Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching
Already have a degree? Develop the skills to become a teacher and embark on a career that will inspire young people's lives with AUT's Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching.
Want to teach your favourite secondary school subjects to a new generation of New Zealanders? The Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching will give you practical techniques based on sound research to teach your curriculum subject(s) in secondary schools. This is a professional qualification with strong emphasis on practical experience and applied learning.
You can apply for TeachNZ scholarships to support your studies.
Download programme guides
Minimum entry requirements
A bachelor’s-level degree (or higher) in a subject considered relevant for teaching in a New Zealand secondary school.
- You will be required to provide official transcripts of your qualifications (if you are still completing your degree, please provide a transcript showing the results of all courses completed so far and the courses you are currently enrolled in).
- If you have a qualification from another country, an assessment of your overseas qualification by the New Zealand Qualification Authority (NZQA) may be required for salary assessment purposes upon completion of this programme.
New Zealand Teaching Council compliance steps:
- Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Programme entry form
- Successfully complete the literacy and numeracy assessment
- Meet the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand English language competency requirement (Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand website)
- Face-to-face or online interview to explore suitability for teaching.
- Must meet the “good character and fitness” criteria stipulated in the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand: Registration and Certification policy
- Police vetting (New Zealand and overseas if required)
- Satisfactory references
- Meet the safety check requirements as set out in Children's Act 2014
Details and information about the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand compliance steps will be provided to applicants by School of Education staff.
This process can take approximately 6 weeks as some of the compliance steps take time. Please consider this timeframe when applying.
Teaching subjects
- All applicants must have a senior (Year 11-13) and a junior (Year 9-10) teaching subject area supported by relevant courses in their degree
- Applicants must have at least one appropriate 300-level course in their senior area and one 200-level course in their junior area
- In practice applicants need a range of appropriate courses to teach in their subject areas. You are also expected to have good grades. We will work with applicants to identify appropriate teaching subjects.
Subject areas commonly available in secondary schools
Useful websites
The Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching includes eight taught courses and a minimum of 16 weeks of practicum placements in two secondary schools, building your confidence and experience as a teacher in the classroom. During campus-based courses, you also need to attend curriculum studies workshops in your teaching subjects.
A variety of assessment is used - from academic essays and research presentations to the professional application of learning in complex unit plans and blogs. Due to the professional nature of the qualification, you're expected to demonstrate appropriate professional behaviour at all times. This includes dress, punctuality and attendance.
Complete the following courses
- EDST602 Practicum 1
- EDST707 Curriculum: Design for Learning
- EDST708 Curriculum: Applied Practice for Secondary Teaching
- EDST711 Education and Society
- EDST712 Assessment and Learning
- EDST713 The Emerging Professional A
- EDST714 Provocations in Educational Thinking
- EDST715 Mānaakitanga: Responding to Diverse Learning Needs
- EDST716 Practicum 2
- EDST717 The Emerging Professional B
Teaching placements
As part of this programme, you complete a minimum of 16 weeks of practicum teaching placements in two different secondary schools, where you’ll be placed alongside an associate teacher and gain experience as a teacher in the classroom. These teaching placements are connected to the Teaching Council - Standards for the Teaching Profession and help you become an effective, responsive, and reflective teacher.
Skills you will develop
The outcomes for graduates of the Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching are outlined in the Graduate Profile below.
Student teachers who successfully complete the Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching are eligible to seek registration as a teacher and apply for teaching positions in secondary schools.
Find out more about industry trends, job descriptions and what employers may be looking for.
Secondary Teaching career guide
($7,289 - $7,623 tuition fees + $1146 student services levy)
($31,600 tuition fees + $1146 student services levy)
- Fees shown are based on a full-time workload for the points indicated next to the fee. The exact fee charged will depend on which courses you select at the time of enrolment.
- Fees are subject to change year to year. If you are planning for study beyond the current year, fees may vary from those stated.
- There may also be other fees and charges you need to pay.
- International students' tuition fees reflect the full cost of tuition. Domestic students' tuition fees are less due to a proportion of the tuition fees being funded by the New Zealand Government.
The information on this page was correct at time of publication. For a comprehensive overview of AUT qualifications, please refer to the Academic Calendar.