Minors in the Bachelor of Science

A minor is an optional additional area of focus for a degree. Most major BSc subjects are available as minors, while some subjects are only available as minors.

A minor is made up of a collection of courses in a particular subject. The workload for a minor is lighter than for a major—fewer courses to do, fewer points required. This makes a minor a good way to build a second or third area of focus or concentration into your degree. Find out more about how minors work.

All majors, with the exception of Environmental Science, can also be taken as a minor, so check the majors available in the Bachelor of Science. You might also be able to study majors from other undergraduate degrees as a minor in your Bachelor of Science. There is one exception: if you are majoring in Biology, Biotechnology or Cell and Molecular Bioscience in the BSc, you can’t do a minor from the Bachelor of Biomedical Science.

Minors are made up of at least 60 points from the relevant subject area at 200 level or above. At least 15 of those points must be at 300 level and not counted towards a major or another minor.

Some subjects are not available as majors, but you can take them as a minor. Other subjects have special requirements and course options as minors. Explore these minors below.

Actuarial Science

Get the knowledge and skills you need to set you on the path to become a qualified actuary. Actuarial Science brings economics, mathematics, and statistics together to help companies and organisations forecast and manage risks. Take advantage of the growing demand for actuarial skills in many areas including in investment, stockbroking, and software development, as well as in government, education, and health.

Requirements

Complete the following courses:

And complete one further course from:

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is the science and engineering of making intelligent machines that sense, act, and learn from experience, to perform tasks for humans.

Requirements

Complete the following courses:

Climate Science

Gain a broad-based understanding of climate change, sustainability, and science communication.

Requirements

Complete the following courses:

Computer Graphics and Games

Learn about the key concepts and tools used in the creation of today's computer graphics and effects. Gain the programming, engineering and maths skills to create your own rendering tools, and get an introduction to the design side of computer graphics.

Requirements

Complete the following courses:

Data Science

Develop technical skills in computing technologies, statistics, and mathematics and work with real data sets to develop a practical understanding of the social dimensions of data.

Requirements

Complete the following courses:

And complete one further 200- or 300-level course from the Data Science major requirements for the BA.

Development Studies

Study the enormous differences in living standards around the world and what we can do about it. Examine the relationships between people and institutions—from small communities, to government agencies and international organisations. Focus on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals that set out to address inequality in wealth, education and health around the world.

Requirements

Complete GEOG 212.

Complete two further courses from:

Environmental Science

Environmental Science is about how humans connect with and change the natural environment. Gain an understanding of this relationship, drawing on a range of sciences including biology, chemistry, geography, maths, and physics.

Requirements

    Environmental Studies

    Go beyond the 'pure' sciences to examine social, cultural, and economic perspectives on the environment. Learn about the pressures humans place on the earth and what we can do about it. Study a range of topics from climate change to urban green spaces, Māori resource management to the impact of humans on Antarctica.

    Requirements

    Complete the following courses:

    Complete a further 20 points from:

    Geographic Information Science

    Learn in-demand spatial analysis skills that are valuable across various disciplines such as our physical environment and human populations. Get a powerful geospatial toolkit to enhance understanding and prepare you for the data-driven future.

    Requirements

    Complete the following courses:

    Complete a further 15 points from:

    Mathematics

    Study a subject with a rich history as well as many new and developing branches. Explore problem-solving techniques that you can use in a variety of disciplines, scientific and otherwise.

    Requirements

    Complete the following:

    Psychology

    Study the science behind our brains and our behaviour. Gain insights into why people think, act and feel the way they do.

    Requirements

    Complete the following:

    Science in Society

    Explore the relationships between science and technology, scientists and society, and the history and philosophy of science. Examine how scientific ideas and issues are communicated to different audiences in society.

    Requirements

    Complete SCIS 213.

    Complete one of the following courses:

    Complete 30 points from:

    Science Communication

    Build your knowledge of science and the scientific process, and develop an understanding of the factors that influence the communication of scientific information.

    Requirements

    Complete the following courses:

    Complete one of:

    Space Science

    Space Science looks at all parts of the space industry—from the technical innovations needed to go into space, to the ethical and legal issues that develop as we push out of Earth’s orbit.

    Requirements

    Complete the following courses:

    Statistics

    Learn to collect, analyse, and interpret data. Statistics is a mathematical tool to help us understand today's information-rich world. Statistics themselves are used in many different spheres—from the financial world to marketing campaigns to government policy.

    Requirements

    Complete either MATH 277 or STAT 292.

    Complete one course from:

    Complete one further course from:

    Complete 15 further points at 200 or 300 level from the Science schedule.