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Education for a Career in Design.

The Designers Institute works closely with educators to develop and support Design Education in New Zealand. The universities and polytechnics offering design education in New Zealand which have affiliations with DINZ are:

• Auckland University of Technology
• Massey University
• Unitec
• Victoria University
• Wanganui School of Design
• Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design
• Natcoll Design Technology

How do I choose where to study?

We recommend that you choose a University, Polytechnic, College or Wananga where the qualifications are accredited by the New Zealand Government through either the Committee for University Academic Programmes (CUAP) or the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). Below is a list of the programmes offered and their contact addresses. We keep this as up to date as possible; however, we recommend that you contact your chosen institution for the latest information.

We have provided an overview of design courses available further down the page.

Contacting the Design Schools.

We recommend that you email, phone or write to your chosen school and ask them to send you their latest prospectus and brochures.

• Most Design Schools will have full information on their website, including details about programmes, staff and research.
• Most programmes have a closing date between September and December, so you need to prepare your application early. Check out what you need to do to apply.
• You will probably need to have a portfolio of work, so you should be preparing a set of slides, files or other images to send in with your application. Most schools describe what is required in detail in their promotional material.

How do I choose a good school?

All New Zealand accredited schools will offer you a quality education, and each will have areas of specialisation.

Each School offers a range of different areas such as graphic design, spatial design, interior design, product design, fashion design, furniture design and multi media for example.

There are several ways you can find out more about each Design School.

• Visit the School - many have organised visits and open days - you should ask about what is available.
• Exhibitions - most Design Schools have exhibitions of student work, especially at the end of the year around November. This is a good time to check out student work. The exhibitions are advertised in the newspaper, and on the websites.
• Read about the Schools in the Education Issue of Pro Design magazine which is published annually in August.
• Read about the Best Design Student Award winners in the October issue of ProDesign

School Assignments? - Sorry, we are unable to help.

The DINZ office is not set up to answer questions about design and designers. We are sorry that we are unable to help you with these enquiries.

If you need information for a school assignment try this website which has many links which might help your research.

Student Membership of DINZ

The Designers Institute supports new designers by offering them a student membership rate while you are studying, followed by a graduate rate, which is available for three years following graduation.

Click here for more information on becoming a DINZ member.