Close up of a person performing a waiata with a group
Areas of interest

Study Māori knowledge , Ākona te mātauranga māori

Contribute to Māori development. Choose a qualification in Māori knowledge or te reo Māori, or apply Māori knowledge to areas such as business, creative arts, education, health, politics or science.

Need help or know what you want to study?

Helping you thrive

At Massey we are committed to fostering and promoting Māori success by creating an environment where Māori students can flourish.

Te angitū o te Māori

E ū ana mātau ki te poipoi me te whakatairanga i te angitū o te Māori mā te whakarite taiao ako e puāwai ai ngā tauira Māori.

Learn from our leaders

Our Māori professors and academics are leaders, from Māori visual arts to public health.

Ngā mātanga i roto i ā rātau mahi

He mātanga ō mātou ahorangi Māori, ō mātou pūkenga Māori hoki nō te ao toi Māori atu ki te ao hauora.

Overview

Ko Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa te kaupapa e tū ngātahi ai tātou hei waihanga i ngā momo mātauranga ki te pae o angitu. He ara putanga tauira, he ara e hua ai ngā tini kaupapa ki Aotearoa puta noa i te ao whānui.

Māori knowledge is unique to Aotearoa New Zealand. It's the foundation upon which we stand together in partnership. Creating and sharing knowledge helps us reach the highest possible levels of advancement and attainment. It provides a pathway for students to learn te reo Māori, and create a just and inclusive society and world.

The study of Māori knowledge introduces you to te ao Māori, the Māori world, and provides a basic understanding of te reo Māori. It gives you a sound background in areas such as:

  • contemporary Māori issues
  • Te Tiriti o Waitangi
  • Māori culture and society
  • Māori policy and development.

Māori knowledge is a good fit if you:

  • enjoy learning te reo Māori
  • want to deeply understand Māori culture, society and world views
  • want to contribute positively to individuals, whānau, hapū, iwi and Māori communities.

Te Pūtahi a Toi – School of Māori Knowledge

Ngā tohu Māori (Māori-focused qualifications)

Study te reo Māori

Te reo Māori is a taonga and an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand. Study te reo Māori at Massey and participate in ways that reinforce the everyday use of te reo.

With our te reo Māori courses, you'll become a confident speaker and writer of te reo Māori – and be able to share your skills in ways that express and reflect a Māori world view.

Our staff include winners of the Pikihuia Awards for Māori writers, and lecturers dedicated to providing creative learning experiences.

Learn and use Māori knowledge

Massey offers many ways to build skills and understanding in Māori culture, te reo Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

You can major in Māori knowledge or te reo Māori in arts degrees offered by Te Pūtahi-a-Toi, Massey's School of Māori Knowledge. Or you can explore Māori knowledge in relation to business, creative arts, health, humanities and social sciences, or sciences.

Pakihi – Business

Te Au Rangahau is a research centre in the Massey Business School. The name translates to "a pathway to Māori research in business". The centre aims to advance business and leadership knowledge that benefits the Māori economy.

What you can study in business

Te Au Rangahau (Māori Business Research)

Toi – Creative arts

Toioho ki Āpiti, Māori visual arts, recognises language, culture, tikanga and art as inseparable. Our bachelor's degree has a strong Māori kaupapa, with te reo, tikanga, and manaakitanga at its core.

We welcome students of Māori, Pākehā and international indigenous heritage. We cater for all levels of te reo Māori.

As well as independent creative work, courses may cover:

  • Māori design processes, including cultural significance
  • Māori visual culture, including contemporary and traditional contexts
  • te reo Māori
  • Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi).

Māori visual arts – Toioho ki Āpiti

What you can study in creative arts

Hauora – Health

For qualifications such as health science, nursing and social work, specialists from Te Pūtahi-a-Toi teach courses on:

  • engaging with Māori
  • hauora (Māori health and wellbeing)
  • Te Tiriti o Waitangi in health practice.

These courses make sure you build basic competencies to work with Māori people, and can contribute to positive health outcomes for whānau, iwi, hapū and Māori communities.

What you can study in health

Te Pumanawa Hauora – Research Centre for Māori Health and Development

Te Ropu Whariki – Whariki Research Group

Pūkenga tangata – Humanities and social sciences

From history to politics, philosophy to psychology, our courses include Māori perspectives. Here are some examples:

  • planning, which includes Māori understandings of how people and nature are closely linked
  • politics and history, which explore topics such as iwi history, the politics of identity, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi
  • writing and theatre, including Māori literatures and storytelling methods.

Also on offer are specialist qualifications taught in te reo, such as Te Aho Tātairangi: Bachelor of Teaching and Learning Kura Kaupapa Māori.

What you can study in humanities and social sciences

Te Pūtahi ā Toi – School of Māori Knowledge

Centre for Indigenous Psychologies

Pūtaiao – Sciences

From agribusiness to animal science, engineering to information technology, our science courses include Māori perspectives. Here are some examples:

  • agriculture, including traditional crops, future land use, and opportunities for Māori in horticulture, food innovation, and forestry
  • natural environment, including how environmental management or natural resource policies can reflect Māori interests
  • science and sustainability courses (compulsory for students in agriculture and horticulture, computer science and IT, engineering, and sciences) include Māori knowledge modules taught by specialists from Te Pūtahi-a-Toi.

What you can study in sciences

How to study Māori knowledge

Discover what we offer if you’re interested in Māori knowledge – whether you’re coming to university for the first time, changing direction or returning to advance your study or career.

Undergraduate study

An undergraduate qualification is generally the first thing you’ll study at university.

Bachelor's degrees

Degrees are the standard qualifications you do at university – the most common is called a bachelor’s. Degrees give you enough time to explore your interests, and also focus on specific subjects.

Graduate certificates

Graduate certificates let you study in a subject you're interested in without doing a second bachelor's degree. Or you can use it as a bridge to postgraduate study if you already have an undergraduate degree.

Undergraduate diplomas

Undergraduate diplomas let you try university study before you commit to a degree. They’re also useful if you need to advance your career.

Graduate diplomas

Graduate diplomas can help you advance to postgraduate study or research in a subject you haven’t majored in for your undergraduate study.

Relevant undergraduate subjects to major or specialise in

When you apply to study at Massey, for some undergraduate qualifications you can choose what subject you’d like to specialise in. You can usually change your mind after you get to university, depending on the courses you enrol in.

Postgraduate study

Once you’ve graduated with a bachelor’s degree – or have equivalent experience – you’ll be ready to take on postgraduate study.

Postgraduate bachelor's degrees with honours

Postgraduate bachelor's degrees with honours

Master's degrees

A master's degree normally builds on a main subject of study from your undergraduate degree.

Postgraduate diplomas

Postgraduate diplomas are postgraduate-level qualifications that are longer than a postgraduate certificate. If you’re successful, you might be able to use the credits towards the longer master’s degree.

PhD and other doctoral degrees

Doctoral degrees, including PhDs, are the highest degrees we award. They’re very demanding and their entry criteria reflect this.

Relevant research areas at Massey

Discover research expertise, projects and initiatives relating to Māori knowledge at Massey.

Māori knowledge research

What our students say

“What I took away from the te reo course component was a stronger foundation of tikanga (protocols and custom), cultural identity and personal value as a Māori.”
Talisa Kupenga

Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Mate

BA Te Reo Māori (minor)

“The amazing lecturers have open minds about different whakaaro, different types of work and you’re appreciated for your ideas. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the BMVA… the skills to express myself and the confidence and passion I’ve gained in my art and in where I come from, in my pepeha.”
Puawai Taiapa

Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Kauwhata, Rakahanga (Cook Islands)

Postgraduate Diploma in Māori Visual Arts student

Bachelor of Māori Visual Arts

“It was a great programme, all in Māori. He tohu pai, katoa i te reo Māori.”
Aroha Rauhihi

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngāti Ruanui

Te Aho Paerewa Postgraduate Diploma Teaching and Learning in Māori Medium

Our facilities

You'll have access to a wide range of first-class facilities when you study with us.

Te Pūtahi-a-Toi

Te Pūtahi-a-Toi - School of Māori Knowledge has a rūnanga room and a wharekai – Toi Te Ora – where we can manaaki visitors, students and staff.

Location: Manawatū campus

Te Pūtahi-a-Toi

Marae and Māori spaces

Te Rau Karamu Marae on the Pukeahu campus during sunset

Te Rau Karamu Marae

Te Rau Karamu Marae provides stunning art-filled learning and teaching spaces and sits at the heart of the Wellington campus.

Te Whare Taupua

The Māori space on our Auckland campus. Te Whare Taupua is home to Te Rau Tauawhi, the Māori student support centre. While it's mostly a student space, it's also used for Māori events.

Marae and Māori spaces

Centre for Indigenous Psychologies

The centre is an inclusive physical and intellectual space.

Through our teaching and research, indigenous psychologies are embraced, experienced, understood and developed – in ways to benefit all communities.

Location: Manawatū campus

Jobs linked to Māori knowledge

Specialising in Māori knowledge is a great pathway to careers in a range of areas, including:

  • business and entrepreneurship
  • communications roles in government or businesses, publishing or the media
  • community work
  • creative arts
  • healthcare
  • foreign affairs
  • Māori development
  • policy analysis
  • research
  • teaching te reo Māori and te ao Māori in kura, schools or universities
  • translation services.

Annual salary ranges for jobs

Examples of jobs linked to Māori knowledge:

Salary ranges disclaimer

Indicative pay rates are:

Which Māori knowledge qualification?

Examples of where our qualifications may take you.

Table showing jobs and what you could study to enter them.
Jobs Examples of what you could study
Advocate, consultant or policy analyst Bachelor of Arts (Māori Knowledge)
Bachelor of Arts (Te Reo Māori)
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) (Māori Knowledge)
Advocate, consultant or policy analyst specialising in Māori education or health Master of Education (Māori Education)
Master of Health Science (Māori Health)
Artist Bachelor of Māori Visual Arts
Communications roles Bachelor of Arts (Māori Knowledge)
Bachelor of Arts (Te Reo Māori)
Curator Postgraduate Diploma in Māori Visual Arts
Postgraduate Diploma in Museum Studies
Health professional working with Māori Master of Health Science (Māori Health)
Postgraduate Diploma in Health Science (Māori Health)
Interpreter or translator Bachelor of Arts (Te Reo Māori)
Kaiwhakaako Māori Te Aho Tātairangi: Bachelor of Teaching and Learning Kura Kaupapa Māori

Get an information guide

Download our guide to find out more about studying Māori knowledge at Massey.

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