Graduate Diploma in Design

at Otago Polytechnic - Dunedin Campus New Zealand

This Master of Visual Arts qualification may lead to higher level employment opportunities in the arts sector. Gain transferable skills that are highly valued in a huge variety of industries including education, art and design, arts management, editorial and curatorial practices.

Enjoy the chance to develop and present mastery of the professional, conceptual and technical skills relevant to your chosen field in the production of an original, independently-developed exhibition and associated writings.

During this hands-on degree, you'll learn to tell stories through still and moving image, text and interactive media. You'll develop industry-ready skills and use project-based learning to apply them to community- and client-driven projects that have a focus on positive social and environmental change.

Specialise in:

• Graphic design and typography
• Illustration, animation and character design
• UX for game design
• Visual design for games
• 3D modelling and world building
• Game narratives and interactive fiction
• Web design and mobile app design
• Film and photography, or
• Social media content design and strategy.

This program has an emphasis on exploration and experimentation. You will develop individual projects which study ceramics as a medium with its own formal language, skills and history, within a broader context of fine arts and crafts.  

Successful completion of this program could lead to you becoming a successful practising artist, with the ability to understand and use your creativity to contribute significantly to your community.

There is also an increasing demand for those professionals to hold higher level qualifications. Applicants for these roles are therefore at a considerable advantage with a postgraduate qualification and there is a strong emphasis within this program on application of knowledge and development capabilities in business management or business information systems.

Flexibility within this qualification will also enable aspirations to be matched/targeted to specific employment opportunities.  

Learners will extend and deepen their knowledge and understanding of current management capabilities and issues in a range of applied settings through experiential learning strategies and reflective practice.

The Graduate Diploma in Tertiary Education is a stimulating, flexibly-delivered programme that is tailored directly to your teaching context.

A variety of contemporary educational media, digital tools and experience-based learning approaches will be used to help you develop as a 21st Century educator; that is, a critically-reflective, dual-professional bringing expertise from your trade or profession to vocational education.

Graduates of this Diploma could find employment as a Beauty Therapist, Spa Therapist, Skin Therapist, Electrologist, Resort Therapist working on a cruise liner or could work within beauty retail. Alternatively, you could establish and run your own beauty therapy business.     

During this program, you will learn how to apply advanced skincare techniques, advanced hair removal techniques and be introduced to spa body treatments.

Become a construction professional and help realize commercial and residential construction projects.

The New Zealand Diploma in Construction is recognized by employers and industrial, academic, and professional bodies - so when you graduate you'll be highly competent and industry-ready.
Quantity Surveyors and Construction Management professionals work with clients, architects, engineers, consultants, and local authorities to complete construction projects.

Construction Managers

Construction Management focus on planning and managing time, resources, quality and health and safety. They are less focused on financial management than quantity surveyors.

Artists create the beautiful, interesting and challenging things that make our environments unique and make a vital contribution to contemporary life.

If you already hold a degree but would like to develop your fine art skills, this program offers the opportunity to carry out an intensive personalised course of study. The skills gained through an art qualification are highly valued in a huge variety of industries including education, design, management and marketing. You may become practising artists in various disciplines and media, or consider a diverse and exciting range of careers including an Illustrator, Art Therapist, Researcher, Artists' Agent, Photojournalist or Colour Consultant.

This program gives you the opportunity to undertake practical and theory-based guided art research in a structured learning environment. A postgraduate qualification in the Visual Arts can lead to an exciting and diverse range of art professions, and the skills you develop are transferable to a wide variety of employment situations in education, or the arts industry and management.

The Graduate Diploma in Accounting is useful for people who may be seeking a promotion within their current job or who want to broaden their skill base. The qualification allows you to extend your knowledge in a complementary discipline without having to undertake a full degree. With a skillset in accounting you will be in constant demand for your ability to plan and record the financial performance of every kind of commercial venture. You could work in a diverse range of organisations, including public sector entities, national and multi-national corporations, NGO’s and self-employment options.