STAR courses on campus

ANTH105 Human Evolution

This course is an introduction to the biological, behavioural, and cultural evolution of hominids from the earliest evidence to the emergence of the Neolithic revolution. Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of evolutionary theory, paleoanthropology, archaeology and physical anthropology. Up-to-date knowledge about how we have become what we are today, and how such knowledge has been produced in academic research will be presented. By examining the human past, students will develop an understanding human universals and sociocultural variation, which enables us to develop a deeper bicultural understanding of Aotearoa New Zealand today.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

ANTH108 Witchcraft, Magic and The Dead

This course aims to challenge taken-for-granted assumptions about witchcraft, magic and the dead, as well as introducing students to key anthropological concerns such as ritual, symbolism and religion.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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ARTS102 Problems, Questions, Evidence

To answer many of the world’s most challenging questions e.g. those related to healthcare, social justice, poverty, climate change, and how we deal with global pandemics we need to understand evidence. This can come in various forms text, images, numbers. Evidence can be a driver for major decision making, help us to gain insight and form connections between issues, and reveal patterns and trends that would otherwise be hidden from us. How do we confidently assess evidence like this? Our decision-making is very often based on the numbers that shape the world we live in. In this course we will explore how to think quantitatively and qualitatively about the evidence behind the world’s ‘wicked problems’, and our ideals now and in the past. Subjects touched on will include public health crises, gender and ethnicity biases in the media, the representation of minority groups in the criminal justice system, and symmetry and patterns in art, literature, and other forms of human expression. The skills you will learn--of evaluating the evidence behind big issues and ideals of the day, and being able to communicate those issues to others--will be of value no matter what your course of study or future walk of life.

Semester: S1, S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

CHCH101 Strengthening Communities through Social Innovation

CHCH101 offers anyone interested in active citizenship, community engagement, and social innovation with the opportunity to combine academic content with volunteering and critical reflection. Through this innovative design and delivery, this course serves as a cornerstone experience for further study in these topics across a wide range of disciplines.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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CHIN151 Chinese Language 1-A

A beginner's level course, focusing on the four basic language skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening, designed for students with little or no previous knowledge of the Chinese language.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

CHIN152 Chinese Language 1-B

Following CHIN151 and still focusing on the four basic language skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening, this course teaches how to conduct simple conversations, and read and write simple texts in Chinese at an elementary level, with an adequate cultural understanding of China.

Students should complete CHIN151 or a placement test first.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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CHIN155 Understanding China

This course provides basic understanding of China and Chinese culture through selected topical issues about China. The course will be taught in English; all prescribed readings and assessments (writing and spoken) are in English.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

CHIN251 Chinese Language 2-A

This course, following CHIN152 and still focusing on the four basic language skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening, is a Chinese language course teaching how to conduct daily and social conversations, and to read and write texts in Chinese at an early intermediate level, with an adequate cultural understanding of China.

Students should complete CHIN152 or a placement test first.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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CHIN252 Chinese Language 2-B

This course, following CHIN251 and still focusing on the four basic language skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening, is a Chinese language course, teaching how to communicate Chinese in social and semi-formal situations at an intermediate level, with an adequate cultural understanding of China.

Students should complete CHIN251 or a placement test first.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

CINE102 The Backpacker's Guide to World Cinema

This course identifies the formal, stylistic and thematic concerns that are shared, despite their apparent diversity, by a cross section of contemporary films. Students will analyse a selection of notable films from around the world that revise, resist or reject the standard practices or themes of mainstream cinema.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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CINE104 The Oscar for Best Picture: The Envelope Please!

This course will trace the trajectory of the Academy Awards: from 1930s screwball comedies and backstage musicals to celebrated wartime classics; from 1950s Minnelli musicals to 1980s post-Vietnam war films. It will provide a concentrated, thumbnail history of American Cinema, which challenges students to consider and question the formal criteria (cinematography, acting, sound, editing) upon which critical judgement is based. It will introduce students to the canonical classics of American Cinema, inviting them to explore diverse film genres and even the occasional Academy extravaganza.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

CLAS120 People, Places and Histories of the Graeco-Roman World

In this course we will survey events in antiquity from Homer through to the Roman Emperor Constantine. On the way we will explore the world of fifth century Athens, gaining an insight into the society that established democracy and move on to appreciate Alexander's campaigns and the formation of the Hellenistic kingdoms after his death. We will also turn to the west of the Mediterranean Sea and investigate the development of Rome from a small town to the capital of a large Empire, its constitutional transformations and the social impact of those changes on people's sense of place and identity.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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CLAS122 Myth, Power and Identity in the Graeco-Roman World

In this course students will consider how the Greeks and the Romans thought of themselves and others in their mythology and social power structures. Students will gain an understanding of ancient cosmic world-views, gender issues, colonisation and identity in Archaic and Classical Greece and Augustan Rome, and the relevance of such ideas now. Students will read, analyse and interpret ancient literary texts (selections from epic, tragedy, etc.) and material culture (art and architecture) that depict Greek and Roman myths as well as expressing ancient political and social views.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

CLAS135 Beginners' Greek

An introduction to Ancient Greek grammar and to the reading of Ancient Greek texts, building on from the material learnt in CLAS151. Students, in this course, concentrate on Ancient Greek only, learning the language of fifth century Athens through the reading of texts. The dialect we learn is Attic Greek, which, when learnt, will enable access to other Greek dialects including New Testament Greek.

Students should complete CLAS151 or equivalent preparation approved by the Head of School first.
Some classes will be held at the City Campus in the Arts Centre, 3 Hereford Street.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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CLAS145 Beginners' Latin

An introduction to Latin grammar and to reading Latin, following on from CLAS151.

Students should complete CLAS151 or equivalent preparation approved by the Head of School first.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

CLAS151 Greek and Latin for Absolute Beginners

This course introduces Greek, Latin grammar to students by way of English grammar. At the end of the course students will understand the most important basic grammatical concepts in Greek and Latin and will have a working vocabulary of about 75 words in each language. They will be prepared to continue more intensive study in Greek and/or Latin.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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COMS101 Media and Society

COMS101 explores the relationship between society and media - including social media, print, broadcasting, and all kinds of online spaces. It asks how our understandings of the world and people around us are mediated, how media have shaped society, and how society is reflected and produced through media. We will explore topics like media audiences, technologies, ownership and work; the frames of representation, power, and identity; and analytical tools like semiotics, discourse, and narrative. COMS101 is a stage one course that does not require any prior media study, but it builds on everything you have ever watched, listened to, interacted with, and produced. It includes weekly written exercises and requires active in-class engagement on campus, to develop core university skills and learn effectively from the teaching staff and from each other.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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COMS105 Public Communication

The course introduces students to public communication, from social media posts to journalism to strategic communication and more. It blends applied work with theoretical and critical thinking about forms of public communication. Students will learn writing and media planning skills, alongside classes discussing major public communication practices and classes studying the way those bring together different kinds of public. Emphasis will be placed on the representation of te ao Maori in different public communication practices and on how Maori and Pacific publics are convened. The course also provides opportunities for groupwork, where students learn from each other and can support each other’s learning.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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ENGL102 Great Works

This course introduces students to university-level English by exploring in depth a sequence of works that have earned the label 'great' for some or all of the following reasons: because of their enduring, wide and deep cultural influence; because of the originality of their creative conception; because of the power of their language; because of the power and appeal of the stories they tell or the characters or images they contain.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

ENGL117 Writing for Academic Success

Writing for Academic Success fosters the capacity for analytical thought about texts and language. The course also provides training in the writing of clear and effective prose, inculcates awareness of crucial structural and rhetorical features of expository writing, and encourages the application of that awareness to writing in a range of academic and professional contexts.

Students who have completed WRIT101 should not enrol in this course.
ENGL117/WRIT101 is one of three compulsory courses of which Arts students need to pick two.

Semester: S1, S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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EURA101 Global EUrope

What is the European Union? How important is it in Global Affairs? Why is the EU expanding? What lead to the BREXIT vote and what influence will it have? Through the use of traditional and online teaching methods, this course introduces students to the identity, structure and function of the EU, its key challenges and its role and impact on the world, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

FREN121 French Language Acquisition: Beginners A

This is an introductory course for students who have no previous knowledge of French. It is the first course in a sequence of six French language acquisition courses offered by the Programme.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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FREN122 French Language Acquisition: Beginners B

This is the second course in a sequence of six French language acquisition courses offered by the Programme. Students without the formal prerequisite, but with some previous knowledge of French should consult the Programme Director to determine which course is the most appropriate.

Students should have completed FREN121 first or have a level in French acceptable to the Programme Director.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

FREN221 French Language Acquisition: Intermediate A

This is the third course in a sequence of French language acquisition courses offered by the programme. Students without the formal prerequisite, but with some previous knowledge of French, should consult the Programme Director to determine which course is the most appropriate.

Students should have completed FREN122 first or have a level in French acceptable to the Programme Director.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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FREN222 French Language Acquisition: Intermediate B

This is the fourth course in a sequence of French language acquisition courses offered by the programme. Students without the formal prerequisite, but with some previous knowledge of French, should consult the Programme Director to determine which course is the most appropriate.

Students should have completed FREN221 first or have a level in French acceptable to the Programme Director.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

GRMN151 Elementary German Language A

German language course for beginners, i.e. students with no knowledge of German, based on the communicative approach.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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GRMN152 Elementary German Language B

A German language course that follows on from GRMN 151, based on the communicative approach.

Students should have completed GRMN151 first or 20 credits German at NCEA Level 2 or by placement test.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

HIST137 Modern World History

This course explores some of the major ideas and events that have shaped world history since 1945 and asks: Which are stronger, the forces for world unity or the forces for fragmentation? The first half of the course looks at the immediate post-war period. This is the time when Europe declines, European colonies become new nations and the United States of America (U.S.A.) gains power. It is the time of the Cold War when the world is divided by 'an iron curtain' between western capitalist states led by the U.S.A. and eastern bloc communist states centered on the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The second half of the course looks at the world after the collapse of communism. We study the global impacts of the struggle for resources and the increasing prominence of terrorism in the modern world.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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HSRV103 Violence in Society

This course will introduce students to the contemporary issue of violence in society and its impact on the community. A broad overview will be provided of five main areas of violence: child protection; family violence; youth violence; institutional and cultural violence; and, crime and deviance.

This course covers some sensitive topics.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

HSRV104 Youth Realities

The course introduces students to the diverse realities of ‘youth’ with a focus on multiple contexts. Students explore the concept of youth and the cultural, historical, political and economic contexts in which young people live and the decisions that they make. We critically consider the issues that place young people outside the margins of dominant society, and the responses, models and theoretical frameworks used in youth studies.

This course covers some sensitive topics.
Students who have completed SOWK104 should not enrol in this course.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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JAPA125 Elementary Japanese A

This course is designed for students with little or no previous knowledge of the Japanese language. Teaching will focus on the four basic language skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. At the end of the course, students should be able to read and write the kana scripts, know a range of Japanese vocabulary, and understand and actively use some elements of basic modern grammar. They will be able to conduct simple conversations in Japanese and will be familiar with key cultural aspects.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

JAPA126 Elementary Japanese B

This course follows on from JAPA125 or JAPA127, and is the entry point for students with NCEA level 2 Japanese or equivalent. Teaching will focus on the four basic language skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. At the end of the course, students should be able to understand and actively use a wide range of basic modern Japanese grammar and vocabulary, and approximately 120 kanji characters and be familiar with a range of key cultural aspects.

Students should have 12 credits at NCEA Level 2 Japanese first.

Semester: S2
Points: 30
2025 STAR Course Fee: $1,266

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LING101 How Language Works

This course introduces students to the study of the English language, its words, sounds and sentences. It also introduces the conceptual and analytical tools which linguists use to understand how languages are constructed.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

LING102 Language and Society in New Zealand and Beyond

What do babies know about language when they're born? And how do our experiences as we get older affect both how we use language and what we think about other people's language behaviour? Why, for example, do people think some languages, or some dialects, are 'better' than others? And is there any truth behind such beliefs? In this course we consider a range of research from the field of linguistics that addresses these and other questions. The role of language experience will emerge as a recurrent theme: the experience that the infant has with a particular language; how our early experience with language affects how we speak and how we listen, and how our beliefs about language are created and maintained in connection to other experiences in our social lives.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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MAOR107 Te Ara o Tawhaki: Māori Thought, Beliefs and Practices

This course provides an introduction to Māori knowledges and metaphysics through a study of topics such as voyaging, art and aesthetics, warfare, conflict and peace. We also look at how approaches to Māori knowledges and their impacts are critiqued.

Students should have NCEA Level 2 Literacy, either English or Te Reo Māori and Te Reo Rangatira. 
Students younger than 16 years of age must have Head of School approval first to enrol in this course. Students with Te Reo Rangatira NCEA credits need to meet with the Head of School to assess appropriate level of entry.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

MAOR108 Te Patu a Maui: The Treaty of Waitangi - facing and overcoming colonisation

Through focus on the themes of Power, Property and Citizenship, this course examines the historical realities of the Treaty, enabling an understanding of the modern colonial nation state and its processes with respect to Indigenous peoples. The course examines Māori responses, engagement with, and resistance to the colonial project leading to a critical understanding of colonialism.

Students should have NCEA Level 2 Literacy, either English or Te Reo Māori and Te Reo Rangatira.
Students younger than 16 years of age must have Head of School approval first to enrol in this course. Students with Te Reo Rangatira NCEA credits need to meet with the Head of School to assess appropriate level of entry.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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MAOR165 Tuakiri : Culture and Identity

What does it mean to live in Aotearoa/New Zealand in the 21st century? This course examines identity as a lived experience for Māori and non-Māori and how it shapes our thinking at individual, organisation and systemic levels in this country. The course also focusses on contemporary issues arising from identity tensions, enabling students to apply insights to effect positive social change in order to work effectively in a bicultural manner.

Students should have NCEA Level 2 Literacy, either English or Te Reo Māori and Te Reo Rangatira.
Students younger than 16 years of age must have Head of School approval first to enrol in this course. Students with Te Reo Rangatira NCEA credits need to meet with the Head of School to assess appropriate level of entry.

Semester: S1, S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

MUSA100 Essentials in Music Techniques

This course provides students with skills in musicianship, music theory & creative composition. Students will have a good understanding of chords and chord progressions, melodic patterns and notation systems, and will have acquired skills in sight singing and melodic dictation.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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MUSA101 Musicianship, Harmony and Analysis 1

Continued development of students' skills in music analysis, harmony (including SATB part writing) and musicianship (sight singing, melodic and harmonic dictation, and keyboard harmonisation).

Students should have completed MUSA100.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

MUSA115 Song Writing in Practice

MUSA115 surveys current trends and practices in song writing from a global perspective. Students prepare a portfolio of songs while learning about present-day applications of traditional techniques. Contextual listening analyses provide a platform to sharpen critical listening skills while preparing a portfolio of original songs. There are no limitations on the genre of music that students can write, all styles and perspectives are welcome.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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MUSA126 Sound Technologies

This course teaches practical skills in digital sound for musicians, filmmakers, game developers, aspiring "bedroom producers," and anyone interested in working with sound in the digital domain. Students learn how to match sounds with moving images, how to edit and manipulate sound and MIDI files in a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), and fundamental concepts and terminology that enable them to communicate effectively with music technology experts. Instruction includes lectures and hands-on studio tutorial sessions.

Students who have completed DIGI126 should not enrol in this course.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

MUSA132 Musics of the World

This course explores musical traditions from a range of geographical regions and introduces key concepts for the study of music in culture.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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MUSA152 Acoustics and Recording Techniques

This course helps the student to develop skills in DAW operation, microphone techniques, and fundamentals of acoustics and digital audio required for complex multitrack recording projects. Students are taught how to apply these skills in a range of production situations, including orchestral, instrumental, and vocal ensemble recording. The concept of critical listening is also introduced, along with practical guidelines for noise and hearing management.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

PHIL110 Science: Good, Bad, and Bogus

This course is a critical thinker's toolkit. It will teach you 20 principles you can use to tell science from pseudo-science, truth from falsehood, logic from rhetoric, sound reasoning from wishful thinking, effective medicine from quackery, and good evidence from lies, fraud and fakery. The critical thinking skills you learn in this course will be vital if you go on to do more philosophy. They are also readily applicable to other disciplines, and should help you steer clear of scam-artists, charlatans, confidence-tricksters and get-rich-quick-schemes in the world outside of academia. Topics covered include the fallibility of the senses, the fallibility of memory, the placebo effect, the tricks of the cold reader’s trade, confirmation bias, the Barnum effect, relativism, mind viruses, the basics of logic, formal and informal fallacies, and the scientific evaluation of competing hypotheses.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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PHIL133 Philosophy and Human Nature

The human record is full of contradictions. We are capable all at once of selfless love and murderous depravity; of sublime rational insight and base stupidity; of soul-baring honesty and habitual duplicity; of principled rebellion and obsequious deference to authority; of generosity and jealousy. What, then, is our true nature? Are we rational creatures or are we enslaved by our passions? Are we moral creatures or are we fundamentally selfish? Can we improve the human situation either individually or collectively? Does it all depend on our evolutionary history? This course is an introduction to Western philosophy through the ideas of Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Hume, Kant, Marx, Nietzsche, Darwin, and other influential thinkers as they pule over the riddles of human nature.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

PHIL137 Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Ethics

Computing technology has already revolutionized our lives and shows no signs of stopping. Algorithms are everywhere. AI powered by our data are increasingly determining our lives. The implementation of this technology has leapt ahead of our understanding of its ethical, societal, legal, and political significance. From self-driving cars to autonomous weapons, data-brokers to the metaverse, no aspects of our lives will be the same again. In this class, we shall learn about, and bring together in conversation, cutting edge work from both within and outside academic philosophy concerning the challenges posed by the ever-increasing use of computing technology and A.I. Questions raised in the course include: do tech companies violate our right to privacy when they harvest our data? Can automated algorithmic decision-making deliver us a future free of human bias? How could you tell whether a computer has a mind? And is the human brain in fact a computer?

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

PHIL139 Ethics, Politics and Justice

How we should live our lives is the most important question of all. What makes our actions right or wrong? Is it our culture, our emotions, facts about the world, or God's commands? Are pleasure and happiness all that really matters? What should we do when justice and freedom conflict with happiness or with each other? Should we always obey the law? Is taxation legalised theft? This course introduces students to moral and political philosophy by examining ideas and arguments about how we should live our personal, social and political lives.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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POLS102 Politics: An Introduction

This course introduces the basic tools and techniques used in political science, including research techniques, formulation of hypotheses, and methods of analysis. It also introduces students to a selection of key theories and frameworks. The course covers topics such as nationalism and ethnicity, democracy, authoritarianism, people's power, conflict, globalisation, and the future of global politics. This course will be of great benefit to Political Science majors of all levels and to students who desire a broad-based introduction to the field.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

POLS103 Introduction to New Zealand Politics and Policy

How are decisions made in New Zealand? Who has how much power in this process? How can citizens, businesses, iwi, and a diverse range of groups have a say? This course is an introduction to New Zealand politics and public policy. The course examines the core features of New Zealand’s political landscape: The constitution, how MMP works, the roles of leaders, cabinet and parliament, and then explores issues that matter to the public, and asks how citizens can participate in politics, what role powerful groups including the media play in decision making and how new, diverse voices can be heard, including your own. The course includes a field day working in local communities learning about leadership and public attitudes.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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POLS104 Introduction to International Relations

This course provides a broad introduction to the core issues and theories related to the study of international relations. Students will be introduced to the discipline through a study of key historical events, prominent theories of international relations, and a variety of practical examples.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

POLS105 Comparing the Politics of Nations: A Global Introduction

This course serves as an introduction to the basics of comparative political studies. It is designed to provide the student with a broad comparative overview of the world’s political systems. The main objective is to give students the necessary tools to assess and understand the differences in political culture, political organizations, governmental structures, and political behaviour.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

POLS106 Plate to Nato: Introduction to Political Thought

What’s the right thing for a group of people to do? How does a society know it is well governed? How do you know you are doing the right thing for your country, or your fellow citizens, or how that will impact on your family and friends? Who matters more, your family or your fellow citizens? The best way to answer these questions has been debated for more than over 2000 years. This course is an introduction to the thinkers that have suggested answers to these questions and influenced everyone from Plato to Trump and you. In this course, you will study the evolution of the ideas that form the building blocks of the political and social sciences. The course traverses the political ideas that arose in the Greek and Roman civilisations, the Renaissance, the birth of America, the death of the English and French despotic monarchies, and the great traumas of socialism, Marxism and the political upheavals that followed the wars of the 20th century. We will trace the changes in the fundamental political concepts such as freedom, equality, rights, justice, government, the state, markets, and domination.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

PSYC105 Introductory Psychology - Brain, Behaviour and Cognition

Psychology is a diverse and thriving science devoted to understanding behaviour and the human mind. In PSYC105 you will receive an introduction to the following areas: positive psychology; wellbeing; visual perception; research methods; learning and behaviour change; forensic psychology; neuropsychology; drugs and behaviour; memory and cognition; and health psychology.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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PSYC106 Introductory Psychology - Social, Personality and Developmental

Psychology is a diverse and thriving science devoted to understanding behaviour and the human mind. In PSYC106 you will receive an introduction to five major domains: personality, abnormal, social, developmental, and organisational psychology. You will also learn about the different research methods used in each of these domains.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

PSYC107 Foundations of Pyschological Science

Approaches to understanding the nature of human thought and behaviour have permeated societies and cultures throughout history. Psychology as a scientific discipline, however, emerged just in the last 200 years or so. Over this relatively short time period, psychologists have gained substantial insight into what drives our mental lives and shapes our social interactions, and have made possible vast improvements in the quality of life of millions of people. This course delves into the ideas and methods that have allowed all of this to happen. We’ll take a holistic and critical look at the science of psychology itself: its questions, methods, evidence, and unique challenges; as well as its place within modern Aotearoa New Zealand society. You’ll learn how psychologists measure a world of unobservable mental traits, devise experiments that reveal the underlying organisation and mechanisms of the mind, and convert raw data into real world conclusions that have a meaningful impact on people’s lives. You’ll build the critical thinking skills to distinguish good psychological science from bad, genuine breakthroughs from glorified clickbait, and evidence-based interventions from scams and grifts. Upon these foundations you’ll be able to build with confidence the pathway of your choosing through the psychological sciences (and beyond).

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

RUSS130 Elementary Russian Language A

Russian language course for absolute beginners, i.e. students with no knowledge of Russian, based on the communicative approach.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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RUSS131 Elementary Russian Language B

A Russian language course that follows on from RUSS130, based on the coummunicative approach.

Students should complete RUSS130 first.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

RUSS230 Intermediate Russian Language A

This is the first of two intermediate Russian language courses. It aims at extending vocabularly and grammatical structures to discuss and write about simple topics in Russian culture.

Students should complete RUSS131 first or a placement test first.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

RUSS231 Intermediate Russian Language B

This is the second of two intermediate Russian language courses. It extends the reading, writing and discussion skills acquired in RUSS230 and places greater emphasis on conversation skills.

Students should complete RUSS230 first or a placement test first.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

SCIM101 Science, Māori and Indigenous Knowledge

This is an integrated multi-disciplinary course between Aotahi: School of Māori and Indigenous Studies and the College of Science. This course provides a basic understanding of Māori and indigenous peoples’ knowledge in such fields as astronomy, physics, conservation biology, aquaculture, resource management and health sciences. The course provides unique perspectives in indigenous knowledge, western science and their overlap. The course will provide an essential background in cultural awareness and its relationship with today’s New Zealand scientific community.

Students who have completed MAOR172 should not enrol in this course.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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SOCI111 Exploring Society

An introduction to the major themes in contemporary sociology in a way that is relevant to New Zealand culture and society.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

SOCI112 Global Society

Combining sociological theory and concepts with arguments and examples drawn from around the globe, this course conveys the scope and value of sociology for understanding the complex and fast-changing world in which we live.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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SOWK101 Introduction to Social Policy

An introduction to the provision of welfare in New Zealand, providing students with the opportunity to examine socio-cultural, economic and political factors that have influenced current welfare policies, practice and services. The course addresses basic organising concepts of welfare, using historical and contemporary case studies. Students will be introduced to tools and frameworks that will enable them to develop research skills and critical thinking. Using current case studies of service delivery presented by guest practitioners, contemporary research practices, social worlds/issues and welfare services/responses are analysed.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

SOWK102 Social Services in Aotearoa

A course that introduces the history, and contemporary organisation, and functions of the social services industry in New Zealand society. Particular emphasis is placed on the development of students’ capacities to understand and critically analyse the impact of service delivery on diverse populations.

Students who have completed HSRV102 should not enrol in this course.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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SOWK104 Youth Realities

The course introduces students to the diverse realities of ‘youth’ with a focus on multiple contexts. Students explore the concept of youth and the cultural, historical, political and economic contexts in which young people live and the decisions that they make. We critically consider the issues that place young people outside the margins of dominant society, and the responses, models and theoretical frameworks used in youth studies.

This course covers some senstive topics.
Students who have completed HSRV104 should not enrol in this course.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

SPAN101 Beginners' Spanish A

An introductory language course for students with no previous knowledge of Spanish.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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SPAN102 Beginners' Spanish B

A language course following on from SPAN 101, for those with limited knowledge of Spanish.

Students should have completed SPAN101 first or have NCEA level 2 in Spanish or undertake a placement test with the Spanish Programme.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

SPAN201 Intermediate Spanish Language A

Review of the basic features of Spanish that leads into an intensified examination of more complex structures for both conversational and written Spanish, including a wide range of verb structures.

‌Students should have completed SPAN102 first or undertake a placement test with the Spanish Programme.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

TREO110 Te Ngao Tu: Conversational Māori for Absolute Beginners

A beginner's course in Māori language for those with no previous background in Te Reo Māori. Students will learn basic informal and formal greetings, introductory songs, proverbs and idiom, how to introduce themselves, express family relationships. The course will enable students to hold a basic conversation. This is a highly recommended language option for those who might work with Māori people or who just wish to familiarise themselves with the language.

For students with 24 credits in Te Reo Māori at NCEA Level 1.
Students younger than 16 years of age must have Head of School approval first to enrol in this course. Students with Te Reo Rangatira NCEA credits need to meet with the Head of School to assess appropriate level of entry. 

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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TREO111 Te Ngao Pae 1: Introductory Reo 1

An entry level course for those who wish to develop writing and speaking skills in Māori. Students learn an array of sentence constructions and vocabulary that will enable them to talk and write in several contexts about a wide variety of relationships and events in the present and the past. Students are exposed to cultural elements such as mihi, whakatauki and kiwaha, including a variety specific to Ngai Tahu. The course blends academic study of the language with a range of teaching techniques including language games, waiata and group activities.

For students with 24 credits in Te Reo Māori at NCEA Level 2 or those who have completed TREO110.
Students younger than 16 years of age must have Head of School approval first to enrol in this course. Students with Te Reo Rangatira NCEA credits need to meet with the Head of School to assess appropriate level of entry.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

TREO112 Te Ngao Pae 2: Introductory Reo 2

A second level beginners’ course in Te Reo Māori for those who have completed TREO111 or who have the equivalent level of proficiency. This course focusses on acquisition of more complex sentence constructions and extends knowledge of Māori vocabulary. In particular, knowledge of verbal sentences is enhanced by a study of commands, passive sentences, negatives and future constructions. Possessive phrases and sentence structures are also studied. The course blends academic study of the language with a range of teaching techniques including language games, waiata, group activities and the introduction of an immersion learning environment. Students are also exposed to whakatauki and kiwaha including some of those from Ngai Tahu.

For students with 24 credits in Te Reo Māori at NCEA Level 2 or those who have completed TREO111.
Students younger than 16 years of age must have Head of School approval first to enrol in this course. Students with Te Reo Rangatira NCEA credits need to meet with the Head of School to assess appropriate level of entry.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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TREO211 Te Ngao Mamaku 1

An intermediate level course in Te Reo Māori for those who have completed TREO112 or who have recognised prior learning. This course continues the study of the structure of Te Reo Māori and extends your speaking skills through the study of a range of everyday topics. The course aims to increase the range and fluency of conversational ability to help lay the groundwork for future growth.

For Year 13 students with 24 credits in Te Reo Māori at NCEA Level 3 or those who have completed TREO112.
Students younger than 16 years of age must have Head of School approval first to enrol in this course. Students with Te Reo Rangatira NCEA credits need to meet with the Head of School to assess appropriate level of entry.  

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

TREO212 Te Ngao Mamaku 2

An intermediate level course in Te Reo Māori for those who have completed TREO211 or who have recognised prior learning. This course continues the study of the structure of Te Reo Māori and extends your speaking skills through the study of a range of everyday topics. The course aims to increase the range and fluency of conversational ability to help lay the groundwork for future growth.

For Year 13 students with 24 credits in Te Reo Māori at NCEA Level 3 or those who have completed TREO211.
Students younger than 16 years of age must have Head of School approval first to enrol in this course. Students with Te Reo Rangatira NCEA credits need to meet with the Head of School to assess appropriate level of entry.  

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

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WRIT101 Writing for Academic Success

Writing for Academic Success fosters the capacity for analytical thought about texts and language. The course also provides training in the writing of clear and effective prose, inculcates awareness of crucial structural and rhetorical features of expository writing, and encourages the application of that awareness to writing in a range of academic and professional contexts.

Students who have completed ENGL117 should not enrol in this course.

Semester: S1, S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

ACCT102 Accounting and Financial Information

Students will develop an understanding of the structure and functions of general purpose financial reports from a reader's perspective. They will be introduced to current non-financial reporting issues such as the challenge of sustainability within business and society. Students will gain an introductory understanding of management accounting and business finance.

Semester: S1, S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

ACCT103 Accounting and Taxation: An Introduction

The course introduces taxation and accounting in the context of service, retail, manufacturing, tourism, farming and construction businesses. It includes the rudiments of bookkeeping and the preparation of reports about cash flows, profits and accumulating capital and wealth. It caters for accounting and taxation majors, and for entrepreneurially-minded students contemplating running their own businesses.

Students must complete ACCT102 first.

Semester: S1, S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

ECON104 Introduction to Microeconomics

Scarcity, exchange and trade. Market analysis and policy. Consumer choice theory. Theory of the firm. Imperfect competition. Externalities and public goods.

Students who have completed ECON199 should not enrol in this course.

Semester: S1, S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597
(tuition fees for ECON104 on-campus are covered by the UC Business School. Schools will not be invoiced for ECON104)

ECON105 Introduction to Macroeconomics

This course introduces students to the macro economy and how it evolved to where it is today. We examine economic variables and how rises and falls in these variables affect people and businesses. We investigate how government policies, decisions by households and firms, and changes in the world economy affect inflation, exchange rates, interest rates, unemployment, growth, poverty and inequality and other economic outcomes we care about.

Semester: S1, S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597 
(tuition fees for ECON105 on-campus are covered by the UC Business School. Schools will not be invoiced for ECON105)

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FINC101 Personal Finance

Personal financial literacy and decision making, including consumption and investment, debt, insurance, retirement and estate planning.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

INFO123 Business Information Systems and Technology

Information technology plays a critical role in business and society, supporting business transformation and innovation, digital lifestyles, and how we communicate and collaborate. This course aims to help students understand how organisations can use data and technology to address business problems, to deliver business value and stay competitive, to create better processes, to improve connections with stakeholders, and to make better decisions. Students are exposed to the opportunities that new and emerging technologies provide, and develop problem-solving skills applicable to any area in business as well as practical skills to capture, organise and use data to support decision-making.

Semester: S1, S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

INFO125 Introduction to Programming with Databases

Computer programming with an emphasis on the development of business applications with the .NET framework and their connection to databases. It includes an introduction to programming logic and concepts, the Visual Studio environment, processing data, and using SQL to retrieve and update data. The course makes extensive use of problem solving exercises and hands-on tutorials.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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MGMT100 Fundamentals of Management

An introduction to the fundamental principles of management related to the functional areas of planning, organising, leading and controlling, as well as an introduction to how organisations are linked to the New Zealand and global business environment.

Semester: S1, S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

MGMT170 Managerial Decision Making

This course introduces basic managerial decision-making tools and their application to business. The topics include project management, forecasting, inventory management, cost-benefit analysis and decision-making. The course develops problem solving skills, an invaluable tool for modern business.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

MKTG100 Principles of Marketing

This course aims to enable students to understand the fundamental concepts and theories of marketing and how they may be applied to the marketplace in a modern and dynamic environment. By the end of the course, students should appreciate the various concepts and theories of marketing and understand how these may be appropriately applied in achieving marketing objectives in a variety of contexts and environments.

Semester: S1, S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

EDUC101 Spark! The Art & Science of Learning

In this course, we address how people learn as well as the social, political, and global contexts in which learning takes place. Together, we walk through the art and science of learning, including contemporary debates and discussions in anthropology, history, philosophy, sociology, and psychology. Through questions, we view learning from diverse perspectives to understand learning in Aotearoa New Zealand and elsewhere around the world. Course assessments are designed in a way that links theories of learning to any academic discipline or subject area while also giving you the opportunity to apply your knowledge in a meaningful, purposeful, and unique way.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

EDUC102 Child and Adolescent Development

This course establishes a foundation in theory, concepts, processes and factual knowledge of infant, child, and adolescent development within the context of family, school, and community. Students will acquire an understanding of the developmental processes that take place within and across physical, cognitive, emotional, and social domains, and their associations with developmental outcomes.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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EDUC103 Education, Culture and Society

This course provides an introduction to foundational theories, concepts and processes in the study of education. The course explores theories about power, justice and fairness in society, with a particular focus on how they relate to education. It also examines what part factors such as class, genders and sexualities, disability, and race may play in maintaining unequal forms of education. An important feature of the course will be analysing the role played by education in the development of colonial relations between Māori and Pakeha, and how that continues to shape contemporary New Zealand society.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

HLED121 Introduction to Health Education

This course is designed to be an introduction to Health Education through the exploration of fundamental and underlying concepts. It explores and applies the Māori concept of Hauora to the wellbeing of self, relationships, and a range of populations. Students will examine the historical underpinnings of Health Education and develop an in-depth knowledge of current best practice. They will identify health issues that constitute barriers to learning and explore strategies and agencies that work to address these. A strong focus on the conceptual framework of Health education and the socio-cultural factors that determine the wellbeing of a population will be explored.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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HLED122 Building Resilience

This course is designed as an introduction to the concept of mental health. It examines concepts of mental health and resilience and considers these in relation to the determinants of health. The course develops students' understanding of models of best practice in mental health education and promotion. Students will explore a range of mental health issues and demonstrate a range of strategies designed to enhance their own and others' mental health.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

YACL101 Introduction to Youth Leadership: Leading the Self

What is the role of 'the self' in youth and community leadership? What are the personal dispositions required for youth and community leadership and how might these be nurtured within, for and by the self, and/or by others? In this course, students will explore self-leadership from contemporary psychological, philosophical, cultural, and/or any other theoretical perspective/s relevant to their situation and to contemporary Aotearoa. Kaupapa Māori approaches will be explored, as part of which students will be required to have experienced a stay on the noho marae (or alternative).

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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YACL102 Introduction to Professional Youth Work in Aotearoa

In this course, you will be introduced to and learn about the professional practice of youth work in Aotearoa. You will learn about the context within which youth work in Aotearoa operates, its history and current structures. The course will help you understand the principles of the sector and explicitly acknowledges the diversity and mana of young people. In this course, you will examine how young people build and sustain quality relationships and connect to the social, physical and digital world, demonstrating knowledge of hononga and whanaungatanga. We will investigate the legal and ethical requirements for the care of young people in Aotearoa in the context of holistic wellbeing, responsibility and reciprocity. You will be introduced to frameworks that are used in the youth work sector to facilitate manaakitanga, youth participation and whai wahitanga, recognising young people as valued contributors to society. This course has been designed in cooperation with Ara Taiohi and Korowai Tupu and strongly reflects the Mana Taiohi principles that underpin professional youth work practice in Aotearoa. We will implement the participatory approach, common in the sector, to co-construct our understanding of youth identities and youth work practice. This course will lay the foundation for your journey towards becoming a professional youth worker and will equip you to connect the knowledge and concepts you will encounter in other courses into your developing professional identity.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

COSC131 Introduction to Programming for Engineers

Computer programming in a high-level language with special emphasis on numerical computation. This course is required for engineering intermediate and is an alternative to COSC121 as a prerequisite for COSC122 and all 200 level COSC and SENG courses. COSC131 teaches the fundamentals of computer programming using the Python language and can be taken by students who have no previous programming background. Topics include expressions, assignment, selection and iteration, structured data (lists, dictionaries, tuples, arrays), functional decomposition, file processing, numerical computation with numpy, graph plotting with matplotlib and an introduction to object-oriented programming.

This is the first half of the Computer Science STAR Programme for students with about 20 credits of mathematics with a good proportion of excellences at NCEA Level 2 or Level 3, or the equivalent for students not doing a full NCEA programme. Prior programming experience is not essential.

Semester: S1, S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

COSC122 Introduction to Computer Science

An introduction to Computer Science, including algorithms, complexity and data structures.

This is the second half of the Computer Science STAR Programme for students with about 20 credits of mathematics with a good proportion of excellences at NCEA Level 2 or Level 3, or the equivalent for students not doing a full NCEA programme. Prior programming experience is not essential.
Students need to pass COSC131 (or equivalent) before they can continue with COSC122.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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MATH199 AIMS - Advancing in Mathematical Sciences

MATH199 is a course in calculus and linear algebra. This STAR course is designed for bright secondary school students who have excelled in level 3 NCEA Mathematics (or equivalent) and wish to take level 100 mathematics while still at school.

Applications will be assessed by Head of School or nominee before students can enrol in MATH199. Recommended preparation is about 20 credits of Mathematics with a good proportion of excellences at NCEA Level 3, or the equivalent for students not doing a full NCEA programme. Enrolments will be considered if students’ Level 2 calculus results are excellent and they take year 13 calculus concurrently with MATH199. This course has an introductory session in the week before the course starts: Thursday 13 February 4.15pm - 5.30pm.

Semester: W (Whole Year)
Points: 30
2025 STAR Course Fee: $1,266
2024 STAR Course Fee: $1,194
(tuition fees for MATH199 are covered by the Faculty of Engineering. Schools will not be invoiced for MATH199)

MATH120 Discrete Mathematics

Discrete mathematics is that part of mathematics not involving limit processes. It includes logic, the integers, finite structures, sets and networks.

Students should have completed MATH199 before enrolling in MATH120. If students are enrolled in MATH199 and have excellent marks in the first semester of MATH199 their application will be considered. Students must attend tutorials, a test and an exam for MATH120 on campus.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

PHYS101 Engineering Physics A: Mechanics, Waves, Electromagnetism and Thermal Physics

This is a required course for all Engineering Programmes as well as Physics and Astronomy degrees. PHYS101 builds on NCEA level 3 physics to develop Mechanics, Conservation Laws, Fluids, Waves, Thermal Physics, and Electromagnetism into an essential foundation for science and technology understanding.

Attendance at laboratories and tutorials is required for this course.

Semester: S1, S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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PHYS111 Introductory Physics for Physical Sciences and Engineering

An introductory physics course covering mechanics, oscillations, waves, D.C. circuits, geometrical optics, wave optics, nuclear physics.

Attendance at laboratories and tutorials is required for this course.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

See also Science courses.

HLTH101 Introduction to Health Studies

Social, economic, cultural, environmental and psychological factors affect the health of people living in Aotearoa New Zealand. In this course, students develop strategies for gathering information about causes of ill health, investigate effects of ill health, and evaluate the effectiveness of health-related policies and interventions. During the second part of the course expert guest lecturers introduce their research on mental well-being, adolescent health, and problematic substance use. Students use local and international research to investigate a health problem and present that research in a well-structured, well-referenced report.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

HLTH102 Health Promotion

This course will provide an understanding of the broad range of ways in which the health of populations or societies can be promoted. Through personal reflection and synthesis of course material, students will deepen their understanding of key health concepts. Students will learn to design health promotion approaches that aligns with epidemiological and life-course evidence.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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HLTH106 Te Wero - Māori Health Issues and Opportunities

This course introduces students to a selection of historical and contemporary Māori health content within a Treaty of Waitangi framework, to support robust analyses of Māori population health issues. Exploring what Māori health was and is, students will be challenged to consider the promise of Māori health and its significance for current and future Aotearoa New Zealand.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

HLTH111 Global Health

Global health challenges cross international borders and responses require international cooperation. In this course we explore (1) the key and emerging challenges and opportunities facing global health, (2) major public health developments that have improved health outcomes for all and (3) identify how economic and political processes have shaped responses to global health problems.

Recommended preparation: HLTH101.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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SPRT101 Introduction to Sport Coaching

This course introduces students to the contemporary practice of coaching and recent developments in research and practice in the field. It encourages open attitudes to innovations in coaching and the need for informed reflective practice. Students are encouraged to reflect upon their existing beliefs about coaching and how they dispose them toward recent developments in the field and the growing influence of research on practice. Students will gain knowledge and understanding about relevant aspects of human development and pedagogy with a focus on how to coach for learning rather than what to coach. They will be exposed to the idea of a spectrum of coaching styles from direct instruction to problem solving approaches and how the particular sporting context and sport affects decisions about which approach to take. It involves reflecting upon first hand experience as learners and coaches informed by relevant literature.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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SPRT104 Anatomy and Physiology

In this course, students will explore the human body’s structure and functions, and how systems interact and adapt to exercise.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

SPRT105 Sport, History and Society

An introduction to the history and philosophy of physical education, physical activity and sport, critiquing the development of movement culture with particular reference to New Zealand sport development and physical education. In order to understand the nature and purpose of contemporary movement contexts, this course provides historical and philosophical frameworks.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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SPRT107 Sport Nutrition

This course provides an understanding of nutritional principles for healthy living and maintaining and improving sporting performance. The course will identify recommended nutritional practices for various populations including athletes, recreational exercisers, and groups with specific nutritional needs. The use of nutritional supplements in sporting performance will also be examined.

Semester: S1, S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

SPRT108 Sport Business and Governance

The sport industry has undergone significant change over recent decades. We have seen a transformation of sport from a community driven past-time to a professional business sector dependent on funding or self-sufficient through profit making, while often still reliant on volunteers. This course investigates governance of sports organisations through a variety of contexts. This includes a focus on board leadership, motivations and structures, including a focus on addressing Māori and Pasifika health and well-being goals and outcomes as a strategic priority for sports organisations. There is a particular focus on Sport NZ’s development and use of Te Pake o Ihi Aotearoa Maori Outcomes Framework and Ara Taiohi’s Mana Taiohi framework. This course focuses on community engagement through the use of marketing communications to create strong connection, action and support.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

CRJU101 Introduction to Criminal Justice

The structure of the Criminal Justice system and the role of government agencies: Investigative and prosecutorial agencies such as Police, Fisheries, Customs, Serious Fraud Office, Crown prosecutors (includes ESR); the criminal courts (High, District and Youth Courts) jurisdiction and roles; Corrections and related activities (includes Probation, fines enforcement, community service etc); CYPS.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

CRJU150 Legal Method in the Criminal Justice Context

Legal method in the criminal law context provides an introduction to understanding legal concepts, the sources of law, and the structure of the criminal justice system in New Zealand. Students will be introduced to important concepts and definitions and to the techniques of legal reasoning, case analysis and statutory interpretation through an examination of criminal cases and laws. They will also be introduced to the impact Tikanga and customary law has on understanding legal method in New Zealand. Students who study this course will be well equipped to understand legal method from a New Zealand criminal law perspective.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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CRJU160 Legal Issues in the New Zealand Criminal Justice System

Legal Issues in the New Zealand criminal justice system will introduce students to current and emerging issues in the criminal justice system. It will begin by providing an overview of the complex legal rules which regulate the investigation and prosecution and punishment of criminal offences and offenders. Case studies and contemporary law reform initiatives will be used to provide perspectives on the working of these legal rules as practice, and as tools to discuss the process in which the law might be changed. Students who study this course will be well equipped to understand the nature of the New Zealand criminal justice system.

This course covers some sensitive topics.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

ANTA102 Antarctica: The Cold Continent

This introductory course explores the evolution of the Antarctic continent, the dynamics of polar ice, the drivers of weather and climate in Antarctica, the circulation of the Southern Ocean, astronomy and human interaction with the polar region including the history of exploration and intriguing legal issues.

Students who have taken ANTA101 should not enrol in this course.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

ASTR109 The Cosmos: Birth and Evolution

In this "astronomy for poets" course, we take a grand tour of the universe! We will explore how our societies connect to our place in the cosmos, build your own personal awareness of how the Earth and sky relate, and gain an understanding of astronomy, astrophysics and planetary science, beginning with our Solar System and expanding outward to visit exotic stars, remote planets, and distant galaxies. During the journey we will learn about the ways we build this understanding, from voyaging Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa | the Pacific to mapping the structure and origin of the Universe itself. Suitable for inclusion in any course of study.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

BIOL111 Cellular Biology and Biochemistry

A foundation course in cellular biology integrating the principles of molecular biology and biochemistry with the structure and function of plant, animal and microbial cells. Cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying cell growth/death cycles, cancer and genetic disorders will also be considered.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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BIOL112 Ecology, Evolution and Conservation

An integrated course embracing the principles of ecology, behaviour, genetics, evolution and conservation biology.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

BIOL113 Diversity of Life

An overview of the diversity, evolution, structure and function of animals, plants and microbes.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

BIOL116 Human Biology

An introduction to the biology of humans. The course is particularly recommended for students wishing to advance in topics in health and sport, as well as those students advancing in science subjects.

This course is not a core course for the Biological Sciences major, but is for the Bachelor of Health Sciences.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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CHEM111 Chemical Principles and Processes

Atoms and the periodic table; chemical bonding; reduction and oxidation reactions; properties of gases; introduction to thermodynamics; kinetics; chemical equilibrium; Gibbs energy and the second law of thermodynamics; aqueous chemistry; acid-base equilibrium.

Students should complete CHEM114 or 14 credits NCEA Level 3 Chemistry first.
Attendance at laboratories and tutorials is required for this course.

Semester: S1, S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

CHEM112 Structure and Reactivity in Chemistry and Biochemistry

Structure, isomerism, stereochemistry, synthesis, and reaction mechanisms in organic chemistry; transition metal chemistry and electrochemistry.

Students should complete CHEM114 or 14 credits NCEA Level 3 Chemistry first.
Attendance at laboratories and tutorials is required for this course.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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CHEM114 Foundations of Chemistry

A preparatory course for biological sciences and other non-specialists, assuming minimal preparation in Chemistry. There is an emphasis on the properties of materials and biological systems. Atoms, molecules, mole concept, chemical equations, stoichiometry; electron configuration, bonding; molecular structure; energy changes and kinetic factors in chemical reactions; aqueous chemistry; introductory organic chemistry.

Students who have already completed 14 credits NCEA Level 3 Chemistry should not enrol in this course.
Attendance at laboratories and tutorials is required for this course.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

ENVR101 Introduction to Environmental Science

This course offers a general introduction to environmental science in an interdisciplinary context. The ENVR101 course aims to build a knowledge platform and exposes students to the environmental problems and solutions of the modern era. Using an integrated approach across the chemical, biological, cultural and values/ethics aspects of environmental science, students will consider the problems and solutions across key topics including: Feeding the planet (Kai whenua and Kai Moana), Sustainable resource use and waste management, powering the planet, human health and environment, sustainable cities, and sustainable tourism. Students will learn through a combination of lectures and tutorials/workshops. Assessment will be via assignment, on-line quies and an exam.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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FORE111 Trees, Forests and the Environment

The course explores the interaction between forests and people, linking forest types and locations to their products and services. We discuss sustainable forest management, the role of forestry tackling climate change and Treaty of Waitangi obligations.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

GEOG106 Global Environmental Change

An exploration of major environmental changes happening at the global scale. With a particular focus on climate, ice, freshwater, and ocean processes, we investigate how geospatial monitoring and other tools are used to address global environmental challenges. We look at how human activities are interacting with Earth systems, and aim to empower people to improve environmental and societal resilience at a range of scales.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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GEOG110 People, Places and Environments

This course draws on the insights of human geography to deepen your understanding of how people make places and shape environments. We examine the economic, social and cultural processes that create contemporary places and also consider their possible futures. Through practical work, you will learn some of the key methods and techniques available for describing and analyzing how places change.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

GEOL101 Building Planet Earth: Fundamentals of Earth Science

In this introductory course, we aim to provide you with a basic understanding of how Earth and its materials have developed through deep time. Since the birth of the Earth 4.55 billion years ago the only constant has been change. The oceans and atmosphere, the distribution of the continents and the life that they support are all part of an interactive system that makes Earth unique. In this course you will learn about the essential building blocks of Earth (minerals and rocks) and the processes that are responsible for how they form and change through time. In addition this course teaches you how to read the stories that the rocks are telling us and decipher key events in the evolution of life on Earth through the fossil record. Building Planet Earth gives you the opportunity to explore how our unique planet works and has sustained life, by showcasing our Zealandia continent. Aotearoa | New Zealand, on the active margin of the Pacific with its volcanoes, earthquakes, dramatic geomorphology, and 500 million years of geological history, is one of the best places on Earth to study geological processes.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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GEOL102 Environmental Earth System Science

This course provides foundational knowledge, understanding and practical skills aligned to complex challenges of the modern era from an Earth Science perspective. We currently face a number of critical problems that result from the complex interaction of Earth Systems that have no simple solution. Such challenges are known as ‘Wicked Problems’. From an Earth Science perspective, wicked problems include the modern period of human-induced climate change, access to critical resources, and the risk posed from natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides. This course explores these problems and outlines the geologic approaches available to help better understand these problems. The course will develop fundamental geologic skills including geoscientific data collection, analysis and visualisation, hazard analysis, spatial mapping, and written communication. Upon completion of this course, you will have acquired an appreciation for the role geoscience plays in creating, understanding and mitigating some of the most pressing issues facing humanity today, including * Rock and mineral derived contaminant cycling * Geologically derived carbon cycling and climate change * Hydroclimate, water resources and geosphere-hydrosphere-anthrosphere interactions * Novel metal resources * Plate tectonics; mountain building; faulting & folding * Natural hazards; earthquakes; landslides; tsunamis; volcanoes * Disaster risk; human-earth system interactions.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

MATH199 AIMS - Advancing in Mathematical Sciences

MATH199 is a course in calculus and linear algebra. This STAR course is designed for bright secondary school students who have excelled in level 3 NCEA Mathematics (or equivalent) and wish to take level 100 mathematics while still at school.

Applications will be assessed by Head of School or nominee before students can enrol in MATH199. Recommended preparation is about 20 credits of Mathematics with a good proportion of excellences at NCEA Level 3, or the equivalent for students not doing a full NCEA programme. Enrolments will be considered if students’ Level 2 calculus results are excellent and they take year 13 calculus concurrently with MATH199. This course has an introductory session in the week before the course starts: Thursday 13 February 4.15pm - 5.30pm.

Semester: W (Whole Year)
Points: 30
2025 STAR Course Fee: $1,266
2024 STAR Course Fee: $1,194
(tuition fees for MATH199 are covered by the Faculty of Engineering. Schools will not be invoiced for MATH199)

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MATH120 Discrete Mathematics

Discrete mathematics is that part of mathematics not involving limit processes. It includes logic, the integers, finite structures, sets and networks.

Students should have completed MATH199 before enrolling in MATH120. If students are enrolled in MATH199 and have excellent marks in the first semester of MATH199 their application will be considered. Students must attend tutorials, a test and an exam for MATH120 on campus.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

PHYS101 Engineering Physics A: Mechanics, Waves, Electromagnetism and Thermal Physics

This is a required course for all Engineering Programmes as well as Physics and Astronomy degrees. PHYS101 builds on NCEA level 3 physics to develop Mechanics, Conservation Laws, Fluids, Waves, Thermal Physics, and Electromagnetism into an essential foundation for science and technology understanding.

Attendance at laboratories and tutorials is required for this course.

Semester: S1, S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

PHYS111 Introductory Physics for Physical Sciences and Engineering

An introductory physics course covering mechanics, oscillations, waves, D.C. circuits, geometrical optics, wave optics, nuclear physics.

Attendance at laboratories and tutorials is required for this course.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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PSYC105 Introductory Psychology - Brain, Behaviour and Cognition

Psychology is a diverse and thriving science devoted to understanding behaviour and the human mind. In PSYC105 you will receive an introduction to the following areas: positive psychology; wellbeing; visual perception; research methods; learning and behaviour change; forensic psychology; neuropsychology; drugs and behaviour; memory and cognition; and health psychology.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

PSYC106 Introductory Psychology - Social, Personality and Developmental

Psychology is a diverse and thriving science devoted to understanding behaviour and the human mind. In PSYC106 you will receive an introduction to five major domains: personality, abnormal, social, developmental, and organisational psychology. You will also learn about the different research methods used in each of these domains.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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PSYC107 Foundations of Psychological Science

This course will take a holistic and critical look at the science of psychology itself: its questions, methods, evidence, and unique challenges; as well as its place within modern Aotearoa New Zealand society.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633

SCIE101 Science, Society and Me

In this foundational course, we examine stimulating questions such as what science is, who does science, how is science practiced, how do science, culture and society interact and how science is communicated to differing audiences. This course will draw on a variety of historical and contemporary case-studies, leading edge research, ethical challenges and controversial issues. Students will gain an understanding of the civic roles, responsibilities and influence of science in our Māori, New Zealand, and global communities. Students will learn how to work effectively as a team and communicate successfully to communities and end-users. Students will learn what it means to be a successful scientist in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and the world in the 21st century.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

SCIM101 Science, Māori and Indigenous Knowledge

This is an integrated multi-disciplinary course between Aotahi: School of Māori and Indigenous Studies and the College of Science. This course provides a basic understanding of Māori and indigenous peoples’ knowledge in such fields as astronomy, physics, conservation biology, aquaculture, resource management and health sciences. The course provides unique perspectives in indigenous knowledge, western science and their overlap. The course will provide an essential background in cultural awareness and its relationship with today’s New Zealand scientific community.

Students who have completed MAOR172 should not enrol in this course.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

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SPSC113 Introduction to Communication Disorders

An introduction to the study of typical speech, language and swallowing as well as communication and swallowing disorders in children and adults.

Semester: S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

SPSC114 The Art and Science of Human Communication

SPSC114 examines how we communicate, how that is influenced by our culture, the neural and cognitive processes underpinning communication, and how communication is affected by external contexts such as noise and stress. It highlights theories and practical strategies to enhance the success of communication, in written and spoken format, as a university student and future professional. Drawing on case studies from the fields of medicine and aviation, we explore the effects of communication failure-and how those issues can be mitigated. We explore how communication differs across groups-such as children, older adults and those with communication difficulty. Students also gain exposure to the different academic disciplines that examine communication and the scientific methods they employ.

Semester: S1
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597

STAT101 Statistics 1

An introduction to the ideas, techniques and applications of statistics and probability.

Semester: S1, S2
Points: 15
2025 STAR Course Fee: $633
2024 STAR Course Fee: $597