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.

TeachNZ website

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 requirements
• 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

• Children Act 2014 website
• Education in New Zealand website
• NZ Qualifications Authority (NZQA) website
• NZQA International Qualifications Assessment website
• TKI Te Kete Ipurangi website
• TeachNZ website

AUT classes are taught in English. If English, Māori or NZ Sign Language is not your first language, you need to prove you have the minimum level of English for your AUT qualification.

We need to assess your level of English to ensure you can succeed in your programme. AUT does not accept responsibility if you fail courses because of a lack of competence in English.

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