Guide · Study & work
NZ qualification levels, and who teaches them.
Every course you will be offered comes with a level number attached, and that number decides more than the course description does. This is what the ten levels are, which kinds of institution exist here, and how to check one yourself before you pay a deposit.
Why the level matters
Two courses can share a name, a price and a glossy brochure and still sit three levels apart. The level is the part that travels.
New Zealand puts every recognised qualification on one national list, the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework. Each qualification on it carries a level from 1 to 10, and the level describes how complex the learning is, not how long the course runs or what it costs. Level 10 is the most complex.
This matters to a migrant for three reasons. Employers read the level. Immigration New Zealand's rules refer to levels. And a course that is not on the framework at all is not a recognised New Zealand qualification, whatever the provider's marketing says.
The ten levels
NZQA publishes which qualification types can sit at each level. Micro-credentials, which are short and narrow, can be listed at any level from 1 to 10, so they are left out of the table below.
| Level | Qualification types listed at this level |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | Certificate |
| 5 | Certificate, Diploma |
| 6 | Certificate, Diploma |
| 7 | Diploma, Bachelor's Degree, Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma |
| 8 | Bachelor Honours Degree, Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma |
| 9 | Master's Degree |
| 10 | Doctoral Degree |
Two things in that table catch people out. Level 7 holds both a bachelor's degree and a diploma, so "Level 7" on its own does not tell you someone has a degree. And an honours degree sits at Level 8, above an ordinary bachelor's, which is not how it works in every country.
School qualifications sit at the bottom of the same ladder. NCEA, the national school qualification, is at levels 1 to 3, which is why a New Zealander might say "I have Level 2" and mean their second-to-last year of high school.
Certificate, diploma, degree
The names are not interchangeable, and the difference is set by the framework rather than by the provider.
- Certificate. Can sit anywhere from Level 1 to Level 7. A Level 3 certificate and a Level 7 graduate certificate are both certificates and are not close to each other.
- Diploma. Levels 5, 6 and 7. Often vocational, often shorter than a degree.
- Bachelor's degree. Level 7 only.
- Bachelor honours, postgraduate certificate, postgraduate diploma. Level 8.
- Master's degree. Level 9.
- Doctoral degree. Level 10.
If a brochure names a qualification type and a level that do not match this list, that is worth a question before anything else.
The four kinds of provider
Where you study changes what you can study, and it changes who is watching the provider.
Universities
New Zealand has 8 state-funded universities. They teach mainly at degree level and above, and each has its own subject strengths. There are no others. If a provider calls itself a university and is not on this list, it is not one.
- University of Auckland, Auckland
- Auckland University of Technology, Auckland
- University of Waikato, Hamilton
- Massey University, Palmerston North
- Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington
- University of Canterbury, Christchurch
- Lincoln University, Lincoln, near Christchurch
- University of Otago, Dunedin
Seven of them are comprehensive, meaning they cover a broad spread of subjects. Lincoln is the exception: Universities New Zealand describes it as a specialist land-based university. Several of the eight also run campuses in more than one city, so the location above is the main one rather than the only one.
Universities are checked differently from everyone else. NZQA approves programmes for every kind of tertiary provider except universities. A university qualification is approved instead by CUAP, the Committee on University Academic Programmes, which Universities New Zealand runs for the sector. It still has to pass CUAP before it can go on the national framework, so a university course is not less checked, just checked by someone else.
Polytechnics and institutes of technology
These teach professional and vocational subjects, from introductory courses up to degrees. They are usually the cheaper and more hands-on route into a trade or a technical field, and many run strong pathways into local employers. The sector has just been through a structural change, which is the next section.
Wānanga
There are 3 legislated wānanga: Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Te Wānanga o Raukawa and Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi. A wānanga is a tertiary institution built around Māori knowledge, language and custom, and the three were founded separately at different times, so they are not three branches of one organisation. They teach certificates, diplomas and degrees.
Private training establishments
PTEs are privately owned providers. They range from foundation-level courses to postgraduate qualifications depending on the field, and they vary enormously in size, subject and track record. Some are long-established and excellent. This is also the category where a migrant is most likely to meet a provider whose recruitment is more polished than its teaching, so the checks in the next section matter most here.
What changed in 2026
If you are reading older advice about Te Pūkenga, it is out of date. The 16 polytechnics and institutes of technology were merged into a single national organisation, Te Pūkenga, and that merger has now been reversed.
From 1 January 2026, 10 polytechnics returned to regional governance as standalone institutions: Ara Institute of Canterbury, Eastern Institute of Technology, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, Southern Institute of Technology, Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, Waikato Institute of Technology, Unitec and Manukau Institute of Technology (merging and standing alone together), Otago Polytechnic and UCOL (both standing alone within a federation), and The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand as the anchor of that federation.
Four remain inside the national body for now, while they work toward financial and operational viability: NorthTec, Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki, Whitireia and WelTec (already governed as one entity), and Tai Poutini Polytechnic. Te Pūkenga continues as a transitional entity for up to a year.
Checking a provider yourself
These checks take about ten minutes. Do them before any money changes hands, and read the provider's contract and refund terms while you are at it.
- Find the provider on NZQA's list of education organisations at nzqa.govt.nz. If they are not there, stop and ask why.
- Find the exact qualification, not just the provider, on the national framework. Check that the level and the qualification type match what you were told.
- If you are coming as an international student, check the provider is an approved signatory to the Code of Practice. A provider must be an approved signatory before it can enrol international learners, and NZQA administers the Code.
- Check the level and provider against the visa you plan to apply for, on immigration.govt.nz, before you pay a deposit rather than after.
Levels and visas
Immigration New Zealand's rules refer to qualification levels and to the provider, which is why the two sections above are worth reading before you choose a course. Post-study work entitlements in particular depend on what you studied, at what level and with whom. Getting those three right does not by itself mean you qualify for anything, and we cannot work out whether you do.