Master of Sustainable Practice

A 180 credit master's over 18 months at the Madras Street campus in Christchurch, ending in a 60 credit applied research dissertation. Ara says it was the first qualification of its kind in New Zealand. Sustainable practice is not itself an engineering qualification, so it does not meet the requirement for the Green List environmental engineering roles.

There is no Green List occupation attached to this programme, so it does not carry the straight to residence pathway that the roles on the Green List do. That is worth knowing before you apply, not after.

It still leads to a post-study work visa of up to three years, because Immigration New Zealand grants that on the level of the qualification. Residence would then run through the Skilled Migrant Category, which needs 6 points: a New Zealand level 9 master's is worth 5, and one year of skilled work in New Zealand adds the sixth. That route is open, but it is slower and less certain than a Green List role, and it depends on finding skilled work.