New Zealand Diploma in Architectural Technology

Graduates of the New Zealand Diploma in Architectural Technology (Level 6) will be able to work as a:

• Architectural Technician

With further training and/or experience graduates of this Diploma may be able to work as a:

• Architectural designer
• Senior architectural designer
• Architect
• Interior designer
• Urban designer
• Landscape architect
• Design manager
• Consultant design practice
• or in another field related to Construction, Planning or Design.

School Leavers

Applicants should have one or more of the following:

• NCEA, with a minimum of 50 credits at Level 2 including 12 credits in Mathematics and a minimum of 12 Literacy credits
• NZ Trade Certificate in Carpentry, or National Certificate in Carpentry
• Be able to demonstrate equivalent knowledge and skills
• Four years secondary education preferred
• Applicants whose first language is not English, or who come from a country where the language of instruction in schools is not English, must meet the English Proficiency Outcomes in accordance with the NZQF Programme Approval and Accreditation Rules 2017 as below.

Mature Applicants

Applicants over the age of 20 years at the time of enrolment will be considered where they can demonstrate the ability to succeed in a programme. Examples of demonstration of ability to succeed are the provision of evidence of successful completion of a programme of study at Level 3 or above in a related discipline and/or employment in the related sector for one or more years. They may be admitted subject to programme regulations approved by the Head of Faculty in consultation with the Programme Manager as appropriate.  Personal commitment and a belief in one’s own ability to succeed are important personal traits and will always be taken into consideration during the selection process.

English Language Requirements

Applicants, whose first language is not English, or who come from a country where the language of instruction in schools is not English, are required to provide evidence of having achieved one of the following

NCEA Level 3 with University Entrance, or

an International Baccalaureate Diploma or Cambridge A- level qualification for which the teaching and assessment was conducted in English; or

Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA),or Trinity College London Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CertTESOL);or

Successful completion of all primary education (being the equivalent of New Zealand primary school years 1 to 8) and at least three years of secondary education (being the equivalent of three years from New Zealand secondary school years 9 to 13) at schools in either New Zealand,,Australia,Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States one of the countries listed in Rule 18.5 where the student was taught using English as the language of instruction; or

Successful completion of at least five years of secondary education (being the equivalent of New Zealand secondary school years 9 to 13) at schools in either New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States where the student was taught using English as the language of instruction; or

Successful completion of a Bachelor's Degree, Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Bachelor Honours degree, Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, Masters' Degree or Doctoral Degree, the language of instruction of which must be in English and which must be from a tertiary education provider from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom or the United States or

Successful completion of one of the following internationally recognised proficiency tests listed below to the level required of the programme of study and with all scores achieved in a single test during the two years preceding the proposed date of enrolment

IELTS test - Academic score of 6 with no band score lower than 5.5 
TOEFL Paper based test (pBT) - Score of 550 (with an essay score 5 TWE) 
TOEFL Internet based test (iBT) - Score of 60 (with a writing score of 18) 
Cambridge English Examination - B2 First or B2 First for schools or C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency with a score of 169. No less than 162 in each skill. 
OET - Minimum of Grade C or 200 in all sub-tests 
NZCEL - a) Expiring Level b) Current: a) Level 4 (Academic) b) Level 4 (Academic) 
Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE (Academic) score of 50 with no band score lower than 42 
Language Cert - C1 Expert International ESOL Written (LRW) PASS with no less than 25/50 in each skill and Spoken (S) PASS 
Trinity ISE - ISE II with no less than distinction in any band

* New versions of some NZCEL qualifications, and in some cases new qualifications, were published on 13 June 2017. These are intended to replace pre-existing versions and qualifications, which have been given expiring status until discontinued on 31 December 2019. (a) denotes expiring (b) denotes current

To satisfactorily complete the New Zealand Diploma in Architectural Technology (Level 6) , and be awarded this qualification the student must successfully achieve:

• A minimum of 240 credits in accordance with the Programme schedule for the New Zealand Diploma in Architectural Technology (Level 6).
• The student will normally be expected to complete the New Zealand Diploma in Architectural Technology (Level 6), full-time over 2 years or part-time over four years.

Please Note: Students failing to attend for 80% of the timetabled programme hours will forfeit Zero Fees entitlement.

This Diploma is suitable for candidates from a variety of educational backgrounds including school leavers. There are no specific qualification pathways leading to this Diploma, however achievement of NCEA Level 2 standards from the Construction and Infrastructure Vocational Pathways may be useful and is recommended.

This Diploma may also build on from trade-level qualifications in any construction related trade, or the New Zealand Certificate in Construction Related Trades (Supervisor) (Level 4) or the New Zealand Certificate in Construction Related Trades (Main Contract Supervision) (Level 5).

Graduates of this qualification may wish to undertake further tertiary study at degree level in the field of Architectural Studies, Design, Construction Management and Quantity Surveying.

Advised at the start of the programme, however expect between two and five days per week.