New Zealand Education System

New Zealand has eight state-funded universities, 16 Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) which have been unified into the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology (NZIST), and about 550 Private Training Establishments (PTEs), which include English language schools.

Choose the type of institution that’s best for your career path:

• Universities offer higher degree-level education. Programmes are research-led and generally academic rather than vocational. In the 2020 QS World University Rankings, seven of New Zealand’s universities were in the top 100 in at least one subject.
• ITPs and a few larger PTEs offer vocational degree-level education.
• PTEs tend to offer specific vocational programmes, mainly at certificate and diploma level.