My main interests are refugee and immigration policy. I wanted to examine the choices governments are making in relation to this growing number of people who are finding themselves in need of help from external actors and governments.

I love Victoria University of Wellington’s focus on research. Studying a Master of Political Science here has let me complete a mix of courses—and learn from some incredible lecturers—while producing my own research. My lecturers have helped me develop my research and writing ability. They have so much knowledge and they’re always willing to pass that on to their students while helping us pursue our own interests.

Despite my frequenting of libraries, I’ve never found a view that compares to the one from the Kelburn campus library. The city is beautiful, and tight knit, and when you need a break from study there is so much to keep you busy.

When I finished working for Marama Davidson after the 2020 election, I knew I wanted a change. The Master of Political Science is a new challenge, without needing to uproot my life from Te Whanganui-a-Tara.

I’ve only just started my thesis research, but the freedom given to postgraduate students in choosing their assignment topics means I’ve already done a lot of reading on my topic—the concept of mandate—and had the opportunity to publish in The Spinoff because of that.

We’re so passionate about our topics, want to do them justice, and are supported to do so by the teaching staff. There’s nothing quite like hearing “that’s a really interesting topic” from people with decades of experience in academia to keep you motivated.

The range of people in my courses has been really interesting. Maybe this is due to the pandemic preventing overseas opportunities and more people returning home, but I’ve experienced a much more age-diverse cohort than I expected—it’s nice not to be an outlier at 30!

My fellow students come from International Relations, Politics, Philosophy, History, Strategic Studies, and more, and all bring different experiences. I learn just as much from discussions with my peers during class as from lectures and texts. Even when discussions get heated or passionate—and I do take Politics courses, so that’s often—they’re respectful, and everyone comes out with something different or new.

I work two days a week in project administration in central government. Having dual-taught courses gives me flexibility to study full time while still attending important events or meetings at work—and I know I’m not the only one.

The Master of Political Science is incredibly flexible, you can structure it whatever way suits you. Most do four or five taught courses and a 10- or 20,000-word dissertation, but I chose to do three courses and 30,000-word thesis to really dive deep into my research.