Fees for domestic students

Your tuition fees depend on the individual courses you’ve chosen—learn how much you’ll pay if you are a domestic student at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

Your tuition fees for the year are the total of the fees for the courses you’ve enrolled in. We calculate the fee for each individual course based on:

  • the level it is taught at (undergraduate or postgraduate), and
  • the per point cost of the subject area, and
  • the point value of the course.

As well as tuition fees, you’ll also need to pay some other costs and levies.

If you are facing difficulties in paying your tuition fees on time, contact the Student Fees Advisors as soon as possible, email student-finance@vuw.ac.nz.

Domestic student eligibility

You are eligible to pay domestic fees if you are:

  • a New Zealand citizen, or a citizen of Niue, Cook Islands, or Tokelau Islands, or
  • a New Zealand resident or permanent resident currently living in New Zealand, or
  • an Australian citizen or permanent resident currently living in New Zealand, or
  • a diplomat or consular assigned to live in New Zealand, or an immediate dependent.

You can find a full definition of a domestic student in section 17 of the Fees Policy (PDF).

Estimate your fees

We will calculate the final amount for your fees when we accept your enrolment application, but you can estimate the cost of your studies.

Fees-free tertiary study

If you are a domestic student and have only studied a small amount at tertiary level (or not at all), you may be eligible to study without paying tuition fees.

Find out more about studying fees-free.

Other costs and levies

The Student Services Levy and the Student Assistance Levy are compulsory fees for all students. They fund services for students that are not covered by tuition fees and assist students suffering exceptional financial hardship.

From 2024, these levies will be renamed the Student Services Fee and the Student Hardship Fee, respectively.

Some courses have additional costs for items such as study materials, equipment, or field trips. These additional costs are typically described in the online course outline —use the course finder to look up individual courses.

The University may charge you a fee to cover the cost of administrative tasks such as replacing your student ID card, refunding credit, or processing a late payment.

Domestic tuition fees for 2024

For each subject area, the following tables show the cost per point and the average tuition fee for a year’s full-time study. All costs include GST.

Undergraduate-level study Cost per point,
including GST ($)
Cost of average year
of full-time study
(120 points), including GST ($)
Humanities and Social Sciences 51.45 6,174.00
Education 51.45 6,174.00
Music 65.11 7,813.20
Health 63.26 7,591.20
Midwifery 71.61 8,593.20
Commerce 60.53 7,263.60
Law 60.53 7,263.60
Mathematics and Statistics 56.67 6,788.40
Architecture 71.54 8,584.80
Design 64.307,716.00
Psychology and Computer Science 64.30 7,716.00
Chemical, Physical, Biological and Earth Sciences 64.997,798.80
Engineering 75.339,093.60

For postgraduate study, there are two different sets of per point rates—for coursework-based qualifications and for thesis-based qualifications.

Tuition fees for Professional Master’s programmes, such as the Executive MBA, are set individually. Find out more about our Master’s programmes.

Postgraduate (coursework) Cost per point,
including GST ($)
Cost of average year
of full-time study
(120 points), including GST ($)

Humanities and Social Sciences

71.54

8,584.80

Education

71.54

8,584.80

Music

75.38 – 83.77

9,045.60 – 10,054.40

Health

80.19

9,622.80

Commerce

78.66

9,439.20

Mathematics and Statistics

80.42

9,650.40

Architecture and Design

81.67

9,800.40

Psychology and Computer Science

81.67

9,800.40

Chemical, Physical, Biological and Earth Sciences

82.17

9,860.40

Law

87.61

10,513.20

Nursing and Midwifery

82.05

9,846.00

Engineering

81.67

9,800.40

Postgraduate (thesis) Cost per point,
including GST ($)
Cost of average year
of full-time study
(120 points), including GST ($)

Humanities and Social Sciences

67.32

8,078.40

Education

67.32

8,078.40

Music

75.38

9,045.60

Health

76.80

9,216.00

Commerce

74.80

8,976.00

Law

74.80

8,976.00

Mathematics and Statistics

75.51

9,061.20

Architecture and Design

77.89

9,346.80

Psychology and Computer Science

77.89

9,346.80

Nursing and Midwifery

78.41

9,409.20

Chemical, Physical, Biological and Earth Sciences

78.41

9,409.20

Engineering

77.89

9,346.80

Domestic tuition fees for 2023

For each subject area, the following tables show the cost per point and the average tuition fee for a year’s full-time study. All costs include GST.

Undergraduate-level study Cost per point,
including GST ($)
Cost of average year
of full-time study
(120 points), including GST ($)
Humanities and Social Sciences 50.05 6,006.00
Education 50.05 6,006.00
Music 63.34 7,600.80
Health 61.54 7,384.80
Midwifery 69.66 8,359.20
Commerce 58.89 7,066.80
Law 58.89 7,066.80
Mathematics and Statistics 55.03 6,603.60
Architecture 69.60 8,352.00
Design 62.55 7,506.00
Psychology and Computer Science 62.55 7,506.00
Chemical, Physical, Biological and Earth Sciences 63.22 7,586.40
Engineering 73.28 8,793.60

For postgraduate study, there are two different sets of per point rates—for coursework-based qualifications and for thesis-based qualifications.

Tuition fees for Professional Master’s programmes, such as the Executive MBA, are set individually. Find out more about our Master’s programmes.

Postgraduate (coursework) Cost per point,
including GST ($)
Cost of average year
of full-time study
(120 points), including GST ($)

Humanities and Social Sciences

69.60

8,352.00

Education

69.60

8,352.00

Music

73.33 – 81.49

8,799.60 – 9,778.80

Health

78.01

9,361.20

Commerce

76.52

9,182.40

Mathematics and Statistics

78.23

9,387.60

Architecture and Design

79.45

9,534.00

Psychology and Computer Science

79.45

9,534.00

Chemical, Physical, Biological and Earth Sciences

79.94

9,592.80

Law

85.23

10,227.60

Nursing and Midwifery

79.82

9,578.40

Engineering

79.45

9,534.00

Postgraduate (thesis) Cost per point,
including GST ($)
Cost of average year
of full-time study
(120 points), including GST ($)

Humanities and Social Sciences

65.49

7,858.80

Education

65.49

7,858.80

Music

73.33

8,799.60

Health

74.71

8,965.20

Commerce

72.77

8,732.40

Law

72.77

8,732.40

Mathematics and Statistics

73.46

8,815.20

Architecture and Design

75.77

9,092.40

Psychology and Computer Science

75.77

9,092.40

Nursing and Midwifery

76.28

9,153.60

Chemical, Physical, Biological and Earth Sciences

76.28

9,153.60

Engineering

75.77

9,092.40

Money matters guide

Our Managing Your Money publication is a ‘financial survival’ guide designed to help you plan for the costs of studying and manage your money as well as possible.

Managing Your Money (PDF)

Get help

Talk to the Student Finance team

Phone: 0800 04 04 04
Email: student-finance@vuw.ac.nz