Graduate Diploma in Visual Arts

at Otago Polytechnic - Dunedin Campus New Zealand

Sewing skills aren't essential, as long as you're into fashion, you're creative, a hard worker and a risk taker. Our graduates have gone on to work for internationally-acclaimed designers.

This leading fashion degree is recognised for its international opportunities, industry connections and the chance to develop your style and identity as a designer.

The program is hands-on and reflects current industry practice. You'll develop your advanced design and technical skills, extend your market knowledge and explore enterprise opportunities.

This qualification will help you extend and deepen your knowledge of the underpinning base theories and procedures used in the practice environment, in a wider and more encompassing scope than within our Postgraduate Certificate program.You will also gain a greater understanding of the roles of those who are working with you.

You will have completed an applied project, which allows you to address your practice from multiple perspectives and to position your practice within a wider industry context.This qualification prepares you for further postgraduate study or a career in advanced sport or exercise.

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 will allow you to demonstrate mastery of theoretically and procedurally sophisticated subject matter through a body of scholarly applied work, which is presented in a public forum and supported by a project or thesis.This could form the basis of scholarly journal articles. The work will respond to societal needs, address practice from multiple perspectives and be positioned within a wider framework of academic and applied research.

This qualification prepares you for doctoral level study, an academic career or a lead sport or exercise management role.

Civil Engineers work on the design, construction management and maintenance of civil works such as roads, dams, earthquake engineering, water and sewerage systems. Civil engineering graduates are responsible for the project management of these jobs and often work internationally as New Zealand graduates have a good reputation worldwide.

During this program, you will gain a sound knowledge, understanding and practical appreciation of civil engineering processes and theory by developing your ability to apply learning in a practical and innovative way.

Product Design is an exciting, ever-evolving profession focused on designing objects and systems to improve the way we live.

As a product designer you could work for corporations, manufacturers, consultancies and in the public sector, working to create specialised equipment with multidisciplinary teams that include doctors, researchers and engineers.

You'll graduate well-equipped for the workforce, with transferable skills in project management, communication, marketing and idea generation.

IT is problem solving. Trouble shooting. Critical thinking. Creating. Designing. Building. It’s working alone or working with people.

This is an applied degree so you’ll learn by doing. You’ll gain the skills and practical knowledge to go straight into a job when you graduate.

This degree will teach you how to become a creative maker, thinker and active agent in a local, national and global context. A qualification in the Visual Arts will allow you to find employment in a diverse range of professions such as practising artist, curator, art educator or researcher. A variety of roles within the digital and film industries would also be possible.

Gain technical, academic and personal skills which will be transferable to a wide variety of fields including education, design, management and marketing. This qualification provides a perfect bridge into further learning as you select from a range of subjects initially and then move into full specialisation, focusing your talents in your chosen field.

This program has industry experiences at its centre with case studies and workplace-based or focused assignments. The practical learning doesn’t stop there as you’ll also complete an internship during your third year. This internship will place you within a real-world business where you’ll need to complete a research project as part of your time with the organisation.

Through this hands-on learning experience, you’ll develop the understanding and skills to work in a range of management environments at operational and strategic levels – not to mention the great industry and business connections you’ll also make!

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.