Accessibility Skip to Global Navigation Skip to Local Navigation Skip to Content Skip to Search Skip to Site Map Menu

Study Māori Studies at Otago

Looking to the past for your future.

Māori Studies is an entry point for students wishing to engage with knowledge about the Māori world. It is a broad programme dedicated to the study of te reo Māori (Māori language), tikanga Māori (Māori customary lore) and aspects of te ao Māori (the Māori world).

Māori society is not static. Engaging in these three areas together enables you to enter this world and provides you with the foundations to analyse how this body of knowledge can be applied in today’s ever-changing world.

Why study Māori Studies?

Māori Studies will provide you with an enhanced knowledge and understanding of the Māori language, Māori customary lore and the Māori world. This knowledge and understanding may be integrated with other studies or professional areas such as business, education, health, law, management, the media, public administration and social work.

Government ministries, businesses, social agencies and educational institutions in New Zealand recognise the need for employees with such knowledge and skills. Excellent employment prospects await graduates with knowledge of issues affecting Māori and other peoples in New Zealand.

The Māori Studies programme will equip students with a wide range of skills giving graduates:

  • A high level of fluency in the Māori language
  • An understanding of contemporary Māori issues combined with an understanding of, for example, history, cultural expression and environmental concerns
  • An awareness of ethical issues in relation to Māori in the context of past and present practices, and society and culture
  • Skills in intercultural communication
  • Research skills
  • Analytical thinking
  • Communication skills
  • Team work
  • Independent judgement
  • An ability to relate to people from a wide range of backgrounds

Māori Studies encourages you to explore the connectivity between different disciplines so as to enable indigenous communities to determine their own future.

Graduates develop a multidisciplinary, culturally inflected understanding of contemporary Māori concepts and issues, including the use of cooperation rather than competition, listening as well as communicating with others, and respecting differences. 

Career opportunities

Graduates with a degree in Māori Studies have a broad interdisciplinary knowledge base.

This can lead to careers in the fields of:

  • Government ministries
  • Policy and governance
  • Teaching
  • Arts advisors, museum curators
  • Business
  • Law
  • Public health
  • Community organisations

Māori Studies graduates are needed to help find ways to address the needs and interests of the Māori community and to help to promote and implement the goals of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Having more than one major in your degree, or a major plus a minor, will make you more marketable and attractive to prospective employers. A major in Māori Studies will be your point of difference in your chosen career.

Background required

No knowledge of the Māori language or culture is required for entry to Māori Studies. Students may be placed in more advanced Maāori language papers appropriate to their level of knowledge. There is also a University-approved process where prior non-credentialed learning is recognised for credit for some papers.

Qualifications

Explore your study options further. Refer to enrolment information found on the following qualification pages.

Programme requirements

Bachelor of Arts (BA) majoring in Māori Studies

Level Papers Points
100-level

MAOR 102  Maori Society

MAOR 111  Te Kākano 1

MAOR 112  Te Kākano 2

18

18

18

200-level

MAOR 211  Te Pihinga 1

MAOR 212  Te Pihinga 2

One further 200-level MAOR paper or PACI 201

18

18

18

300-level

MAOR 311  Te Māhuri 1

MAOR 312  Te Māhuri 2

One additional 300-level MAOR paper

One further paper from 300-level MAOR or INDS papers or PACI 301

18

18

18

18

Plus

180 further points; must include at least 54 points at 200-level or above.

Up to 90 points may be taken from outside Arts

180
Total   360

Bachelor of Arts with Honours (BA(Hons)) in Māori Studies

Papers

Postgraduate Diploma in Arts Subjects (PGDipArts) in Māori Studies

The Postgraduate Diploma in Arts Subjects (PGDipArts) programme in Māori Studies is the same as the programme for the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honours (BA(Hons)).

Master of Arts (Coursework) (MA(Coursework)) in Māori Studies

Papers

INGS 501 or one 400-level INDS or PACI paper may be substituted for one 400-level MAOR paper.

Master of Arts (Thesis) (MA(Thesis)) in Māori Studies

Thesis
  • Thesis: MAOR 5

Note: Students who have not completed a Bachelor of Arts (BA(Hons)) in Māori Studies or a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts Subjects (PGDipArts) in Māori Studies must complete the required papers for the BA(Hons) in Māori Studies prior to undertaking the thesis.

Minor subject requirements

Māori Studies as a minor subject for a BA, MusB, BPA, BTheol, BSc, BAppSc, BCom, BEntr, BHealSc, BACom, BASc or BComSc degree 

Available as a minor subject for a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Music (MusB), Bachelor of Performing Arts (BPA), Bachelor of Theology (BTheol), Bachelor of Science (BSc), Bachelor of Applied Science (BAppSc), Bachelor of Commerce (BCom), Bachelor of Entrepreneurship (BEntr), Bachelor of Health Science (BHealSc), Bachelor of Arts and Commerce (BACom), Bachelor of Arts and Science (BASc) or Bachelor of Commerce and Science (BComSc) degree

Level Papers Points
100-level Two 100-level MAOR papers

36

200-level One 200-level MAOR paper, and one further INDS, MAOR or PACI paper at 200-level or above

36

300-level One 300-level MAOR paper 18
Total   90

Papers

Paper code Year Title Points Teaching period
MAOR102 2023 Māori Society 18 points Semester 1, Semester 2
MAOR108 2023 Waiata: Te Tīmatanga 18 points Semester 1
MAOR110 2023 Introduction to Conversational Māori 18 points Semester 1, Semester 2, Summer School
MAOR111 2023 Te Kākano 1 18 points Semester 1
MAOR112 2023 Te Kākano 2 18 points Semester 2
MAOR120 2023 Introducing the Māori World 18 points 1st Non standard period
MAOR202 2023 Māori and Tikanga 18 points Semester 1
MAOR203 2023 Ngāi Tahu Society 18 points Semester 2
MAOR204 2023 Te Tiriti o Waitangi 18 points Semester 1
MAOR206 2023 Ngā Pūkenga Tuhi 18 points Not offered in 2023
MAOR207 2023 Ngā Kōrero Nehe - Tribal Histories 18 points Semester 1
MAOR208 2023 Ngā Manu Taki 18 points Semester 2
MAOR210 2023 Special Topic 18 points Semester 2
MAOR211 2023 Te Pihinga 1 18 points Semester 1
MAOR212 2023 Te Pihinga 2 18 points Semester 2
MAOR213 2023 Te Mana o Te Reo 18 points Semester 1
MAOR301 2023 He Whakarākai 18 points Not offered in 2023
MAOR303 2023 Ngāi Tahu and the Natural World 18 points Not offered in 2023
MAOR304 2023 Te Rōpū Whakamana i Te Tiriti - Waitangi Tribunal 18 points Semester 1
MAOR306 2023 Ngā Pūkenga Tuhi 18 points Not offered in 2023
MAOR307 2023 Te Tūtakitanga o Ngā Ao e Rua 18 points Not offered, expected to be offered in 2025
MAOR308 2023 Ngā Hākinakina a Te Māori 18 points Not offered in 2023
MAOR310 2023 Special Topic 18 points Not offered in 2023
MAOR311 2023 Te Māhuri 1 18 points Semester 1
MAOR312 2023 Te Māhuri 2 18 points Semester 2
MAOR313 2023 Te Hiringa Taketake 18 points Not offered in 2023
MAOR316 2023 Special Topic 18 points Not offered in 2023
MAOR327 2023 Ngā Pakanga Nunui: New Zealand Wars 18 points Semester 1
MAOR401 2023 He Whakarākai (Whakatīeke) 20 points Not offered in 2023
MAOR404 2023 Toitū te Whenua - Land, Lore and Colonialism 20 points Semester 2
MAOR407 2023 Presenting Pacific Histories 20 points Semester 1
MAOR410 2023 Special Topic 20 points Not offered in 2023
MAOR413 2023 Te Tātari i Te Kaupapa - Māori and Indigenous Education 20 points Not offered in 2023
MAOR414 2023 He Pūkōrero - Theory and Research Methodologies 20 points Not offered in 2023
MAOR417 2023 Special Topic 20 points Not offered in 2023
MAOR427 2023 He Tuhituhinga 20 points Not offered in 2023
MAOR431 2023 Te Kōhure 20 points Not offered in 2023
MAOR490 2023 He Raukura 60 points Full Year, 1st Non standard period
MAOR590 2023 Research Dissertation 60 points 1st Non standard period, 2nd Non standard period

Key information for future students

Contact us

Te Tumu, School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies
Email maori-studies@otago.ac.nz
Web otago.ac.nz/tetumu