Study Abroad Blog 3: What You Need to Know About the New Zealand [Tertiary] Education System

Even though I am jetting off for New Zealand just to complete an internship, I inevitably looked into how their education system is organized as a consideration for later coming back to study. First and foremost, it should be stated that like the rest of the country, their tertiary institutes (education colleges, polytechnic institutions, etc.) are very welcoming to international students (personally, perhaps not financially – but more on that later). Furthermore, their institutes are ranked among the Top 50 of universities around the world. This is impressive considering they only have eight universities in the country.

Each university has a selective admission process for entry just like colleges back in the United States. However, these universities function differently from ours in many ways. For example, they follow the format of the British education system in terms of the time frame of granting a degree which can be seen below in a flowchart. Most these universities also have vice-chancellors from each institution that sit on an educational governing body known as Universities New Zealand.

The Postgraduate Diploma after a Bachelor’s Degree is also known as a Honours Programme. These yearlong programmes are only open to high achieving students and can act as the first year of a Master’s Degree or as the pathway to a Doctorate program. A notable difference from its mother system is that there is a type of public institution called a wānanga. It differs from the mainstream system in that it seeks to provide education in a cultural Māori context and even offers programs up to a doctorate level. It is a less formal educational setting and has a “forum” approach for arriving at a deeper understanding.

Something that I found interesting about their education programs was that while their studies are seen to be vigorous in nature, the overall workload and atmosphere of the classroom is known to very laidback. The workplace is known to be like this as well. The mantra for education is “Dare to Be Wise.” In their small class sizes, students are encouraged to find their own solutions, especially ones that are outside of the box. The quality of education is held to a standard established by the New Zealand Qualifications Network. It acts to benchmark skill and knowledge level to compare to other countries. It also helps to establish a career pathway. Academic support was shown to vary between institutions, but the University of Otago, Wellington (where I’ll be interning) had a variety of support available, particularly for international students.

To meet qualifications, certain grade criteria must be met. In New Zealand, they operate on a 4-letter grading system, A through D. An A is somewhere in the 80-100% range whereas a D is below 50% and considered failing. For an Honours Programme, the level of grades refers to the class degree. By this, I mean that an A-grade degree would be first class, a B-grade degree would be second class, and so on.

In terms of credits, I have a differing situation is that I am earning internship credit rather than normal college credit. However, my research found that credits are granted on a point system basis. Once you earn a required number of credits toward a qualification, you have earned that qualification. Credit transfer is usually on an individual basis and is sometimes compared to the home grading system.

In my case, fulfilling the qualifications of my internship would have it credited by my home institution after an assessment of the work that I did. Also, I must earn at least 6 hours of internship to qualify for summer financial aid as well for the internship credit on my transcript. At my internship site, this is at the discretion of my advisor at the University of Otago and when I return, at the discretion of the Core Curriculum chair at Maryville College in regards to earning the credit for the World Cultures requirement.

Lastly, it should be kept in mind that international students are not eligible for government financial assistance for their education. Domestic students typically have fees subsidized by the government and can borrow money under a Student Loan Scheme. They can also apply for a Student Allowance to pay for additional outside expenses and this doesn’t need to be paid back. The only programmes that international students are eligible for financial assistance in are PhD programmes.  

Ya girl Ginny Goes Abroad (well, she's getting there)

Immersing myself in a new culture won’t be an entirely new experience for me which makes it a lot less daunting. Over the years, I’ve learned that the best way for me to “survive and thrive” as a child of immigrants in the United States was to adapt and go with the flow. By this, I do not mean mindless assimilation but I mean finding the balance between the maintenance of my own identity as I discover more parts of it.

In regards to my internship abroad (coming up soon!!!!), I think that the experience of learning how to be myself in this country is something of interest that I can use as a conversational point about culture to local Kiwis and the Maori people if I get a chance to visit Rotorua. With New Zealand culture, I think it will be something that I can easily immerse myself in because the Asian influence on their culture is longstanding and almost nonchalant whereas it is not nearly as pronounced stateside, or at least not in East Tennessee. Here at home, that’s only something I can see at my house or in a very specific setting. Though I’m not sure what excursions my program has beyond the Bridging Cultures on-site orientation in Auckland, I have already been considering what activities I can do in Wellington on my own (for a reasonable price, of course) since my internship advisors have been generous enough to give me time to explore for eight long weekends.

While I’m entirely sure what the New Zealanders will be expecting about me, but I will need to prepare myself for the inevitable that they will probably be somewhat wrong but also somewhat correct. However, that’s a theme that has followed me my entire life since people aren’t quite sure how to feel about a Filipino woman that was born and raised in East Tennessee, so it feels as though as my life has been building up to this test for a while now. I think that my role there will not be to educate them about my very specific demographic, but just to show New Zealanders what being American means by showing that there is more than one type of American.

In conclusion, the best way for me to truly enjoy my time in New Zealand will be to use my approach of not having concrete expectations. This itself is a tricky task because it hasn’t quite sunken in that I am going to be across the world by myself for almost two months. Here’s to hoping that fake it til you make it will keep me calm until after my plane lands in Auckland. 

Goals for Going Abroad

Born and raised in East Tennessee is a bit of a jarring background to associate with a small Asian girl, but it’s true. I’m a child of two Filipino immigrants yet I’ve never experienced the world like they have. I’ve only had a small taste of the worldliness they’ve experienced on their way to the States, but I have yet to experience it for myself.

But in a few months, I’ll be doing just that with a summer internship in New Zealand. All of it came together in a little less than two months – which is still quite bizarre to think about – but I’ve only grown more excited with each day (and each form I turn in).

I’m not exactly sure what I’ll be doing yet, but that’s just another part of the excitement. I haven’t even bought my plane ticket yet, but I just know that it’ll be an experience that’ll follow me on my path through life. Believe it or not, the part that I am looking most forward to is learning how to work in a research or healthcare setting since that is the fork in the road I have ahead of me after graduation. This is the part where my penchants for overly seriousness and usually being overdressed will come in handy.

However, this experience won’t be all work and no play. I fully intend to take in the sights (call me the American Hobbit), maybe do some extreme height jumping (don’t tell my mom), and experience the Maori culture firsthand. Despite growing up with proud Pinoy parents, a culture strongly influenced by an Asian culture was not a common thing for me to see in my environment. That will definitely be an interesting change of pace and maybe I won’t be the minority here.

Before I get back to preparation (and trying not to die from homework), let me let you in on a secret. I’m a bit frightened. More than I want to admit. I’ll be jetting off to a country where I know nobody personally by myself and it’ll be the longest I’ve been away from home by myself. What if I build up the excitement too much for myself and am let down upon landing? What if I want more?

I think that the best approach I can take in response to my fears is to worry about when I get there and not beforehand. Obviously, I’m not referring to forgoing worries about the logistics of getting there because I should most definitely be worried about. However, there’s something I need to do differently than I like to do here: I need to not have a plan. More specifically, I need to not plan so much for the way that things will be like over there. I need to ignore my default mode of choosing to stay in when the plan offered isn’t my own. Most importantly, remember the motto that’s gotten me this far: Go big or go home.