Course details

Summary

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) is Otago's most flexible undergraduate degree programme, enabling students to study from a selection of more than 40 arts and social science subjects, as well as papers offered elsewhere in the University. Academic breadth is complemented by in-depth knowledge gained through majoring in one or two subjects with the option of minors in one or two others.

Students are taught by research-active scholars, are expected to undertake a diverse range of learning tasks and are challenged to develop their intellectual independence. Graduates of the programme are well-informed, versatile, independent thinkers with the information literacy, communication, research and interpersonal skills necessary for a career or further academic study. The completed BA is an entry qualification for the PGDipArts in the major subject of the degree.

Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Islands Studies is taught across several departments. Papers are chosen for their coverage of topics such as Pacific prehistory, Pacific people's issues, Pacific history, Pacific religion and church history, Pacific art history, intercultural film and media studies, as well as 毛利 culture and history.

Programme Requirements

100-level

PACI 101 Pacific Societies. One of: ANTH 103 Anthropology, Culture and Society; ANTH 105 Global and Local Cultures; HIST 107 New Zealand in the World from the 18th Century; MAOR 102 毛利 Society; MFCO 102 Understanding Contemporary Media; PACI 102 Pacific Dance: An Introduction; PACI 103 Languages and Cultures of the Pacific: An Introduction.

200-level

PACI 201 Contemporary Pacific Island Issues or PACI 210 Special Topic: Pacific Bodies: Pacific Worlds; ARCH 204 Pacific Archaeology. One of: ANTH 205 Contemporary Pacific Cultures; GEOG 278 Geographies of the South Pacific; HIST 208 Pacific Islands to c. 1900; MAOR 207 Ngā Kōrero Nehe - Tribal Histories; MFCO 212 Media and Intercultural Communication; MUSI 228 Music in Pacific Cultures; or approved Special Topic papers relevant to the Pacific Islands in ANTH, ARCH, ARTV, CHTH, GEOG, HIST, MAOR.

300-level

PACI 301 Gafa o Tagata Pasifika - Pacific Diaspora in New Zealand or PACI 310 Special Topic: Sino Pasifika - Pacific Bodies. Three of: ANTH 316 Labour and Society; GEOG 378 Geographies of the South Pacific; HIST 337 Environmental History of the Pacific; INDV 307 Ancient East Polynesian Histories; MAOR 307 Te Tūtakitanga o Ngā Ao e Rua; MUSI 328 Music in Pacific Cultures (Advanced); POLS 320 Pacific Geopolitics in the 21st Century; SOWK 304 Kaupapa 毛利, and Indigenous Approaches to Social Work; or approved Special Topic papers relevant to the Pacific Islands in ANTH, ARCH, ARTV, CHTH, GEOG, HIST, MAOR; 198 further points; must include 54 further points at 200-level or above.

Up to 90 points may be taken from outside Arts

Entry criteria

The minimum requirement for students is the completion of a high school qualification plus satisfactory completion of one year's study at an approved tertiary institution or successful completion New Zealand Foundation Year programme.

We also accept the following International qualifications: International Baccalaureate: IB Diploma with a minimum of 26 points; GCE Advanced Levels: minimum grade of 8.

English Language Requirements:

IELTS score of 6.0 in the academic module (with no individual band below 6.0); Internet-based TOEFL Score of 80 (writing 20); Paper-based TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 550 (TWE 4.5); CIE Cambridge International Examinations Grade E or better in AS English; Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) - Overall score of 176 (with no individual band below 169); Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) - Overall score of 176 (with no individual band below 169); GCE 'A' Level or 'AS' Level English Language or English Literature - grade C or higher; GCE 'AS' Level General Paper (English) - grade C or higher; APIEL (Advanced Placement International English Language) Examination - grade 3 or higher; IB International Baccalaureate - English at Higher or Standard level in Language A: literature, Language A: language and literature, or at Higher level in Language B; Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic - Overall score of 58 with no communicative skills score below 50.