Credits and transfers
Looking to transfer to The University of Waikato from another tertiary education provider?
If you’ve previously studied at tertiary level elsewhere, you may be eligible to credit your previous study towards a University of Waikato qualification. By completing a credit transfer, you will be able to reduce the number of papers needed to complete your qualification.
External Transfer Credit
External Transfer Credit is the transfer of papers from another tertiary education provider to a University of Waikato qualification. If you have previously studied at tertiary level elsewhere, you may be eligible to credit your previous study towards a University of Waikato qualification. Successful credit transfers may reduce the number of papers needed to complete your qualification with us.
The amount of credit that can be transferred in either case can be found in section 14 of the Personal Programmes of Study Regulations of the University of Waikato Calendar.
External Transfer Credit may count to only one qualification at the University of Waikato.
If you are applying for credit for study completed at another university (external credit transfer), you need to include:
• A scanned copy of your official transcript (not a result notice), along with your course outlines/syllabus for any course (paper/module) that you are seeking credit for. A course outline is a document that contains information about the course such as the full name, course code, academic level (e.g. First Year), course objectives, method of teaching and assessments, and number of teaching hours. You may obtain this document from the Registrar or Faculty (School/College) of the institution you have studied. If this document is not in English you will also need to provide an official English translation.
• An explanation of the grading system used at your previous institution (for overseas study only).
• Information on how many units of study (subjects) in total were required to complete the degree you were taking at your previous institution.
• In some cases, you may also be asked to provide a portfolio of work.
You can apply to have your previous tertiary education recognised and credited towards your University of Waikato qualification. This means you won’t have to repeat similar papers (units, modules) and could graduate sooner.
How to apply
External credit for Domestic students will be considered with the online application to enrol.
While it is rare, it is possible for credit from incomplete postgraduate study at a NZ institution to be approved at postgraduate level study. This requires an initial discussion with the relevant department and if they approve the credit, they will initiate the process with the Admissions Office. In this scenario, credit is processed after an offer of place has been issued. Please contact your school of studies to discuss if this may apply to you.
Your previous study must be at NZQA Level 5 or above to be considered for credit transfer.
Please refer to the KiwiQuals or WhichCourseWhere websites for further information regarding New Zealand qualification levels.
What happens if your credit application is unsuccessful?
You will be notified via email of your credit outcome. Where possible, this will be prior to you enrolling to allow you to select appropriate papers.
What happens if your credit application is successful?
You will be notified within your offer letter. When accepting your offer letter you will also accept the credit outcome.
You can apply to have your previous tertiary education recognised and credited towards your University of Waikato qualification. This means you won’t need to repeat similar papers (units, modules) and could graduate sooner.
How to apply
External credit for international applicants will be considered with your online qualification application. When making your application to study at the University of Waikato, you will be asked if you want to apply for credit for your eligible qualification. You can submit up to three applications for admission in each academic year, and only one transfer credit application for your first eligible undergraduate qualification.
If you are a current University of Waikato student enrolled in a Bachelor's degree, you can apply for credit for study undertaken at another institution in the External Credit Transfer section of MyWaikato portal.
You may not receive credit if
• The first year of your tertiary study for an overseas qualification is equivalent to University Entrance (UE) in New Zealand.
• Your studies were completed more than 10 years ago.
What happens if your credit application is unsuccessful?
You will not receive credit if your application does not meet our criteria or fit within the programme structure. We will explain why your application has been unsuccessful when we send you the decision.
What happens if your credit application is successful?
• You will be formally notified of your credit application within your offer letter.
• When accepting your offer you will also accept the credit outcome.
Internal Credit Transfer
Internal credit processes are credit that the University internally manages for currently enrolled University of Waikato students.
Internal Transfer of Papers
This process is used when not all of a students completed papers are being transferred to the new qualification. This is an internal process and enquiries should be referred to the relevant Division being sought to transfer to for more information. If you are intending to transfer all of your papers, please refer to transfer of qualification.
Cross-credit is the award of papers from a completed University of Waikato Bachelors degree to a second University of Waikato Bachelors degree. If you have completed a Bachelors degree at the University of Waikato, you may apply to cross credit some of your papers towards a second Bachelors degree.
If cross credit is awarded, the papers in question are deemed to count towards both the original qualification and the new qualification. Normally, no more than one-third of a qualification may be cross-credited towards a Bachelors degree.
Please contact your Division or School of Study for approval if you wish to cross credit papers to another qualification.
You may request to change qualifications from what they are currently studying to another qualification. You can initiate the transfer of qualification from the Qualifications and Papers link when logged into MyWaikato. This is an internal process and enquiries should be referred to the relevant Division being sought to transfer to for more information.
How to apply
You can apply for transfer of qualification in MyWaikato.
You will need to select the course you would like to transfer to, provide a reason for your request and upload any supporting documents.
International applicants: You may need to apply for a new student visa. Therefore, we need to assess if you are eligible for transfer of qualification. Please contact the International Student Services Office to discuss how transfer of qualification may impact on your current student visa.
What happens next?
Once we have assessed your application we will email you with an outcome. If your request is successful, you will be transferred to your new qualification.
International applicants: If your request to transfer is successful, there are some steps to follow before you can enrol in your new course.
1. You need to apply for a new student visa.
2. Once you have your new student visa, you can then finalise your enrolment in your new programme through MyWaikato.
Exchange (Outbound)
Study completed towards your University of Waikato qualification through an overseas exchange partner institution is classified as exchange study.
You are required to contact the International Office in the first instance to discuss eligibility and proposed exchange study.
Other
Guaranteed Credit Agreements (GCA)
Guaranteed Credit Agreements (GCA) cater for pre-approved transfer of papers from another tertiary education provider to a University of Waikato qualification under pre-approved papers/qualifications.
Successful GCA credit transfers will reduce the number of papers needed to complete your qualification with us. The amount of credit that can be transferred is pre-approved. This is an internal process and enquiries should be referred to the relevant Division being sought to transfer to for more information.
Articulation Credit
The articulation credit process will be initiated when a student applies for a University of Waikato qualification that has an articulation arrangement, or by the other institution sending a request for credit to the Credit Office. This is an internal process and enquiries should be referred to the relevant Division being sought to transfer to for more information.
Study Recognition of Prior Learning
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is the formal recognition of non-credentialed prior learning. You are given the opportunity to have an assessment made of learning that you may have undertaken in a non-formal setting (e.g. outside school, polytechnic, or university) which could be counted towards a formal qualification.
Essentially, if you have undertaken learning for which you have not received a formal qualification, and which may be of a level which could count towards a university level qualification, you are entitled to apply for RPL.
How to Apply
Please apply via the form attached here.
External Enrolment
Please contact your Division or School of Study for approval if you wish to complete part of your University of Waikato qualification at another tertiary institution. You will be required to provide paper titles and descriptions of the paper(s) you wish to complete at the other institution by forwarding this information to your Division with your request for external enrolment.
You are reminded that the points system differs from institution to institution, and should take this into account when selecting papers. For example, 200 level papers at the University of Waikato are normally worth 15 points each, whereas 200 level papers at Otago University are normally worth 18 points each.