Discretionary Entrance applicants

If you are under 20, a New Zealand or Australian citizen or permanent resident, and do not hold a University Entrance qualification, you can apply for admission by Discretionary Entrance.

You must have gained National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 2 or higher, with at least 80 credits at Level 2 or higher, and have a Merit or Excellence endorsement. You will be assessed on your academic background and a recommendation letter from your school principal. The letter should reflect a high level of motivation and maturity, while also verifying that you were not enrolled in Year 13 beyond 1 June in the same year. 

If you have undertaken Year 13 study beyond 1 June in any year, you will not be eligible for Discretionary Entrance in that year but may be considered for entrance for Semester Two in the following year. 

If you have completed Year 13 overseas on exchange, it is recommended this is included in the recommendation letter from your school principal in New Zealand. 

You need to complete the Discretionary Entrance Form, and have it signed by your school principal. It is recommended that you provide your completed form, and have your school provide the recommendation letter, prior to the end of the school year to prevent delays in the application assessment process once NCEA results are released.

Australian applicants’ most recent year of schooling must have been in New Zealand. Discretionary Entrance is not available to international students.

You must meet the University Entrance Standards for literacy and numeracy, Literacy - 10 credits at Level 2 or above*, made up of,

• 5 credits in reading
• 5 credits in writing

Numeracy - 10 credits at Level 1 or above*, made up of:

• Achievement standards – specified achievement standards available through a range of subjects, or
• Unit standards - package of three numeracy unit standards (26623, 26626, 26627- all three required).

*For Level 1, 2 and 3 standards that contribute to University Entrance requirements, visit NZQA's NCEA page. 

You must sit a minimum of 14 credits in 4 subjects based on the NZQA list of subjects approved for University Entrance, (there are some minor differences in subject names between the list and those offered in Level 2 NCEA). The list is available on NZQA's Approved Subjects for University Entrance page.

For more information, please visit NZQA's NCEA page.

You must also meet the subject requirements of your chosen programme, as listed in the Discretionary Entrance: Subject, credit and other requirements table below. 

^{The Bachelor of Architectural Studies (BAS), Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (BE(Hons)), Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc), Bachelor of Nursing (BNurs), Bachelor of Science specialising in Biomedical Science & Food Science and Nutrition (BSc), Bachelor of Urban Planning (Honours) (BUrbPlan(Hons)), and conjoint degree programmes do not accept Discretionary Entrance applicants.}

^{* An audition or workshop/interview can include evaluations of one or more recorded and/or live performance elements. For more information, please see:}

•  ^{Bachelor of Music}
•  ^{Bachelor of Dance Studies}

^{For more information on additional requirements for Initial Teacher Education programmes, please see Info for teaching applicants.} 

Phone: +64 923 5025 (within Auckland)
Phone:  0800 61 62 63 (outside Auckland)
Phone: +64 9 373 7513 (from overseas)
Email: admission@auckland.ac.nz