AUT's communications degree is very well regarded in New Zealand and around the world. That’s because our students pick up top jobs in the best companies and media outlets, and win many prestigious awards.
AUT communications students and graduates are internationally recognised, having won the Sally Logan-Milne Young Practitioner of the Year award, CAANZ AXIS award, ORCA awards, Cannes International Advertising award and NZ Student Marketer of the Year award.
Study communications at AUT and you have access to industry standard facilities and equipment, including a media centre, radio studio and fully equipped TV studio, journalism training newscourse Te Waha Nui, student radio station Static 88.1 fm and student-run PR agency Outside the Square. You also gain invaluable workplace experience before you graduate.
Start date: 2021
Start date: 2022
International student entry requirements
Consider starting with our Certificate in Arts.
Certificate in Arts
You can also choose one of these majors as a second major or a minor.
Entry into the desired major of the Bachelor of Communication Studies is not guaranteed and subject to results in the first year.
Minors you can study in the Bachelor of Communication Studies:
Explore the communication processes, techniques and media that can bring about equitable change, social transformation, and empowerment in society. This minor has a global focus with particular attention to issues facing the Asia- Pacific region. You examine the role of non-governmental organisations, supranational institutions and multinational corporations - alongside nation-state governments - as key actors in social change communication.
Develop transferable skills for team-based media production and management. You discover the importance of multicamera production in broadcast and online media to cater for fast turn-around productions and streaming of live events. This minor has a strong work-integrated ethos, emphasising management as well as creative processes. The Multi-Camera Production minor is open to screen production students who want to further their skills, as well as to students from other communication studies disciplines.
This minor considers how the technologies, institutions and networks of communication are shaped by economic and political power. Become familiar with how media communication institutions/industries work, critique the exercise of power through contemporary electronic networks, and reflect upon the significance of contemporary media issues in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Develop your confidence and performance skills for both live and media roles. Improve your ability to present, act, pitch ideas, speak in public and successfully participate in meetings. This minor integrates the theories and practices of communicating with an audience, using voice and movement. The skills are transferable and relevant to professional communication including more “traditional” performance contexts like acting.
Add an additional major or a minor to your bachelor’s degree and study another area that interests you. You can choose from a wide range of additional majors or minors.
In your first year, you’ll be introduced to the media world and essential communication theories and practice. The first year of the Bachelor of Communication Studies is common to all students, and gives you an overview of the field of communication studies.
You begin to develop important skills in your chosen fields.
The degree is flexible enough to enable you to specialise in more than one communication discipline, or to take a major or minor from outside the School of Communication Studies.
You choose:
*From communication studies or elsewhere at AUT
The information on this page was correct at time of publication. For a comprehensive overview of AUT qualifications, please refer to the Academic Calendar.