Information for Prospective Students
- Undergraduate: Why Consider a Career in Surveying?
- What do I need to do to prepare?
- Once you are here
- Postgraduate: Research Focus
Undergraduate: Why Consider a Career in Surveying?
There are many reasons for considering a professional career in surveying – a career that is only taught in New Zealand at Otago University. The surveying programme at Otago is recognized internationally in terms of the quality of its research, teaching and overall student experience. Consider the following wide-ranging benefits of studying Surveying at Otago.
There is a world-wide shortage of surveyors. No country in the English speaking world is producing enough graduates to meet its national demand and Otago's BSurv graduates have an employment record which matches medicine and exceeds other career paths such as law, architecture and environmental science.
Surveying is a career that has an indoor and outdoor balance and the basic skills, once learned, can be applied in many different settings and countries. New Zealand has a reciprocal licensing arrangement with all Australian states. The skills and knowledge of a New Zealand Licensed Cadastral Surveyor are fully recognized in Australia and vice versa allowing ease of movement across the Tasman in both directions. As a surveyor you become eligible to join a profession that has a long and proud history in the development of New Zealand. Charles Heaphy, Thomas Cass, John Turnbull-Thompson, Thomas Brunner, Professor James Park, Sir Holmes-Miller, Sir Barry Curtis and the Hon. Sir William Birch, were all surveyors.
Otago University is not just a great student environment but it is recognized internationally for its academic excellence.
What do I need to do to prepare?
The first requirement is that you gain entry to Otago University. The university liaison staff at liaison@otago.ac.nz, will provide detailed information on this. There are typically two paths for entrants to the degree:
Direct From High School:
The surveying degree typically suits the all-round student. For those considering their Year 12 and Year 13 options at high school, the following guidelines may help.
It is recommended strongly that students take mathematics, physics and English to NCEA Level 2 and mathematics (preferably with Calculus) to NCEA Level 3. While it is possible for a good student to follow almost any programme of study at NCEA Level 3, an ideal programme might consist of English, Maths with Stats, Maths with Calculus, Geography and Information Management. If you have not taken these subjects to NCEA Level 3 (particularly the maths), or have had difficulties during the year, we can almost always construct a first year programme at university that will make up the shortfall.
For these who do exceptionally well in Year 13 and/or who expect to be successful in Scholarship or some other recognized external examination, it may be possible to be exempt part of all of the first year of the BSurv degree. If this is a possibility, you should contact the School of Surveying as soon as possible (but preferably before November 30th each year) to discuss your options. The Surveying Admissions Committee typically meets in early December and needs to know if you are a possible candidate for direct entry to the second year of the degree. Even if you cannot meet this deadline, please let us know as soon as possible about your interest.
Other Paths:
For those who have completed a National Diploma in Surveying (NDS) and who have at least a year of work experience, the University has historically given favourable consideration for direct entry to the 2nd year of the BSurv degree - providing the student has also completed mathematics papers equivalent to Otago University's MATH160 mathematics 1 paper. The following cross credits apply:
- SURV101 Introductory Surveying
- SURV102 Computational Methods in Surveying
- SURV103 Communications
- MATH160 Mathematics 1
- 54 points of additional unspecified points.
Once you are here:
What do I study in my First Year at Otago?
In order to gain formal entry into the BSurv degree at the end of your first year at university, you need to have met the following requirements.
You must have successfully passed all required first-year papers (i.e., SURV101, SURV102, SURV103/ENGL128, and MATH160, plus at least two other elective papers of your choice). Your elective papers should offer you an alternate major if you are not successful in gaining entry to the BSurv degree. Unless you are a part-time student, you must demonstrate that you can pass at least four papers in one semester or seven papers in two semesters.
As entry has been competitive for the last five years, your grades need to be sufficiently high so as to place you in the top 60-65 first-year surveying students. We typically find that 10-15 students who have met the entry criteria are not gaining entry due to their grades not being high enough. At the start of each year, we can provide better guidance on what we expect for that year.
While by no means essential, surveying work experience can be very helpful. The Admissions Committee gives particular recognition to those who have 60 or more days of such experience.
At the present time the first year surveying requirements can only be met at Otago University. While SURV101 is offered as a distance taught course (SURX101), and equivalent papers to SURV103/ENGL128 and MATH160 can be found at other universities, SURV102 is only available at Otago. In rare circumstances, it may be possible to find a combination of papers from other universities that would allow one or both of these papers to be exempted.
Postgraduate: Research Focus
The School of Surveying welcomes postgraduate students. While our staff and our various programmes of study (i.e., Post Graduate Diploma of Science (PGDipSci), Masters (including Masters of Applied Science in GIS), and PhD degrees) are described elsewhere in the Web site, this page answers a number of common questions.
What are the Eligibility Requirements?
To be admitted to postgraduate study you must first have a relevant undergraduate degree from a recognised university or tertiary institution. If you are an international student, you must also be able to gain a suitable visa for entry to New Zealand. You should visit the University of Otago International Office website. This page provides you with information on visa requirements, English language requirements, procedures, and a host of other useful information.
Beyond a relevant undergraduate degree, there are no specific academic requirements for those seeking admission to our PGDipSci programes. However, admission to our Masters degree programmes will typically require a B+ average or better in your previous degree.
Those seeking entry to our PhD programme will need to be able to demonstrate a research capability. Normally this would be done through sending results from an undergraduate degree that required a full-honours dissertation with first class honours or through the results from a research Masters degree. While it may be possible to gain entry to our PhD programme at the successful completion of a course-work Masters degree, this is an exception, not the rule.
For international students, once you have checked the information provided by the International Office, through whom all formal application forms must be submitted, you should then contact the Deputy Head of School, Postgrad and Research, Dr. Paul Denys, at the School of Surveying via post or email. You will need to send copies of:
- An up-to-date CV
- Your academic records from prior study
- An indication of the postgraduate degree programme that you are interested in.
- A brief research proposal (for those interested in PhD study).
The Deputy Head of School, Postgrad and Research, will respond as soon as possible by confirming an appropriate degree programme and by suggesting a possible postgraduate degree supervisor. Progress beyond this point will be contingent upon your formal application for admission being processed and accepted by the University.
We do accept students from a number of discipline areas into our postgraduate degree programmes, provided your academic background is appropriate and provided the focus of your postgraduate study aligns with the research strengths of our staff. At the Masters level, those with an undergraduate degree in surveying will typically study towards an MSurv degree, whilst those from other discipline backgrounds may enroll for an MSc degree.
What does it Cost?
This information can be found at the International Office.
Where can I get Funding?
The School of Surveying typically does not offer studentships, although from time-to-time, limited funding is available. Funded research projects can support a very limited number of postgraduate students each year. The University has a large number of scholarships and is committed to supporting good postgraduate students. Scholarship details can be found at www.otago.ac.nz/study/scholarships/postgraduate_scholarships.html.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade through its NZAid Scholarship programme. Details can be found at www.nzaid.govt.nz/scholarships/.
Typically international PhD students who are resident in Dunedin and studying at the University of Otago are only required to pay domestic student fees. The International Office can provide more details.