Master of Science Research in Ecology and Biodiversity

at The University of Waikato - Tauranga Campus New Zealand

Studying Social Policy involves examining the issues that affect people and society. It analyses the policies and practices of politicians, public servants, governments and non-governmental agencies, and how they impact on communities and wider society. It takes a broad and encompassing approach, because social policy impacts on all parts of everyday life – from health and education to families, transport and housing, plus the systems and institutions that support them.

Your Social Policy studies at Waikato will cover why and how societies respond to problems such as poverty and unemployment. You'll take part in popular and recurring social policy debates, and gain an in-depth understanding of why social problems arise. You'll investigate and evaluate different ways of responding to those problems.

The pressure on our environment is increasing as the human population grows. Environmental Sciences provide a basis for understanding environmental problems, and finding solutions to them.

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.

Prepare yourself for a career working in a variety of childhood settings with children from birth up to six years old. Gain theoretical and practical experience as you learn about all the aspects of Te Whariki – the Early Childhood curriculum.

It's an integrated program with seven major themes: bicultural development; cultural diversity; equity and social justice; inclusion; parents and whanau; transition to school; and infants and toddlers.

Teaching at the University of Waikato is a qualification that sets you up to become a skilled and reflective teacher. We produce qualified teachers who are in high demand both in New Zealand and around the world.

The Sport Development and Coaching major is based on an innovative combination of pedagogical and sociological studies of sport and active recreation.

Students in this major will have the opportunity to develop skills and understandings that will support them to enhance sport, recreation, and physical activities for diverse groups and individuals in the community. The transferable knowledge and skills developed through this major will ensure graduates have the capability to lead across any sector that involves people moving.

Students will benefit from the industry partnerships that we have, both locally and nationally, with organisations such as: Sport New Zealand, The International Olympic Committee, Sport Waikato, the Avantidrome, the Waikato Institute of Sport and Leisure Studies, Brian Perry Charitable Trust, The Lowie Foundation, and sports clubs/franchises in the greater Waikato and Bay of Plenty region. A Sport Development and Coaching major prepares you for a range of possible careers which involve policy leadership, sport governance, teaching, coaching, leading, organising, facilitating or managing sport and active recreation.

Finance is all about achieving the best return relative to risk, and helping organisations add value for their shareholders. Studying Finance at Waikato University will prepare you for highly paid positions in the financial and business sectors anywhere in the world.

Practical assignments will prepare you for exactly what you'll encounter in your financial career. For example, students get to work on a funds simulation project using real data, and prepare a report on a publicly listed New Zealand or Australian company, while playing the role of a trainee investment analyst.

You also have the opportunity to do a practical workplace internship or applied research project as part of your degree.
If you enjoy mathematics, accounting, economics, and using analytical tools to find the meaning behind numbers, than finance may be the right fit for you.

Marketing is essential for attracting customers to purchase a company's products or services. It helps to create strong, unique brands that will stand out from their competitors in the crowded global marketplace.

Marketing is far more than just selling or advertising – ultimately, it is marketing that decides what products and services an organisation will offer, to which customers, at what price, using which channels.

In first year you'll take part in a Marketing Tradeshow where you'll put theory into practice. In this fun assignment, you'll work in a team to develop an innovative idea for a new product or service based around a theme, such as tourism, board games, chocolate or sports. Your team will conduct customer research and plan a full marketing mix strategy, including product / packaging design, promotion, price and place of distribution. You'll be encouraged to dress up in costumes on the night, with prizes awarded for best stand, best costumes, and best overall product.

You'll also have the opportunity to study specialist areas of marketing such as digital marketing, brand management, marketing research, consumer and buyer behaviour, services marketing, and business development and sales.

Everyone needs to know the law, not just lawyers. The Rule of Law is the cornerstone of the civilised society. It defines rights and obligations and provides structure to institutions of government and commerce. As an individual it governs all aspects of our lives, shapes our behaviour and provides the building blocks for our community. Law underpins many professions - business people, financial consultants, police officers, forensic scientists, parole officers, policy advisors and many other professions all need an understanding of the law.

Study towards a Bachelor of Law
Choose to study an LLB and you will gain a practical set of skills designed to meet the demands of any legal career and the ability to go into to practice as a barrister or solicitor. You will gain a thorough knowledge of the law, its implications and how it applies in today’s context, you will gain well developed analytical and research skills, and be able to think critically with well-developed communication skills and a sense of social responsibility

Transform your BA with law as a major
Choose to study a Bachelor of Arts with a Law Major and transform the study of Humanities. This is a non-practicing law based qualification ideal for those that want to develop knowledge of the law and its implications and a sense of justice and public responsibility. Studying law within your BA  develops the ability to argue from a basis of evidence, hone your research skills, and develop well rounded critical analysis abilities - all skills that can be transferred to many careers

Behaviour Analysis is a scientific approach to understanding why people and animals do what they do. Studying behaviour analysis will teach you how both animal and human behaviour is affected by events in the social and physical environment and what you can do to produce behaviour change to help improve lives. Knowledge of this science of behaviour and its behaviour-change technology will assist you in a variety of careers.

As a student of Behaviour Analysis, you will learn how behaviour can be understood and changed. This includes an introduction to behaviourism, which is the philosophical underpinning of the science of behaviour and the experimental analysis of behaviour (EAB), which is the domain of basic research.

Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is concerned with the application of these foundations, in the development of a technology to improve socially important behaviours. You will learn many skills, including how to define and measure behaviour, create behaviour change programs and evaluate their effectiveness in courses that combine theoretical and practical learning to produce marketable skills.

The Political Science program will ask you why some crises lead to armed conflict while others resolve peacefully - why democracy thrives in some countries while it dies in others. We challenge you to learn lessons from international politics and to consider political solutions to international crises. We push you to consider tough questions like those involving equality and freedom - must one be sacrificed for the other to flourish?

Political Science is a highly flexible program and will give you job opportunities from local to national government, media, education, industry, business, labour organisations and social services. We also offer minors in Public Policy and in International Relations and Security Studies which further allows you to investigate relevant contemporary issues.

The Political Science program will ask you why some crises lead to armed conflict while others resolve peacefully - why democracy thrives in some countries while it dies in others. We challenge you to learn lessons from international politics and to consider political solutions to international crises. We push you to consider tough questions like those involving equality and freedom - must one be sacrificed for the other to flourish?

Political Science is a highly flexible program and will give you job opportunities from local to national government, media, education, industry, business, labour organisations and social services. We also offer minors in Public Policy and in International Relations and Security Studies which further allows you to investigate relevant contemporary issues.

Political Science at Waikato not only gives you a well-rounded perspective on political issues but also provides a versatile base of knowledge and skills to enter many fields.