Victoria University of Wellington

Being in the capital shapes what Victoria does well: law, public policy, international relations and government studies all draw on internships a few streets away. Its design and film programmes benefit from Wellington's screen industry.

The university is spread across several campuses in the city, connected by a free shuttle.

Admission is assessed against the requirement for the individual programme, and the law, public policy, design and film programmes that draw most international applicants each have their own selection arrangements.

• Completed Class 12 from a recognised board for undergraduate entry, meeting the subject prerequisites the programme lists.
• A recognised bachelor's degree for postgraduate entry, with the cognate background the programme requires and weight on the final years of study.
• English evidence through IELTS, TOEFL or another accepted test at the level set for the programme, with the law and public policy programmes requiring a solid standard of written English in particular.
• Complete transcripts and certificates, and a statement of purpose for postgraduate applications, which matters more than usual for the policy and international relations programmes.
• A portfolio for the design programmes and a showreel or portfolio for film and media, assessed alongside the academic record.
• Academic references, a research proposal and confirmation of supervision for research degrees.

Law here has its own entry structure with selection after an initial period of study, so confirm the current arrangement for your intake before planning around it.

Wellington charges international students per programme and bills on the courses you enrol in for the year, so the applicable figure is the one published against your own programme rather than a single university rate.

• The faculty and discipline set the level. Humanities and social sciences, law, commerce, science, design and film are charged at clearly different rates.
• Studio and production-based programmes carry costs beyond tuition. Design and film students should budget for materials, equipment and production costs, which are not in the headline fee and are not trivial.
• Compulsory charges outside tuition — the student services levy, approved insurance for the length of your visa, and course-specific materials.
• Postgraduate programmes are costed separately from undergraduate ones, and the professional master's programmes in policy and in the creative disciplines have their own rates.
• Fees are republished each year, so budget a multi-year degree with increases assumed rather than at the entry-year rate.

Wellington is cheaper to live in than Auckland but not cheap, and the city's hilly compact layout means most students live close in and pay for the convenience. Work from the published programme fee and living cost estimate for your year of entry, and ask us to confirm the current figures.

Funding here comes from university awards, faculty awards and national government programmes, with the policy and law disciplines also attached to externally funded schemes.

• University international scholarships, assessed on academic record, with some considered from the admission application and others requiring a separate submission.
• Faculty awards tied to a discipline — law, the social sciences, design and film each publish their own, sometimes with a portfolio or written component.
• Donor and endowed awards with narrower criteria, including some tied to public policy and public service given the university's position in the capital.
• Doctoral scholarships, the most substantial support available, normally combining fee cover with a living stipend and arranged with a supervisor.
• New Zealand government international programmes, applied for nationally and on their own timetable.

For the creative programmes, the portfolio that supports your admission often supports the scholarship application too, so prepare it to a standard that can serve both rather than assembling something separate later.

Wellington is New Zealand's capital and a small, dense, walkable city, and the university is spread across several sites within it — the main Kelburn campus on the hill above the centre, with law in the city and the creative disciplines based separately.

• Being in the capital is the point for some programmes. Parliament, the ministries, the courts, national archives and the policy community are a short walk from the city sites, which is why the law, public policy and international relations programmes sit where they do.
• A distinct creative sector. Wellington's film and design industry is concentrated in the city, and the university's film and design programmes are connected to it through placements and project work.
• The cable car up to Kelburn is a normal part of the commute, and the campus's hillside position gives it a compact, self-contained feel above the harbour.
• Halls of residence in the city and near Kelburn, applied for separately from your course and with their own deadlines; flat-sharing in the inner suburbs follows.
• A strong arts, café and live music culture for a city of its size, and an unusually active student society scene in debating, theatre and student media.
• The weather is the local joke and the local truth — Wellington is genuinely windy, and a proper coat matters more than an umbrella.

Housing is tight because the city is small and hemmed in by hills and harbour. Apply for a hall place early rather than arriving to look.