Master of Indigenous Studies

Situate your knowledge of Māori and Pacific issues in the international indigenous context with a Master of Indigenous Studies at Victoria University of Wellington.

Global perspectives in a New Zealand context

The Master of Indigenous Studies positions Māori and Pacific cultures and histories in the global context of indigenous colonial and post-colonial experiences, cultural rights, and self determination.

Take your undergraduate degree in Māori Studies, Pacific Studies, or Education to the next level, or get a qualification that underpins your career supporting Māori and indigenous communities here or overseas.

Ethical, respectful, culturally appropriate

You’ll learn to debate and negotiate indigenous issues in a persuasive, sophisticated, culturally appropriate, and respectful manner. Explore indigenous perspectives on sustainable development, resource management, governance, language, education, economics, or science.

Deepen your understanding of the ethical responsibilities of indigenous research, and conceptualise and articulate your knowledge of indigenous political and cultural relationships.

Tailoring your degree

You can choose to complete your qualification with a dissertation, a research project on a topic of your choice, or an internship.

Choose the strand that interests you the most, and specialise in a Māori, Pasifika or education topic.

370 million

Estimated number of indigenous people, worldwide. Reference: The World Bank

Scholarships for international students

We are currently offering a NZ$10,000 VUW Postgraduate International Scholarship to all eligible international students enrolling in a Master’s degree or Postgraduate Diploma programme. Your scholarship will be processed automatically when your programme application is accepted, and the amount will be deducted from your tuition fees.

Careers

As New Zealand’s Crown–Māori relations move into a new phase, more people with a deep understanding of mātauranga Māori are needed right across the New Zealand government. With a grounding in the political context of Aotearoa and an intimate knowledge of the common issues other indigenous peoples face, you’ll be positioned well for opportunities in government, non-government, and diplomatic organisations—both here and overseas.

Or take your experience into the education system, and support tino rangatiratanga in New Zealand’s schools.

Wellington is the heart of New Zealand’s political and diplomatic life. Get the opportunity to intern in an organisation that’s dealing with indigenous issues and experiences every day, or hear from those working at the coalface in the country’s government and development agencies.

Community

Postgraduate study will help you build valuable relationships and networks with peers, university staff and future colleagues. Make the most of opportunities to attend events, seminars, workshops and social functions.

Scholarships

The Phillipa and Morvin Williams Scholarship is available to students studying Māori language cultural heritage or Māori language.

Look for scholarships based on your level of study, subject area and background.

Find out what and how you’ll study in the Master of Indigenous Studies.

Qualification family structure

The MIndS is part of a tiered family of qualifications. These are staircased so that courses completed for each qualification can count towards the next step.

• Postgraduate Certificate in Indigenous Studies
• Postgraduate Diploma in Indigenous Studies
• Master of Indigenous Studies.

Choose the qualification with the entry requirements, time commitment and career benefits that suit you.

What you'll study

The 180-point Master of Indigenous Studies can be completed in one year of full-time study (three trimesters). If you're a domestic student studying part time, it would take up to three years to complete the programme. Courses are delivered in a combination of face to face, block, and blended learning.

Part 1

The first part of the MIndS comprises taught courses spread over Trimesters 1 and 2.

You’ll take a core course that will give you an understanding of indigenous theories and worldviews, alongside one of three courses giving you a background in research methodologies. Choose a Māori, Pasifika or education focus for your research methodology course.

You’ll also choose two further courses from an approved list of electives, so you can specialise in the area that interests you the most.

Part 2

In part two you’ll complete your degree and explore your specialisation further, with either:

• a dissertation, or
• an internship and another course, or
• a research project and another course.

Postgraduate certificate and diploma

For the diploma, you’ll study the two core courses and two additional courses as outlined in Part 1. A certificate will be awarded if you complete the core indigenous theories and worldviews paper, and another approved course from Part 1.

Workload

If you are studying full time, you can expect a workload of 40 to 45 hours a week for much of the year. Part-time domestic students will need to do around 20 to 23 hours of work a week. Make sure you take this into account if you are working.