New Zealand Universities & Major Courses

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University
Popular course areas
University of Auckland
Business, Engineering, IT, Computer Science, Health Sciences, Nursing, Education, Law, Architecture
Auckland University of Technology (AUT)
Business, IT, Engineering, Health Sciences, Nursing, Hospitality, Tourism, Communication, Design
University of Waikato
Business, Management, IT, Computer Science, Engineering, Education, Social Sciences, Environmental Sciences
Massey University
Business, Accounting, IT, Nursing, Health, Food Technology, Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Communication
Victoria University of Wellington
Business, IT, Computer Science, Engineering, Law, Education, Architecture, Arts, Public Policy
University of Canterbury
Engineering, Computer Science, IT, Business, Science, Education, Architecture, Forestry
Lincoln University
Agriculture, Agribusiness, Food Science, Environmental Management, Tourism, Land Management, Business
University of Otago
Medicine, Health Sciences, Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Business, Science, IT, Humanities
Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT)
Nursing, Health, Business, IT, Engineering, Viticulture, Tourism
Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology
Business, IT, Engineering, Nursing, Health, Hospitality, Tourism, Construction
Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec)
Nursing, Health, IT, Engineering, Business, Construction, Social Work
Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT)
Nursing, Business, IT, Engineering, Aquaculture, Maritime, Hospitality
Southern Institute of Technology (SIT)
IT, Business, Nursing, Health, Engineering, Hospitality, Construction, Agriculture
Otago Polytechnic
Nursing, Health, IT, Business, Design, Engineering, Social Services
Universal College of Learning (UCOL)
Nursing, IT, Business, Engineering, Construction, Agriculture, Health
Open Polytechnic
Business, Accounting, IT, Management, Health, Social Work, Education

Course categories for international students

Bachelor's

  • Bachelor of Business / Commerce

  • Bachelor of Information Technology

  • Computer Science

  • Engineering

  • Nursing & Health Sciences

  • Education

  • Tourism & Hospitality

  • Environmental Science

  • Agriculture

  • Arts & Social Sciences

Master's

  • Master of Business Administration / Management

  • Master of Professional Accounting

  • Master of Information Technology

  • Master of Data Science

  • Master of Engineering

  • Master of Public Health

  • Master of Nursing

  • Master of Education

  • Master of Applied Management

  • Master of Science

PhD / Research

  • Business & Economics

  • Engineering

  • Computer Science

  • Health Sciences

  • Science

  • Education

  • Agriculture

  • Environmental Sciences

  • Social Sciences

Business

  • Bachelor of Business

  • Bachelor of Commerce

  • Accounting

  • Professional Accounting

  • Business Management

  • Applied Management

  • Supply Chain Management

  • Project Management

  • International Business

Healthcare

  • Bachelor of Nursing

  • Health Science

  • Public Health

  • Health Management

  • Medical Imaging

  • Occupational Therapy

  • Social Work

  • Health and Wellbeing

Engineering & Construction

  • Civil Engineering

  • Mechanical Engineering

  • Electrical Engineering

  • Construction Management

  • Quantity Surveying

  • Architectural Technology

  • Building Surveying

Hospitality & Tourism

  • Hospitality Management

  • Tourism Management

  • Hotel Management

  • Culinary Arts

  • Event Management

Agriculture & Environment

  • Agriculture

  • Agribusiness

  • Horticulture

  • Environmental Management

  • Food Technology

  • Viticulture

  • Animal Management

Education

  • Early Childhood Education

  • Primary Teaching

  • Secondary Teaching

  • Education Studies

Creative fields

  • Graphic Design

  • Digital Design

  • Creative Media

  • Animation

  • Film & Television

  • Communication

  • Fashion Design

New Zealand's official Study with New Zealand portal currently groups study options into areas such as health and medicine, engineering and technology,

University
Location
Major course areas to include
University of Auckland
Auckland
Business, Accounting, Finance, IT, Computer Science, Engineering, Architecture, Education, Nursing, Health Sciences, Pharmacy, Law, Science
AUT – Auckland University of Technology
Auckland
Business, IT, Computer Science, Engineering, Nursing, Health Science, Public Health, Hospitality, Tourism, Communication, Design
University of Waikato
Hamilton
Business, Accounting, Management, IT, Computer Science, Engineering, Education, Psychology, Social Sciences, Science
Massey University
Auckland / Wellington / Palmerston North
Business, Accounting, Finance, IT, Data Science, Nursing, Health, Engineering, Food Technology, Agriculture, Communication, Design
Victoria University of Wellington
Wellington
Business, Accounting, IT, Computer Science, Engineering, Architecture, Law, Education, Public Policy, Psychology, Arts
University of Canterbury
Christchurch
Engineering, Computer Science, IT, Business, Accounting, Data Science, Science, Education, Architecture, Forestry
Lincoln University
Lincoln/Christchurch
Agriculture, Agribusiness, Food, Environment, Horticulture, Tourism, Sport, Business, Land Management
University of Otago
Dunedin
Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, Health Sciences, Business, Accounting, IT, Science, Psychology, Humanities

So, there aren't additional universities beyond these eight in the current NZ university sector.

But for your project, add these major providers

This is where your database can become much more comprehensive.

Institutes of Technology / Polytechnics
Provider
Main areas worth covering
Ara Institute of Canterbury
IT, Cybersecurity, Engineering, Construction, Business, Nursing, Health, Hospitality, Applied Management
Unitec
Construction, Architecture, Engineering, IT, Business, Nursing, Social Work, Animal Management
Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT)
Nursing, Health, Engineering, IT, Business, Logistics, Hospitality
Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT)
Nursing, Health, Business, IT, Engineering, Viticulture, Tourism
Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology
Business, IT, Engineering, Nursing, Health, Hospitality, Tourism, Construction
Wintec – Waikato Institute of Technology
Nursing, Health, IT, Engineering, Business, Construction, Social Work
Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT)
Nursing, Business, IT, Engineering, Aquaculture, Maritime, Hospitality
Southern Institute of Technology (SIT)
IT, Business, Nursing, Health, Engineering, Hospitality, Construction, Agriculture
Otago Polytechnic
Nursing, Health, IT, Business, Design, Engineering, Social Services
UCOL – Universal College of Learning
Nursing, IT, Business, Engineering, Construction, Agriculture, Health

These providers are important because New Zealand's vocational/applied education sector offers qualifications from certificates and diplomas through to applied degrees.

Don't forget Wānanga

For a truly comprehensive NZ education database, I would create a separate Wānanga section.
Examples include:

  • Te Wānanga o Aotearoa

  • Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi

  • Te Wānanga o Raukawa

These are recognised tertiary provider types within the NZ system.

PTEs — important for your consultancy

There are also Private Training Establishments (PTEs). These can be very important for international-student counselling because they offer specialised programmes, often with practical/career-focused study.
For example, your database can include relevant PTEs offering:

IT

  • Software Development

  • Information Technology

  • Cybersecurity

  • Cloud Computing

  • Networking

  • Data Analytics

Business

  • Business Management

  • Accounting

  • Leadership

  • Project Management

  • Supply Chain Management

  • Digital Marketing

Hospitality

  • Hospitality Management

  • Culinary Arts

  • Hotel Management

  • Tourism

  • Event Management

Healthcare

  • Health & Wellbeing

  • Healthcare Management

  • Community Health

  • Mental Health Support

  • Health Administration

Construction

  • Quantity Surveying

  • Construction Management

  • Building

  • Architectural Technology

Early Childhood

  • Early Childhood Education

  • Education Support

  • Teaching-related programmes

NZQA maintains an official searchable database of registered education organisations, including their qualifications and programmes.

Course categories for your master database

I recommend organising your project into these 10 major categories:

IT & Computer Science

  • Information Technology

  • Computer Science

  • Software Engineering

  • Software Development

  • Cybersecurity

  • Data Science

  • Artificial Intelligence

  • Cloud Computing

  • Networking

  • Business Analytics

  • Information Systems

Business & Accounting

  • Business

  • Business Administration

  • Management

  • Accounting

  • Professional Accounting

  • Finance

  • Marketing

  • Human Resource Management

  • International Business

  • Supply Chain Management

  • Project Management

Health & Medical

  • Nursing

  • Health Science

  • Public Health

  • Health Management

  • Medical Laboratory Science

  • Occupational Therapy

  • Physiotherapy

  • Social Work

  • Psychology

  • Health Administration

Engineering

  • Civil Engineering

  • Mechanical Engineering

  • Electrical Engineering

  • Electronics

  • Mechatronics

  • Software Engineering

  • Environmental Engineering

  • Renewable Energy

Construction

  • Construction Management

  • Quantity Surveying

  • Building

  • Architectural Technology

  • Property Development

  • Building Surveying

Agriculture & Environment

  • Agriculture

  • Agribusiness

  • Horticulture

  • Food Science

  • Food Technology

  • Environmental Management

  • Environmental Science

  • Viticulture

  • Animal Science

Creative

  • Graphic Design

  • Creative Media

  • Digital Design

  • Animation

  • Film & Television

  • Fashion

  • Communication

  • Architecture

Tourism & Hospitality

  • Tourism

  • Hospitality

  • Hotel Management

  • Culinary Arts

  • Event Management

  • Travel Management

Education

  • Early Childhood Education

  • Primary Teaching

  • Secondary Teaching

  • Education

  • TESOL

Science

  • Biological Sciences

  • Chemistry

  • Physics

  • Environmental Science

  • Mathematics

  • Biotechnology

  • Marine Science

These categories align well with the official Study with New Zealand subject areas, which include health and medicine, engineering and technology, computer/mathematical science, business and administration, creative arts/design, and applied/pure sciences.

For your project, I suggest this database structure

Instead of simply making:
That would make it much more useful for your counsellors.

And importantly, fees, intakes, English requirements and course availability change, so those fields should be verified against the provider's current 2026 information before being used with students. The official government course search is designed for searching courses and programmes across providers.

I can take this one step further

I can build you a large NZ Education Consultancy Master List covering:

8 Universities + major Polytechnics/ITPs + Wānanga + selected PTEs → 200+ popular courses, with course level, duration, tuition fee, IELTS/PTE, academic eligibility, intake and location.

That would be much closer to a ready-to-use counselling database rather than just a university list.