Course details

Summary

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 BSc(Tech) is a flexible degree, designed to provide you with the necessary practical experience to stand out among other science graduates.

It is internationally recognised, meaning you can find work anywhere in the world. A high percentage of graduates actively seeking employment find it within six months of graduating.

Heading into the workplace with a BSc(Tech) from Waikato means you'll have spent the summer between your second and third years gaining relevant work experience and, in most cases, being paid for your efforts.

To prepare you for the workplace and gain an understanding of how the business world works, the BSc(Tech) includes a workplace preparation paper prior to starting the work placement in addition to a wide variety of science papers.

The first year of the degree is similar to the BSc, enabling you to explore a range of scientific disciplines, broaden your opportunities and lay a foundation for you to build on, even if you haven't studied science before.

From second year your major will form the core of your degree and give you a much deeper understanding of a particular discipline.

Materials Science

Materials Science focuses on understanding the intrinsic structure of a material and the control of its structure through processing. It studies the relationship of the engineering properties of the three main classes of materials (metals, polymers and ceramics) as well as composites and semiconductors.

Materials Scientists are in high demand internationally particularly within the thriving polymer/plastics, metals, ceramics and composites industries. Your detailed understanding of material properties will help you to make important decisions on how to develop new materials and which materials should be used for specific products or applications.

The wider Waikato region contains the highest density of materials-based companies in New Zealand, so as a University of Waikato Materials Science graduate you could also have a number of local employment opportunities available to you. You'll also gain the skills and knowledge to contribute to creating an engineering-based knowledge economy in New Zealand.

As a Materials Science student at the University of Waikato, you will benefit from teaching that is research-led, provided by experts from across the materials spectrum who are internationally renowned for their research in light metals and composites.

Career opportunities

• Materials Scientist
• Materials Consultant
• Materials Selection Consultant
• Materials Production Scientist/Consultant
• Materials Failure Analyst
• Life Cycle Analysis Scientist/Consultant
• Sustainable Development Scientist/Consultant
• Corrosion Consultant
• Failure Analysis Consultant
• Metallurgical Manufacturing Scientist/Consultant
• Ceramic Manufacturing Scientist/Consultant
• Composites Manufacturing Scientist/Consultant
• Wood Manufacturing Scientist/Consultant
• Sustainable Materials Scientist/Consultant
• Research Scientist

Entry criteria

If you have achieved University Entrance through NCEA you will be accepted into this degree.

Discretionary Entrance

Applicants will normally be granted Discretionary Entrance if they have gained a total of at least 80 credits in NCEA at Level 2 in four subjects equivalent to the approved subjects for University Entrance in NCEA at Level 3, with a minimum grade of Merit in at least half of the achievement standards for each subject. Applicants must also have satisfied the numeracy and literacy requirements of University Entrance.

Special Admission

Applicants will be considered on a case by case basis. Applicants 20 years old and over by the beginning of their programme of study will be accepted, except those that are clearly insufficiently prepared for academic study. Preference may be given to applicants who have successfully completed appropriate Waikato Pathways College bridging programmes.

Admission at entrance level or with credit from previous study

Applicants will be considered on a case by case basis bearing in mind patterns of admission which have applied in previous years and the standing of the qualification in New Zealand.

English language requirements:

IELTS (Academic) - 6.0 overall (no band less than 6.0); iBT (internet based) TOEFL - 79-80 with a score of 20 in writing; Pearson PTE Academic - 57 with no less than 57 for each communicative skill; Waikato Pathways - Successful completion of Level 7 with a B grade average in the Certificate of Attainment in Academic English (CAAE) program.