Prepare to enrol

Find out what some of the common university words are, how a degree works, and what you need to enrol.

• Make sense of university jargon
• How does a degree work?
• Planning for university
• Enrolment

Make sense of university jargon

The language used at university can be confusing and unfamiliar. We have compiled this list of some of the most commonly used terms to help as you plan your study.

Degree

A degree is the qualification you complete at university. It has an abbreviation such as BA (for Bachelor of Arts) or BSc (for Bachelor of Science) and so on.

Double degree

You can study two degrees at the same time. This is called a double degree. If you are interested in studying subjects from more than one degree this would be a good option to consider.

Major

The subject you specialise in within your degree is called your major.

Minor

In many degrees you can choose to have a minor as well. This is a subject you have studied at each level but not in as much depth as your major.

Levels

Each subject has levels (100, 200, 300). The first courses you take are called 100-level papers.

Papers

Each subject is divided into papers. They are like topics within each subject – the building blocks of your degree. They have codes like HIST 104, PSYC 201 and MART 304.

Points

When you pass each paper you get points towards your degree. Papers are generally worth 18 points and a three-year degree needs 360 points. This usually consists of 20 papers.

Semesters

The University operates two semesters per year. Some papers are completed in a single semester (i.e. a half year, either first or second semester), while others run for the whole year.

Summer School

The University also offers a Summer School from early January to mid-February each year.

View the full list of all University terminology

How does a degree work?

General three-year bachelors’ degree such as the BA, BCom and BSc have a similar structure.

• Three years of full-time study
• Made up of 20 papers
• Each paper is worth 18 points
• Each degree is 20 papers x 18 points = 360 total points
• Your degree must have one major subject
• A major subject is around eight or nine papers at different levels

A general bachelor’s degree is flexible; you can make changes and you can even include five papers from other degrees. In a 20-paper degree there needs to be at least 10 papers above 100-level. Of the 10 papers above 100-level, at least four need to be above 200-level.

A general degree, such as a BA, might look something like this:

Planning for university

What you do at school counts, and so do your results. Good grades in the recommended subjects, especially in Year 13, will help set you up for success at university.

NB: Many of Otago’s subjects and degrees have specific recommended school subject preparation - find out more:

• Required and recommended background subjects (PDF format, 86 KB)

Enrolment

To enrol at Otago you will complete the following process: