Choosing your courses

Before you enrol, you need to find out the courses you are required to take and the elective courses you can enrol in. You can contact us for course advice.

You must enrol in three or four courses (45 to 80 points) each trimester to be a full-time student. If you will be studying in New Zealand you must be a full-time student to meet the requirements of your student visa.

If you are studying in a country outside New Zealand and do not have a student visa you may enrol in less than three courses (45 points) each trimester.

Each degree or programme has some courses that you have to take, called required courses. You must enrol in these courses. Many programmes also have elective courses—you can enrol in the elective courses that most interest you or suit your career goals.

Once you’ve decided which courses you’re interested in, you need to check the lecture times to make sure that you have no timetable clashes. Find out more about choosing your courses.

Undergraduate students

You can find your required courses on the requirements tab of your programme page. For elective courses, check our course finder.

You can also email future-students@vuw.ac.nz for help with selecting courses. Include the following information in your email:

  • your full name
  • that you will be enrolling as an international student
  • your programme and major as listed in your Offer of Place letter
  • you can include a course plan, or a list of your selected courses, for review—our Course Advice team will help you make sure your plan is going to work for your degree.

Postgraduate students

You can find your required courses on the requirements tab of your programme page. For elective courses, check our course finder.

You can also contact your programme advisers or faculty for more detailed course advice. You can find their information on the apply and contact tab of your programme page.

International Programme students

You must enrol in the courses that we have confirmed with you via email. There may also be some elective course options you can choose from.

For elective courses, check our course finder for available courses. If you have any questions about your course selection, contact your faculty or school.

Study Abroad and exchange students

You should enrol online only in courses that have been pre-approved for you during your course approval process. You must enrol in three or four courses (45 to 80 points) each trimester, even if you have been approved for more courses.

If you have questions about the course approval process, contact us.