Master of TESOL

Develop your expertise in teaching English—or any language—to speakers of other languages.

Boost your English-teaching career

Studying the Master of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) will help you develop your teaching skills.

You’ll strengthen your understanding of language learning, explore common challenges that language teachers and learners face, and reflect on your learning and teaching experience. In all these areas, you’ll be guided to make links between teaching practice, research, theory, and the contexts within which people teach and learn languages.

World-class programme

The University's TESOL programme is highly regarded worldwide. It has a strong international orientation which reflects New Zealand’s unique position in the Asia–Pacific region. Our graduates have gone on to teach English and work in educational leadership roles in New Zealand and around the globe.

The MTESOL programme builds on the legacy of sixty years of graduate TESOL education at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.

Staff teaching in the programme are internationally recognised researchers. They draw on their extensive experience as language teachers and teacher educators to bridge the gap between research, theory, and teaching practice.

Globally ranked

This programme is ranked 73rd in the world in QS World University Rankings 2026.

The QS World University Rankings is an annual global publication that gives overall rankings and subject rankings for more than 1,500 universities worldwide.

Flexible study

Study full time or part time—whatever suits your needs best. You can choose to study on campus, online, or through a combination of the two. Start your study at the beginning of any [trimester]—February, July, or November.

Flexible study

You can choose to study on campus, online, or through a combination of the two. And you can start your study at the beginning of any [trimester]—February, July, or November.

Studying from overseas

If you study this programme from outside New Zealand, you’ll benefit from a strong network of learning support staff. They’ll help you access library resources, learn about research in language teaching, and develop effective study strategies. They can also offer writing support if English is not your main language.

Studying the MTESOL at RELC in Singapore

You can apply to do the MTESOL in Singapore through the Regional Language Centre (RELC) of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO). If you’re accepted into the RELC programme, you’ll live and study full time in Singapore for two trimesters. To find out more, email the RELC team at [email protected]

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.

Multicultural Wellington

Wellington is a wonderful place to explore language and language learning. It’s a diverse, multilingual city with an active community of people who teach English to speakers of other languages.

Scholarships

You can apply for the Ian Gordon Master’s Scholarship, which supports students undertaking a taught Master's degree in the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies. There is one round per year, closing on 15 November.

Every year Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington offers thousands of scholarships to new and current students. Look for scholarships based on your level of study, subject area, and background.

Find out about what you’ll study on the Master of TESOL and how the programme is structured.

What you’ll study

On the 180-point MTESOL programme, you’ll take 12 courses worth 15 points each. Seven of these are core courses covering the areas of teaching practice, language awareness, and language learning. You can then choose a further five elective courses to complete the degree. Details of these courses can be found via the Requirements tab.

You can use the Postgraduate TESOL and Applied Linguistics Course Planner to help you select your courses.

With the approval of the programme director, you can replace one or more taught courses with a supervised 15-point research course (LALS 580 or LALS 581), a 30-point research project (LALS 582), a 60-point dissertation (LALS 583), or a 90-point thesis (LALS 584). Each of these research courses has specific entry requirements.

Qualification family structure

The MTESOL, PGDipTESOL, and PGCertTESOL make up a tiered family of qualifications. These are “staircased”, so that courses completed for a smaller qualification can count towards a larger one.

• Postgraduate Certificate in TESOL (60 points)
• Postgraduate Diploma in TESOL (120 points)
• Master of TESOL (180 points)

If you have enrolled in the MTESOL but for some reason have to withdraw before finishing it, you may be able to gain the PGCertTESOL or PGDipTESOL as an exit qualification.

Or, if you’re not quite ready to commit to the MTESOL, you can enrol in the PGDipTESOL or PGCertTESOL. Then, once you’re confident this is the pathway for you, you can easily move into the Master’s programme.

Qualification family structure

The MTESOL, PGDipTESOL, and PGCertTESOL make up a tiered family of qualifications. These are “staircased”, so that courses completed for a smaller qualification can count towards a larger one.

• Postgraduate Certificate in TESOL (60 points)
• Postgraduate Diploma in TESOL (120 points)
• Master of TESOL (180 points)

If you have enrolled in the MTESOL but for some reason have to withdraw before finishing it, you may be able to gain the PGCertTESOL or PGDipTESOL as an exit qualification.

Or, if you’re not quite ready to commit to the MTESOL, you can enrol in the PGDipTESOL. Then, once you’re confident this is the pathway for you, you can easily move into the Master’s programme.

Wide range of topics

To get a balanced understanding of the field, you’ll take courses from three different areas: teaching practice, language awareness, and language learning.

Courses in the MTESOL programme cover a wide range of topics:

• teaching language skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing
• language testing and assessment
• language for specific purposes
• computer-assisted language teaching
• discourse analysis
• formulaic language
• identity and language
• second language acquisition
• teaching pronunciation
• grammar and vocabulary
• task-based language teaching.

Duration and workload

You can study the MTESOL, PGDipTESOL, or PGCertTESOL full time or part time, and you can start in any [trimester]—February, July, or November.

Full-time students can complete the MTESOL in either four trimesters of study (three 15-point courses per trimester) or three trimesters of study (four 15-point courses per trimester). Both options are officially recognized as full-time enrolment. Most students choose to complete in four trimesters to better manage the demands of the study workload.