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Planning your first year
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Planning your first year
Whether you're beginning your first degree or your third or you just want to be sure you're on the right track before you enrol, we are here to assist you.
You can follow the 'Three C' process below:
Choose your degree(s) / major(s) / courses
Check your timetable
Complete your online enrolment
Or contact us to make an appointment with one of our Liaison Officers. You can even come up to our Kelburn Campus and see us during Course Planning Weeks or when we are visiting your region.
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Choose your degree(s)
1. First things first. There are lots of different ways to approach choosing what you want to study. Some ideas:
- Jobs, careers - do you know what you want to do later? Take a look at the Vic Careers website - finding a job you want might help you narrow down what you need to study in order to get it.
- Subjects - are you passionate about something? Maybe you love chemistry at school. Maybe you can't wait to give Philosophy a chance now. Certain degrees focus on certain subjects, and some offer more flexibility than others to combine different subjects to suit your passions.
- Degrees - Like the sounds of a particular degree programme? Some degrees are well-known and recognised by certain employers - they will give you certain skills and open doors for you.
2. What is a degree? A degree is the qualification awarded when you complete a certain programme of university study. Undergraduate degrees are also called first degrees or Bachelor’s degrees.
3. What are double or conjoint degrees? Another option is a double or a conjoint degree. This means studying for two degrees at the same time. It is easier than doing two degrees separately, as a number of courses can count towards both degrees. This is called cross-crediting. Victoria makes it easy for you to take a double degree with generous cross-crediting provisions. It is usually possible to complete two three-year degrees in four to five years. For conjoint programmes you need to maintain a B minus average to stay in the programme.
4. What degrees can you do at Victoria? Take your time to look through all the different degrees here.
5. Flexibility. Remember that Victoria degrees are very flexible; you can change your major, add a new major or add a new degree after your first year. To keep your options open it’s really important to get the right advice and plan your first year carefully.
6. First-year programme examples. See some first-year programme examples here.
You can download and print off a 'first-year programme chart' to get you started.
Major(s)
1. What is a major? This is the subject in which you specialise. For example, you can take a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Māori Studies, or a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Geology. You will take courses in your major subject through to your third year. For some degrees (e.g. Law and Architectural Studies) you do not have a major.
2. What is a double major? Some students choose to take a double major. This means specialising in two subjects within one degree. It requires the same number of points as a single major degree, and can be done without taking any extra courses or extra time or extra money.
3. How do you find out what majors to take? You can see what majors are available for each degree from our website or through our degree sheets.
Courses
1. What is a course? A block of work worth a certain number of points. Sometimes called a paper.
2. Each course has a course code. The letters tell you the subject, and the numbers tell you the level. For example, a 100-level Chemistry course is CHEM 103 Concepts in Chemistry; a 200-level Architecture course is ARCH 271 History of Architecture.
3. Some courses are limited entry. They are so popular that not all students who apply can be accepted. You can see which courses have limited entry in the Guide to Enrolment. You will need to get your application for limited-entry courses in by 10 December.
4. What courses do you need to take? You can see what courses are prerequisites and what other choices you have for each major and degree from our website or through our degree sheets.
5. How many courses should I take? If you are studying full-time, you will be taking around 120 points or six to eight courses in your first year. (Some courses are worth 15 points and some are worth 20.) Make sure you balance your courses over the first and second trimesters. If you are taking seven courses, we recommend three courses in the first trimester and four in the second. (Our third trimester is over the summer - most students are not required to study over summer.)
Check your timetable
1. What kind of timetable will I have? Most first-year courses involve three 50-minute lectures and one 50-minute tutorial a week. Science, language and architecture and design students also have extra practical classes. These are called labs or studio sessions.
2. What is the workload like? For every hour you spend in class, you will need to spend around two hours working on your own, reading, writing and researching. So if you spend 12 hours a week in lectures and tutorials doing three courses, you will need to spend another 24 hours a week on private study. This means a 36-hour working week. The workload will be higher when you are working on assignments or studying for exams.
3. First-year timetable example. See an example of a first-trimester timetable here. You can download and print off a 'personal timetable' sheet to get you started.
Complete your online enrolment
1. Guide to Enrolment. This is available from late-September and contains all you need to know about how to enrol, important dates and degree requirements. It includes the Course Catalogue with all the course prescriptions and the lecture timetables. Get a Guide to Enrolment from your school’s Careers Adviser, from a Victoria Liaison Officer when we visit your school or contact Student Recruitment & Course Advice. If you have given us the tear-off card from the Introduction to Victoria booklet you will be sent a Guide to Enrolment automatically.
2. Are you sure you have University Entrance? Make sure you have fulfilled the requirements to start first year at Victoria here.
3. How to enrol
- Online: Victoria offers online enrolment and all undergraduate students are encouraged to use this option. Online enrolment for 2010 will be available from early October until:
- 10 December for limited entry courses
- 10 February for all other courses*
*After this a late fee may be charged. - Post: Contact Student Recruitment & Course Advice to request an Enrolment Application form which you can complete and return by post. Same dates and processes apply.
- In person: Come to the Kelburn Campus to enrol in person after online enrolment closes, up to 25 February 2010.
4. Offer of Study. In response to your Enrolment Application, you will be sent an Offer of Study by email (this will be a conditional offer if you are still awaiting NCEA results). You accept your offer by email, and then after NCEA results are released to the University we will confirm your enrolment and you can pay your fees.
Final check
1. Scholarships. If you have any questions about your eligibity for scholarships or deadlines then click here.
2. Accommodation. Check here for information on accommodation options at Victoria.
3. Student Services. Check all all the student services you will have access to at Victoria.
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Updated: 6 December, 2007 © 2007 Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand