A subject is a particular area of study that the university offers courses in, e.g. English, French, Mathematics or Geology.

French

Finance

Financial Management

Forestry

Finance and Economics

Fine Arts

Fire Engineering

Financial Engineering

Forest Engineering

Film

Science, Maori and Indigenous Knowledge

SpanishSociology

Science

Science and Entrepreneurship

Science Education

Soil Science

Social Work

Sport Coaching

Statistics

Software Engineering

Sculpture

Sport Science

Digital Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities

Digital Humanities

Disaster Risk and Resilience

Data Science

Higher Education

Hazard and Disaster Management

Human Interface Technology

Human ServicesHistory

Health Sciences

Human-Animal Studies

Engineering Mathematics

European Union Studies

Engineering Geology

EngineeringEcology

Evolutionary Biology

European Studies

Earthquake Engineering

English Language

Engineering Management

European and European Union Studies

Economics

Education

English

Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Environmental Science

Computational and Applied Mathematics

Computer Engineering

Civil Engineering

Criminal Justice

Construction Management

Classics

Chemical, Natural and Healthcare Product Formulation

Cultural Studies

Cinema Studies

Counselling

Chemistry

Cellular and Molecular Biology

Chemical and Process Engineering

Computer Science

Communication Disorders

CCEL

Chinese

Computational and Applied Mathematical Sciences

Child and Family Psychology

Pre-University Schedule

Philosophy

Psychology

Plant Biology

Physics

Pacific Studies

Professional Accounting

Political Science

Professional and Community Engagement

Physical Education

Printmaking

Photography

Political Science and International Relations

Product Design

Painting

Marketing

Medical Physics

Microbiology

Maori and Indigenous Studies

Maori

Mathematics

Mass Communication

Mathematical Physics

Management

Mechanical Engineering

Mathematics and Philosophy

Media and Communication

Mechatronics Engineering

Music

Art Theory

Anthropology

ArtsAudiology

Art History

Art History and Theory

Accounting and Information Systems

Antarctic StudiesAstronomy

Applied Psychology

Accounting

Architectural Engineering

Art Curatorship

Business Administration

Bicultural Co-Governance

Business Management

Bioengineering

Business Information Systems

Biological Sciences

Bridging Programmes

Business

Biochemistry

Biosecurity

Biotechnology

Gender Studies

Geology

Geographic Information Science

Geography

Graphic Design

German

Transportation Engineering

TransitionsTe Reo Maori

Teacher Education

Taxation

Translation and Interpreting

Linguistics

Languages and Cultures

Law

JournalismJapanese

Water Resource Management

Writing

Russian

International Law and Politics

Information SystemsInnovation

Natural Resources Engineering

Youth and Community Leadership

Zoology

Bachelor’s degrees

Overview

Flexible yet focused, UC’s bachelor’s degree qualifications equip you to solve the problems of the future. Whether you already have your career path mapped out, or are open to new possibilities, you can tailor your studies to suit your interests and goals.

You can focus on a particular career from day one, or follow new and exciting options as you discover them. Some qualifications are specialised, with most of your first-year courses already set into a programme, such as the Bachelor of Engineering with Honours or Bachelor of Laws.

Others allow much more flexibility, and even give you the chance to choose minors from other programmes, such as a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Commerce. This means you can study diverse combinations of subjects and still complete your degree in three years.

As well as bachelor’s degrees, UC also offers a number of undergraduate certificates and diplomas.

Undergraduate Prospectus (PDF, 4MB, 138 pages)

Entry requirements

Entry for bachelor’s degrees require University Entrance to gain admission to UC. If you gained your qualifications overseas, these will need to be assessed to ensure they are of an equivalent standard.

You are also required to meet UC’s English language requirements if English is your additional language.

Find out how to apply for undergraduate qualifications.

Some bachelor’s degrees have additional requirements. Check the details of your selected degree and courses to make sure you meet these.

Qualification options

There are a number of bachelor’s degrees on offer at the University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha:

Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Commerce
Bachelor of Communication
Bachelor of Criminal Justice
Bachelor of Engineering with Honours
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Forestry Science
Bachelor of Health Sciences
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Product Design
Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Social Work with Honours
Bachelor of Speech and Language Pathology with Honours
Bachelor of Sport Coaching
Bachelor of Teaching and Learning (Early Childhood)
Bachelor of Teaching and Learning (Primary)
Bachelor of Youth and Community Leadership
Conjoint Bachelor of Arts and Commerce
Conjoint Bachelor of Arts and Science
Conjoint Bachelor of Commerce and Science
Conjoint Bachelor of Product Design and Commerce
Conjoint Bachelor of Product Design and Science

It is also possible to combine and graduate with two bachelor’s degrees at the same time. Find out more about Double and Conjoint degrees.

Subjects

A bachelor’s degree will allow you to study across a broad range of subjects. A subject is a particular area of study that the University offers courses in eg, English, Management, or Geology.

Browse Subjects to explore your study options so you can get an idea of everything that is on offer.

Major subjects

Studying towards a bachelor’s degree, you’ll develop a deep understanding of a particular study area from first to final year. This core subject area is called your ‘major’. With nearly 100 major subjects to choose from at undergraduate level, you can select a major that fits with your career aspirations and allows you to develop in-depth knowledge.

For some degrees, such as a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Health Sciences, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Sport Coaching, you can also choose to do a double major and specialise in two subjects. This will not increase your workload or the length of your degree. Provided you meet the requirements for both majors at the end of the first year, you can decide whether you want to continue and take a double major, or whether you want to focus on one subject and take the other as a ‘minor’.

Minor subjects

A ‘minor’ offers a similar focus for your degree as your ‘major’ subject, but requires less courses and is an addition to your core degree knowledge. Most students take a minor to complement their major subject or career aspirations, or as a different subject area that they are particularly interested in. Not all bachelor’s degrees at UC offer a minor.

Minor subjects offered within the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Sport Coaching, and Bachelor of Youth and Community Leadership are shared across these degrees, allowing you to choose your minor from a wide variety of options.

Some bachelor’s degrees have specific course requirements for majors and minors; visit the University Regulations website or contact the relevant College for more details.

Courses

Courses are blocks of work that are usually taught over one semester. When you pass a course, you gain points (usually 15 or 30 points per course). Every course you pass adds points to the total required for your degree. First-year students usually only take 100-level courses, although there are some exceptions. Other universities sometimes refer to courses as ‘papers’.

Course codes

Each course has a code of four letters and three numbers. The letters show the subject and the numbers show the level. For example, MATH 101 is a Mathematics course at 100-level, and ENGL 201 is an English course at 200-level.

Electives

Along with taking courses that will go towards your major or minors, you can also take courses in other subjects you are interested in. These are often called electives.

Course prerequisites

You usually have to pass certain courses in a subject – called prerequisites – before you can continue on to 200-level courses in your second year.

Duration

Your bachelor’s degree usually takes three or four years of full-time study to complete. Typically, three year degrees require 360 points of study. Four year bachelor’s degrees, such as the Bachelor of Forestry Science, typically require 480 points of study.

Semesters

The year is divided into three semesters — the first from March to July, the second from July to October, and the summer semester from November to February. A course usually takes one semester to complete.

Students may choose to study in the summer semester to complete their qualification in a shorter time frame, to take prerequisite courses to prepare for another course they wish to take during the other semesters, or to catch up on a failed course.

Further study

Successfully completing an undergraduate degree will allow you to continue on to a wide range of graduate and postgraduate qualifications such as:

Graduate certificates and diplomas
Honours degrees
Postgraduate certificates and diplomas
Master’s degrees