Education Major - Bachelor of Arts

Interested in learning and how it relates to culture, community, social media and social justice? We’ve all been to school and probably all have a view on education. The Bachelor of Arts in Education re-examines these views.

It’s a great pathway for a number of careers in fields involved in education policy or strategic development, or for further study to become a teacher. Because this major is part of the Bachelor of Arts, it’s easy to combine it with many other aspects of society and culture. Choose from subjects in areas as diverse as social sciences, psychology, business or Māori development to include as part of your degree.

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This is part of the Bachelor of Arts.

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Throughout your three years of studies you develop a sound understanding of education, as well as effective communication, critical thinking and other transferable skills you'll need for your future career.

Apart from the courses below you also need to complete courses from your second major, your chosen minor(s) or electives.

Core courses

All Bachelor of Arts students need to complete core courses that help you develop transferable skills and support your work in all other courses in the degree.

Year 1

In your first year, you complete the following courses:

Choose one of:

  • COMM570 Academic Communication
  • LSKL500 Uni101

And choose one of:

  • ENGL503 A Pacific Reader
  • HIST500 Introduction to New Zealand History

And choose one of:

  • MAOR504 Treaty of Waitangi: Resistance and Repair
  • MAOR514 Te Ao Māori: The Māori Worldview

And choose one of:

  • EDUC504 Places and Learning
  • SOSC582 Social Thinking
  • SOSC585 Climate Action

And choose one of:

  • CLSY513 Organisation and Human Behaviour
  • EDUC506 Education, Careers and Employability

And choose one of:

  • CLSY504 Knowledge and Inquiry
  • CLSY515 Human + Machines: AI in the Social World

Workplace experience is an important part of your degree, and the Work Integrated Learning course is the final part of your degree. This is a supervised work placement related to your major(s), for an organisation of your choice. It's a great way to get industry experience while still being able to get feedback from AUT lecturers, and for many of our students this workplace experience also leads to a job offer.

You could also take the Foundations in Research course if you’re considering continuing into postgraduate study.

Want more info about work integrated learning at AUT?

Read more about workplace experience in AUT programmes, how it works and why it’s so beneficial when you start your career.

Workplace experience in AUT programmes

Education major courses

If you're majoring in education, this is the main subject area you specialise in. It makes up one third of your degree and consists of eight education-related courses you study throughout your degree.

Year 1 courses

Complete the following courses:

  • EDUC503 Critical Questions in Education
  • EDUC517 The Child in Aotearoa New Zealand

Year 2 courses

Complete three of:

  • EDUC606 Learning and Social Media
  • EDUC607 Education, Resistance and Social Justice
  • EDUC608 Gender, Sexualities and Education
  • EDUC621 Education and Popular Culture

Year 3 courses

Complete three of:

  • EDUC710 Futures Thinking in Education
  • EDUC711 Education, Globalisation, and International Development
  • EDUC712 Alternatives in Education
  • EDUC722 Pacific Talanoa: People, Places & Education

The education courses are organised into two strands:

Sociological focus

  • EDUC503 considers aspects of education in the past and how this explains issues in education today
  • EDUC607 focuses on concepts related to educational questions and issues of today, such as social justice
  • EDUC710 considers futures education and how the way we learn in and for a future world might be very different from today

Cultural focus

  • EDUC504 considers how place affects who we are and what we learn
  • EDUC621 takes a look at how popular culture can be a site of social learning
  • EDUC711 and EDUC712 assume a more 'big picture' of view of education

Ready to enrol in your courses?

Find out how you can enrol in the courses and classes for your programme, whether you’ve just joined AUT as a new student or you’re already studying with us. If you’re looking for a course timetable or more info on a specific course use our course search.

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Build your degree

Use our online tool to build your own degree and see what your three years of study could look like.

Build your degreeBuild your degreehttps://www.aut.ac.nz/courses/bachelor-of-arts/education-major

Studying education can prepare you for a range of careers. There's a direct pathway into teaching as you will qualify for the one-year Master of Teaching and Learning (Primary Teaching) which leads to teacher registration. If you have teaching subjects to the appropriate level in your BA (Education is not a teaching subject), you can apply for the Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching.

The skills you develop in this major are valuable for a range of careers, including:

  • Social development work
  • Youth and community work
  • Marketing
  • Communications
  • Human resources
  • Advertising
  • The arts
  • Training and mentoring

It’s also good preparation for further study, which could lead to teacher registration.

education-careers-cover.jpg

Find out more about industry trends, job descriptions and what employers may be looking for.

Education Careers

Other majors in the Bachelor of Arts

*This major focuses on New Zealand Sign Language and developing the skills to become a Sign Language interpreter. It doesn’t include the option to include courses from different subjects.

Postgraduate study

Key features
  • A great choice if you’re interested in education but not sure you want to be a teacher
  • Includes workplace experience in Year 3
  • Option to include subjects from across AUT in your degree
See yourself as
  • Interested in the potential of education
  • Someone who wants to think for themselves
  • Engaged, curious and inquiring

The information on this page was correct at time of publication. For a comprehensive overview of AUT qualifications, please refer to the Academic Calendar.

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