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Apply by 21 Jan 2025 to start 24 Feb 2025
The quality of our buildings is vital to our economy, our environment, and our lifestyle. If you’re interested in the process and business of creating great buildings—from construction methods, materials, and systems to project management and contractor relations—then this is the right degree for you.
Become a building scientist
The Bachelor of Building Science is a three-year undergraduate degree. It’s designed to give you expertise in the science, technology, and economics of creating buildings, as well as an understanding of architecture.
Building Science was developed to meet the growing needs of New Zealand’s building and construction industry. Today, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington is an international leader in the field of building science. Our Bachelor of Building Science (BBSc) is the country's leading programme devoted to the science of buildings.
Learn alongside Architecture students in your first year and specialise in Project Management or Sustainable Engineering Systems in your second and third years. And if you want, you can do a double major in both.
Studying Building Science will give you the opportunity to contribute to a more sustainable world. You’ll learn about the built environment, and how people interact with it. The first year allows you to explore and understand the science of building within the context of architecture and design.
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Download our handbook
Fill in a form to find out more about your study options at the School of Architecture in our qualification handbook.
Important information
- First-year courses are the same as for the Bachelor of Architecture programme.
- If you are doing a degree from a different part of the University and want to take Project Management as a major or minor, it will take an extra year of study. If you have any questions, contact one of our advisers in the student support team.
First year
Your first year will give you a solid understanding of the built environment and all the areas related to it.
In your first year, you’ll study seven core introductory courses and one elective of your choice. Four of the courses will introduce you to the concepts, history, and theory of design, as well as to the ways that design is communicated. Other courses focus on sustainability and on the technology used in creating the built environment.
By the end of your first year, you should have a strong grasp of the main ideas, vocabulary, and technology of the world of architecture and building science. You’ll also have good idea of where you want go from there.
Second year
This is the year you choose your major—Project Management or Sustainable Engineering Systems. You can also choose to study both majors.
You’ll look more closely at areas like energy and water use, managing a project, and compliance with relevant legislation.
Third year
By this stage, you’ll have developed a good understanding of Building Science and your major. You’ll appreciate the important questions related to sustainability, price, quality of construction, and quality of people involved.
At the end of your third year you’ll have the knowledge and skills to begin your career in the building industry.
Or you can stay on and pursue postgraduate study, with a Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, or Master's degree.
Get a Master's degree
If you want to become an expert in a particular area of Building Science that fascinates you—say, energy efficiency, acoustics, or building information modelling—a Master’s degree will help you reach your career goals.
You’ll gain deep insights and highly marketable skills. And you’ll have the qualification you need to be professionally recognised by the New Zealand Institute of Building.
Flexibility in your degree
Take advantage of the flexibility offered by Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. Depending on your degree, you may be able to do a:
- Double major—specialise in two subjects in your degree.
- Second major from another degree—study a wider range of subjects without doing another degree.
- Minor—specialise in a subject without doing as many courses as for a major.
- Conjoint degree—this intense programme lets you complete two degrees more quickly, in a minimum of four years.
Scholarships
Scholarships are awarded to hundreds of first-year students each year. They help with living costs and accommodation costs at the University's halls of residence.
Our Tangiwai, Totoweka, and Kahotea scholarships are available to school leavers, and there are several other first-year scholarships on offer in our scholarships database.
You can also apply for a TeachNZ Scholarship. These scholarships are awarded based on specific areas where teachers are needed.
We strongly recommend applying for our scholarships, as they often don’t receive enough applications.
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Requirements