International students outside New Zealand

Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association (VUWSA) advocates provide professional, confidential, and independent student support to help you with academic issues, accommodation problems, and employment and legal disputes. If you have a problem, they are here to help. They can be contacted by email and meetings can be held on Zoom.

Victoria International Students Association (V-ISA) represents the interests of international students at the University. V-ISA promotes a blended multicultural environment where students who have an interest in international student issues or would like to meet other students are welcome to join.

Postgraduate Students Association (PGSA) are a student representative group that consults and supports all Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington Postgraduate students. If you are a student at the University studying at 400-level or above, then you are part of the postgraduate community.

The Wellington Faculty of Graduate Research provides support for doctoral students currently overseas. If you have any concerns, require information or support, contact your student adviser at fgr-postgrads@vuw.ac.nz

Your discipline's Tītoko—Centre for Student Success office is the first place you should contact to discuss all queries or concerns related to your study—admission requirements, academic transcripts, degree planning or audits, credit transfer, approval of exchange programmes, or for help with any other academic matters. They can advise you by email and by online appointment.

For further information visit the managing your studies page.

Students studying from outside New Zealand will need access to Nuku. Nuku is your virtual campus and the online learning environment for all your courses.

Find out more about Nuku.

The connection works best with a VPN (virtual private network) on any device, or if you don’t have a VPN, use a Windows operating system.

If you have technical issues, you can get in touch with the Digital Solutions service desk  by phone +64 4 463 5050, email servicedesk@vuw.ac.nz, or via webchat.

Disability Services offer a range of online services and support to ensure students can fully participate and achieve their aspirations. Disability includes physical, mental, learning, or sensory impairments. You can access inclusive learning tools, Read&Write and EquatIO to make online written and numerical information more accessible.

The best way to access the support is to make an appointment with a disability and inclusion adviser, as they'll become your key point of contact within their service. They offer appointments by Zoom—email disability@vuw.ac.nz.

Read our advice to set yourself up to succeed in an online learning and teaching environment.

Online library services, resources, search tools, and guides are fully available on our website. You can search the library discovery system Te Waharoa, to find books, articles, and online resources.

Our library subscribes to a wide range of databases and journals and the ResearchArchive provides online access to theses and other research outputs by the University's academics and postgraduate students.

Academics and researchers can access a range of library help services. For specialised research support to navigate our library website, find out who your subject librarian is and make an appointment to discuss how they can help you.

Contact the library by email with advice and questions: library@vuw.ac.nz.

Student Learning provides academic support to help with your writing, critical thinking, and math skills. You can book an appointment to talk to a learning adviser online to discuss writing strategies and your argument.

Check their calendar for upcoming online workshops, some of which are specifically tailored for students studying outside of New Zealand at a postgraduate or undergraduate level.

Alternatively visit StudyHub for a range of online resources to develop your study skills, including advice for learning online:

• The post-grad study hub has specific resources on critical thinking, writing and research skills.
• The international study hub has resources specifically for international students.

The School of Mathematics and Statistics offers a number of undergraduate and graduate courses in applied statistics which you may be able to enrol in during the provisional period of your doctoral studies.

The University also has a statistical consulting service. You should contact our consultant at an early stage of your project, to help ensure that the planned procedures and study size will be appropriate for the proposed work.

The University’s Manawa Ora—Student Wellbeing team has worked with students to put together a range of online resources including videos, apps, worksheets, podcasts, images, and quick reads to give advice on different aspects of wellbeing. You can also read tips on six ways to wellbeing, focusing on student life.

The Health Coach works with students to help them to achieve their goals for improved mental wellbeing, lifestyle, or behaviour change. You do not need to be registered with Mauri Ora Student Health and Counselling to book an appointment with the Health Coach.

There are other things you can do to support your wellbeing such as staying connected with those close to you, telling someone you trust if you are feeling stressed and accessing local services that support your mental wellbeing.

You can contact an International Student Adviser in the International Student Support Team at international-support@vuw.ac.nz if you have any health, emotional or financial concerns and don’t know where to go for help.

Sometimes, you may need extra support and guidance to help you through tough times. If you are experiencing a high-level of emotional distress or feel at risk of harm to yourself or others, we encourage you to reach out to health professionals in your country for support. If you or someone else is at risk of suicide or serious harm, you should first contact your mental health or emergency services.

Academic and professional staff can offer learning, administrative and pastoral support, but there will be limits to the extent they can support you. If you do disclose to a staff member that you are experiencing a high-level of emotional distress or feel at risk of harm to yourself or others, they will discuss your situation confidentially with other colleagues, including the student interest and conflict resolution team who may work with you to take appropriate next steps. However, they are not able to provide professional mental health or counselling support or advice.

Students outside New Zealand are not able to access professional medical or mental health care support from Mauri Ora or other allied health teams for a number of reasons. Our health and disability professionals are not covered by insurance to practice outside New Zealand. The Studentsafe Insurance Policy does not cover counselling support for students outside New Zealand. It is also very challenging to provide meaningful support to someone in another country.

It’s important to us that our students are able to study in a supportive and respectful environment. In the case of a life threatening emergency, you should contact your local emergency services.

The Student Interest team is a central point for students to receive advice and support about responding to threatening, inappropriate and concerning behaviour. By identifying concerns early, Student Interest works across the University to respond and resolve issues in a supportive and non-adversarial manner. They assess risks, identify support needs, and work alongside you and others to ensure a safer community.

To have a confidential conversation or receive advice, contact the Student Interest and Conflict Resolution team at studentinterest@vuw.ac.nz.

Please feel free to contact the International Student Support Team at international-support@vuw.ac.nz, if you are not sure who to contact and they will advise you or put you in touch with the Student Interest team, or other teams as appropriate.

A key resource for staying connected with what's happening around the University is the Offshore Students Newsletter. It is issued fortnightly during term time and will be sent directly to your email inbox. You can also find information in newsletters from International Student Experience, on the student blog myView, and on our social media channels.

There is lots of information and advice on our website, as well as online resources, to help you prepare for your career.

Book an appointment by Zoom with a career consultant for advice on career decision-making and job applications. Appointments are available all year and can be booked on CareerHub.

The online career centre has a variety of online tools and resources to help build your employability and prepare for work. There are 8 employability modules you can work through, including CV360 and Interview 360—helpful tools to help you create CVS and job applications that stand out and prepare for interviews.

Final-year students can sign-up to our Alumni as Mentors programme. Matches have been made for 2021 but you can register your interest for future programmes.

You can also register to take part in some activities of the Wellington Plus Programme, the University’s service and leadership development programme.

At Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual/agender (LGBTQIA+), and takatāpui communities are known as the Rainbow community. We offer a range of services and resources for students who identify with diverse sexual orientations and sex and gender identities.

You can email us at rainbow@vuw.ac.nz to schedule a Zoom appointment.

Find information about managing your money as a student, including free online courses and tools from Blackbullion, an online financial learning programme.

Student Finance Advisers offer appointments by Zoom. We provide confidential and non-judgemental financial mentoring and budget advisory services to students. Email student-hardship@vuw.ac.nz to arrange an appointment.

We also offer a number of financial wellbeing workshops on Zoom.

You can email student-finance@vuw.ac.nz with any questions about fees.

You can take part in a number of activities within the Wellington International Leadership Programme online, including our core seminars and experiential opportunities.

The University has a Resource Agreement for Thesis Students which applies to postgraduate research thesis students in all schools. The agreement outlines the study space and furniture, resources, and support available for postgraduate research thesis students.