Graduate Diploma in Materials Science

at The University of Waikato - Hamilton Campus New Zealand

Tourism is one of the world's largest industries and significantly impacts New Zealand's economy – we need experts to steer that growth.

The rapid growth of domestic and international tourism and migration has led to an increasing demand for graduates who have a thorough understanding of tourism in its wider social, cultural, economic and political contexts.

Tourism and hospitality is one of New Zealand's fastest-growing export industries, and it can take your career to new places.

The industry encompasses hotels/resorts, cruise ships, sport and leisure operators, restaurants, cafes, bars, theme parks, entertainment, arts and cultural attractions, special events, and much more.

The study of tourism involves predicting the future – working out what people want from their leisure and travel pursuits, and how those wants are delivered and managed. You'll study the structure of different tourism organisations, aspects of hospitality and leisure, and the environmental and economic impacts of tourism operations.

Employers are looking for skillful, business-savvy managers who can plan, control, make strategic decisions, and understand the legal requirements for this sector - and that's where you come in.

• Learn how to design and deliver memorable travel experiences
• Build practical knowledge in areas such as service management, designing operational systems, business strategy, leading teams of staff, and managing financial resources.
• Gain skills in destination marketing, event management, and inter-cultural communication.

The Environment and Society masters program is designed for graduates of undergraduate qualifications in social sciences, environmental sciences, law, economics or management.You build on your qualifying degrees to gain advanced knowledge and critical analysis of the many and diverse perspectives applied to understanding and addressing environmental challenges.

You will complete a selection of core papers and engage in independent research in the area of environmental and societal inter relationships. The structure of the degree also allows you to include relevant papers from other disciplines such as environmental science, law, and management, and provides an ideal way to encourage close interconnections between theory and practice across a broad range of issues and topics relevant to environment and society.

A major in Theatre Studies at Waikato can be a rich and challenging pathway within an Arts degree. It has a wide range of vocational applications within the Performing Arts.  This suite of papers leads the student through processes of performance-making.

Waikato's Theatre Studies program takes a practice-led approach to teaching and learning different aspects of theatre. We encouraging students to explore and develop their performance practice, while thinking through what theatre does and can do in the world.

The papers in the program provide opportunities for the practical study of performance, although all are underpinned by relevant critical theory. The program focusses on Theatre as an evolving, living, breathing practice, and places emphasis on the processes of performance, as well as public performances.

Practical tutorials, seminars and rehearsals take place the theatre laboratory space, and the Playhouse Theatre within the University's purpose-built Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts, which is also the venue for many of the public performances.

The Arts are an essential part of living. Engaging in the arts offers significant intrinsic societal value, enhances academic outcomes and contributes to overall quality of life. Students in Arts Education papers will gain specific discipline knowledge and a broader understanding of the Arts in educational settings through hands-on learning opportunities that nurture curiosity and creativity.

Arts Education papers invite participants to explore their passion, enhance their practice and articulate the value and significance of the Arts in society.

The Bachelor of Science (Technology) degree provides you with an opportunity to gain practical, relevant work experience as part of your undergraduate degree.  This will help you to step into the professional world in your chosen career and successfully integrates theoretical learning with hands-on experience.

The growing human population is expected to exceed 9 billion within the next 40 years.  The need to provide for increasing human demands, while protecting and sustainably managing the environment, is one of our greatest global challenges. Environmental Science is at the core of this challenge.

A major in Environmental Sciences at Waikato encompasses ecology, earth sciences, and environmental chemistry as well as many other disciplines. It is about understanding and managing human impacts on our land, biodiversity, freshwater, oceans, atmosphere and climate while providing the food, water, energy, and mineral resource needs that are critical to our survival.

In studying Ecology and Biodiversity you’ll learn about the distribution, abundance, and biology of organisms and their role in New Zealand’s most important ecosystems.

You’ll gain knowledge of ecological and biological theory, and the practical skills for field identification, surveying, and experimentation with plants, animals and microbes across a broad range of ecosystems. You’ll gain understanding of the principles of biological classification and be able to name and classify common organisms found in New Zealand ecosystems.

Your skills will be gained through a combination of hands on laboratory experience, practical field courses, and teaching from leading ecologists and biologists.

You'll explore how people organise and form groups, form larger social structures, and how societies evolve over time. As a budding sociologist, you'll be challenged to assume little in the hopes of clearing the way for new conclusions.

You'll ask questions like how different groups view social reality and why certain views become accepted within groups over time. You'll dissect the interwoven nature and influence of parents, peers, elders, teachers and the media on society. We'll also challenge you to consider why some societies are war-torn while others remain peaceful – why some behaviour is acceptable while others are less desirable. You'll look for solutions and debate how societies change.

Sociology at Waikato takes a thematic approach and includes papers in criminology, the family, popular culture and theoretical perspectives.  As part of a degree in Sociology papers in social policy, women and gender studies and labour studies can be included.

Teaching staff provide plenty of mentoring and direction along the way and allow students opportunities to throw out ideas in a relaxed and informal learning environment. Studying Sociology at Waikato will open your eyes to the inner workings of society and how people drive them.

If you are a graduate with a Mathematics degree, or even with a strong Mathematical component to your degree, you will be a valuable person in today's workforce, with a qualification that appeals to a wide range of employers including banks, insurance companies, schools and government departments.

There is strong employer demand for Mathematicians, due to a shortage of Mathematics graduates and in particular a critical shortage of Mathematics teachers.

In studying Ecology and Biodiversity you’ll learn about the distribution, abundance, and biology of organisms and their role in New Zealand’s most important ecosystems.

You’ll gain knowledge of ecological and biological theory, and the practical skills for field identification, surveying, and experimentation with plants, animals and microbes across a broad range of ecosystems. You’ll gain understanding of the principles of biological classification and be able to name and classify common organisms found in New Zealand ecosystems.

Your skills will be gained through a combination of hands on laboratory experience, practical field courses, and teaching from leading ecologists and biologists.

International Management deals with business activities that span the globe, across countries and cultures. New Zealand businesses must learn how to operate in countries that have very different laws, economic systems, technology and cultural values to our own.

In this subject, you will learn about some of the barriers and opportunities facing New Zealand exporters, how to develop strategies for entering and servicing international markets, the benefits of e-commerce technologies, managing international alliances and networks, cross-cultural communication, and some of the key strategies used by companies that operate across national borders.

This subject will prepare you for an exciting range of careers in the commercial sector, particularly in exporting, international management, finance, tourism, and government departments such as New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. Alongside your international management papers, you can also choose to learn or continue to learn a foreign language.

International Management may suit you if you're adventurous, business minded, enjoy overseas travel, and have good communication and language skills (or are willing to learn a language.