Master of Social Sciences in Pacific and Indigenous Studies

at The University of Waikato - Hamilton Campus New Zealand

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.

Engineering professionals are solving the world's problems and leading the way in innovation by improving infrastructure, building smarter technologies and finding alternative energy sources. As a trained engineer, you will be in-demand and essential for New Zealand’s growth in technology-related enterprises. Our close links with the New Zealand industry ensures you will be work-ready and able to apply your engineering skills and scientific knowledge to solve real-world, industrial and societal problems.

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.

Screen and Media Studies at Waikato makes sure you keep pace with new tools and platforms for the rapidly evolving media industry.

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.

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.

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.

The Electrical and Electronic Engineering subject at Waikato is a uniquely future-focused integration of computer science involving software programming, data management, artificial intelligence and cyber-security with core electrical and electronic principles in modern power systems, electronic design, embedded systems and communication.

As a graduate specialising in Electrical and Electronic Engineering you will be ready to contribute to the electricity industry evolution from legacy generation and distribution models into an immediate future of distributed generation and storage, smart grids and new generation paradigms around renewable resources. These trends impact not just the traditional electricity industry itself, but also generate new opportunities and requirements within agriculture, manufacturing, construction, transport electrification and automation and smart building management.

Work placements completed as part of this program provides opportunity for practical experience and robust engineering and design skill development in relevant industries.

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.

In a fast-paced ever changing world, Interface Design puts designers at the intersection of design and code. You will help users to navigate the sometimes complex digital world with ease through Interface Design.

User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design for current and emerging technologies will be taught, along with the development of digital skills of coding, motion design, and information design.  This will prepare you to work in fast-growing areas such as editorial design for web and mobile, publication websites, mobile apps, data visualisation and the design and development of digital products.

UI design usually refers to the design of graphical user interfaces for different types of machines and software, but can also apply to other types of interfaces, such as natural and voice user interfaces.

Learn about Population Studies through the National Institute for Demographic and Economic Analysis at Waikato and gain a solid, research-led understanding of the population issues facing developed and developing countries, with a particular emphasis on the South Pacific.

The National Institute for Demographic and Economic Analysis (NIDEA) is a research institute based in the University's School of Social Sciences. It is New Zealand's sole national institute of demographic and population-focused research, and the only such unit to generate and coordinate New Zealand research in population studies.

Population problems are among the most serious challenges we face for the 21st Century. Population issues have implications for the environment, employment, families, health, urbanisation, migration, security in old age and refugee movements. It is vital that research develops integrated approaches to these issues, and policy makers and planners pay serious attention to population trends, their causes and effects.