have the option to specialise in a specific area.

Build a successful career

As a graduate you will gain the knowledge and skills to pursue a wide range of careers. Earth Sciences graduates are spread across New Zealand and around the world, working in careers ranging from Earth resources' exploration to environmental management and planning, and from scientific research to teaching.

You'll explore how people organise and form groups, form larger social structures, and how societies evolve over time. As a budding sociologist, you'll be challenged to assume little in the hopes of clearing the way for new conclusions.

You'll ask questions like how different groups view social reality and why certain views become accepted within groups over time. You'll dissect the interwoven nature and influence of parents, peers, elders, teachers and the media on society. We'll also challenge you to consider why some societies are war-torn while others remain peaceful – why some behaviour is acceptable while others are less desirable. You'll look for solutions and debate how societies change.

Sociology at Waikato takes a thematic approach and includes papers in criminology, the family, popular culture and theoretical perspectives.  As part of a degree in Sociology papers in social policy, women and gender studies and labour studies can be included.

Teaching staff provide plenty of mentoring and direction along the way and allow students opportunities to throw out ideas in a relaxed and informal learning environment. Studying Sociology at Waikato will open your eyes to the inner workings of society and how people drive them.

Spanish is one of the major languages of Western Europe, and the most widely spoken language of the Americas, with a substantial number of native and second language speakers, ranging from Metropolitan areas of Canada and the US through Mesoamerican countries, most of South America and even in the Philippines.

Besides being the official language of Spain, Equatorial Guinea and 20 more countries in Latin America, the US (52.6 million) has become the second largest Spanish speaking country in the world after Mexico (121 million). Spanish is also one of the most widely taught languages in the world - taught in the US, UK, Brazil, China and the Philippines - according to official statistics.

Worldwide, there is a high demand for Spanish teachers in the education sector, including in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. Other professions hiring professionals who know Spanish include working as an interpreter, translator, the medical profession, social worker, law enforcement professional, diplomacy, ambassador, international relations, business, journalism, management, computer specialists, technicians etc.

In this highly practical subject, students will develop the applied communication, design and technical skills required to work on interactive websites, social media, and mobile apps. User-centred design associated with internet technologies is a key feature of this subject.

Graduates will be equipped to work in multidisciplinary teams that combine text, data, design and technology to address users' needs. You'll also develop the skills to work with databases and content management systems (CMS), and be able to design infographics that enrich human understanding of patterns and trends.

Students will understand how to apply techniques that improve user-interface experiences, and gain a mastery of user-centred design through problem-solving exercises. You’ll also be given the opportunity to design a visual brand identity for a fictional company; and apply it to create digital collateral (eg. posters) for a variety of situations.

Writing Studies at Waikato offers a writing-intensive learning experience that will enable you to grow as a writer no matter where your interest lies. It will give you the research skills needed to write convincingly about the past, or create a vivid sense of the contemporary world. It will develop the reading and analytical skills essential for effective writing.

You can structure your Writing Studies program to suit your interests and needs. There are papers offered in

• Creative writing
• Literary non-fiction, including food writing
• Business communication
• Professional speaking and speech writing
• Public relations writing
• The philosophy of language and communication
• Understanding the requirements of specific audiences and readers
• Science communication
• Writing for screen media
• Theories of reading
• Academic writing and research.