Universities

New Zealand at present has 8 state-funded universities. These are:

• University of Auckland (Auckland)
• Victoria University of Wellington (Wellington)
• University of Otago (Dunedin)
• University of Canterbury (Christchurch)
• University of Waikato (Hamilton)
• Massey University (Palmerston North)
• Lincoln University (Christchurch)
• Auckland University of Technology (Auckland)

Click here for a map showing the broad locations of each these Universities in New Zealand.
Click here for short profiles and contact info for each of these Universities.

Note that constituent colleges in some universities may be in parts of New Zealand other than the main campus.

Other Colleges

Other colleges (not affiliated to any University, and actually classified as Polytechnics) have programs that lead to a Master's degree. These are:

• UNITEC Institute of Technology

Programs

• The link in the "College" column in the table below will take you to the International Student's page of the respective university from where you can get contact information, prospectus', application forms and other general information.
• The International Student's page usually has prospectus and application form in PDF format.
• Note that most University programs require that you complete a Bachelor's degree program in the same field that you want to pursue a Master's degree in.
• Courses usually start Feb-Mar.
• Programs are usually for a duration of 2 years (or more depending on when you complete you thesis).
• Usually a MSc program emphasizes a thesis as opposed to regular coursework. MSc programs are tougher, are research oriented and more open-ended.

Costs

• In general tuition costs about NZ$ 22,000 per year in a university and about NZ$ 16,000 per year in any other college.
• In addition to the tuition fees, living costs can be anywhere from NZ$ 8,000 to NZ$ 11,000 per year. (The visa requirement for living costs though is NZ$ 7000 per year).
• As is true in any environment, there are always other minor study related expenses like application fees, late fees and other administrative or membership fees.
• Your Student Permit allows you to work upto 15 hours per week during the academic year (Feb - Nov). If you also apply for a "variation" to your Student Permit, you can work full-time during the summer vacation (Nov - Feb).

Miscellany

• New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee is a central co-ordinating body promoting New Zealand's universities around the world. Contact info for this body is here.
• For a more complete overview of the education system and a complete list of all the colleges (polytechnics), look here or here.

Disclaimer: This info is provided as a public service and the author is not responsible for any errors. Please verify all information before you commit to anything.