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BE(Hons)
Bachelor of Engineering with Honours

The Bachelor of Engineering with Honours is the basis for a professional career in engineering, and at Waikato you're provided with plenty of opportunities to apply what you’ve learnt in real-life work situations.

The Bachelor of Engineering with Honours (BE(Hons)) focuses on how complex engineering problems that matter to society can be solved using engineering design principles and methods. At every stage of your degree, you'll be involved in conceptualising, designing and creating sophisticated engineering products, structures or processes.

There are many reasons why you should study engineering at Waikato, here are a couple of highlights.

You will have the opportunity to showcase your research and design work at the Waikato Engineering Design Show – an expo-style event open to industry and the public.

As a Waikato engineering student you will also complete 800 hours of work experience – usually paid – with a company or organisation that suits your interests, and you’ll make valuable industry contacts which in many cases leads to part or full-time work.

Our Work Integrated Learning Unit actively seeks and oversees your industrial work placement, ensuring a good fit for your area of study and career goals.

Specified programmes

At the University of Waikato all eight of our engineering programmes are internationally accredited by Engineering New Zealand (formerly IPENZ) on behalf of international accreditation body, the Washington Accord. This means that the degree is internationally recognised and will make it possible for Engineering graduates to work just about anywhere in the world.

Engineering programmes with full accreditation:
-     Chemical and Biological
-     Civil
-     Environmental
-     Materials and Process
-     Mechanical
-     Software

Engineering programmes with provisional accreditation:
-     Mechatronics
-     Electrical and Electronic
(Provisional accreditation is the first stage in the process for newly established degrees and will be eligible for full accreditation in 2025)

You can choose from eight specified programmes (see below)

Apply to enrol

Key information

Years: 4
Points: 480
BE(Hons) Study Locations:Hamilton, Tauranga
Papers offered differ by location. The Catalogue of Papers has full location info.
Start Dates: Trimester A (March) and Trimester B (July)
Estimated Fees* (Domestic): $8,399 per year
See if you're eligible for fees-free study in your first year
Estimated Fees* (International): $43,430 per year (any of years 1-3)
Entry Requirements: Undergraduate International
Area of Study:
All amounts are in New Zealand Dollars (NZD).*Tuition fees shown are indicative only and may change. There are additional fees and charges related to enrolment please see the Table of Fees and Charges for more information. You will be sent an enrolment agreement which will confirm your fees.

Degree Planner

Degree planner — Bachelor of Engineering with Honours (BE(Hons)) overview - Hamilton campus

If you want to lead the way in innovation, improve infrastructure, build smarter technologies and find alternative energy sources, our Bachelor of Engineering with Honours (BE(Hons)) will help you to achieve just that.

If no point value is listed, papers are worth 15 points.  This structure applies to study at the Hamilton campus, starting in 2021.

Year 3

Design Challenge 2
(ENGXX380)

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  • Compulsory
  • Placement

Degree planner — Bachelor of Engineering with Honours (BE(Hons)) overview - Tauranga campus

If no point value is listed, papers are worth 15 points. This structure applies to study starting in 2021.

Year 2 (Hamilton)

Design Challenge 1
(ENGXX280)

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Year 3 (Hamilton)

Design Challenge 2
(ENGXX380)

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Year 4 (Tauranga)

Design Challenge 3
(ENGXX580)

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  • Stream
  • Compulsory
  • Placement


Career opportunities

  • Chemical engineer
  • Civil engineer
  • Electrical and electronic engineer
  • Environmental engineer
  • Materials engineer
  • Mechanical engineer
  • Mechatronics engineer
  • Process engineer
  • Software engineer

Entry into the Bachelor of Engineering with Honours will be guaranteed to applicants who gain University Entrance, or equivalent, as well as satisfy the individual entry requirements of the relevant specified programme, as listed below.

Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Mechatronics Engineering

  • Calculus - a minimum of 16 credits in NCEA at Level 3 in Calculus.
  • Physics - a minimum of 14 credits in NCEA at Level 3 in Physics.

Chemical and Biological Engineering, Environmental Engineering, and Materials and Process Engineering

  • Chemistry - a minimum of 16 credits in NCEA at Level 3 in Chemistry
  • Calculus - a minimum of 16 credits in NCEA at Level 3 in Calculus.
  • Physics - a minimum of 14 credits in NCEA at Level 3 in Physics.

Software Engineering

  • Calculus - a minimum of 16 credits in NCEA at Level 3 in Mathematics with Calculus.

All other applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis and pathways are available.  We encourage you to apply for your desired specified programme of study and we will work with you on a pathway if you do not meet these requirements.

Each programme has a set of compulsory papers that you must study. Some papers have specific entry requirements and if you do not have the required background you may be directed to take certain papers in your first year of study.


Study in Tauranga

In 2020, year 1 of the BE(Hons) in Civil, Electrical and Electronic, Mechanical, and Mechatronics Engineering programmes can be completed in Tauranga. Years 2 and 3 of the degree need to be completed in Hamilton. Year 4 will be taught in Tauranga from 2023.


New to Waikato? The International Excellence Scholarship is worth up to $10,000.

University of Waikato Summer Research Scholarship  Not currently accepting applications

For students who are enrolled at a NZ University in an undergraduate degree, final year honours degree or a first-year master's degree (taught papers only). The scholarship provides students with opportunities to experience the challenges and rewards of research. The scholarship will have a value of $8,000 and will include enrolment in a paper, normally at no cost to the student.

'Ko Te Tangata' School Leaver Scholarship  Not currently accepting applications

For school leavers who are intending to enrol full-time (120 points) in an undergraduate degree at the University of Waikato for the first time in 2024. Candidates may be taking a gap year in 2023.

Looking for more scholarships?

Visit our Scholarship Finder


Graduate study options

Students who have completed a BE(Hons) may go on to complete a Master of Engineering (ME) or Master of Engineering Practice (MEngPrac).  Excellent grades at undergraduate level may enable you to go straight to a PhD.


Work placements are a major feature of the Bachelor of Engineering with Honours programme and you will complete 800 hours of relevant work experience during your degree.

Our  Work-Integrated Learning team actively seeks and oversees your work placement, ensuring a good fit for your area of study and career goals, and supporting you throughout your work experience.

By the time you graduate you will have the credibility of paid experience to take with you as you start your career.

At every stage of your degree, you will be involved in creating, designing and realising sophisticated engineering products. These hands-on projects also help to develop the 'soft skills' sought by potential engineering employers, such as effective project management and the ability to work as a team.

In your first year, you will complete a number of compulsory papers including the popular Foundations of Engineering. Teams of students are challenged to design and build model boats over the course of the semester, culminating in a race day on the University’s Oranga Lake.

During your second year you will begin to specialise, depending on the programme you have chosen to study. Then in years three and four, work placements will form a large part of your study.

By the end of your fourth year, you will have also worked in groups to complete a major research and design project with potential for commercial application – like the pine tree seed planter designed and built in collaboration with tree improvement and treestock production business ArborGen Australasia.  You will showcase your project at the end of year Waikato Engineering Design Show – an expo-style event open to industry and the public.


Practical skills

Build a successful career

Engineering professionals lead the way in innovation through improving infrastructure, building smarter technologies and working to discover alternative and renewable energy sources and environmentally friendly materials and practices.

Increasing the number of trained engineers is seen as essential for New Zealand's growth in technology-related enterprises.


Qualifications links


Our students work in specialised laboratories. These include the Large Scale Lab complex that features a suite of workshops and laboratories dedicated to engineering teaching and research, such as 3D printing, a mechanical workshop and computer labs with engineering design software.

The computing facilities at the University of Waikato are among the best in New Zealand, ranging from phones and tablets for mobile application development to cluster computers for massively parallel processing. Software Engineering majors will also have 24 hour access to computer labs equipped with all the latest computer software.


Our engineering programme pairs perfectly with a Diploma in Engineering Management (DipEM) where you can develop critical skills in business, innovation and leadership to unlock doors into future senior management roles as a professional engineer. The diploma programme dovetails into the BE(Hons), and can all be completed within four years.


Contacts

Have a chat with one of our friendly advisers to help you plan your degree.

Student Centre
Phone: 0800 WAIKATO (0800 924 528) or 07 838 4176
Email: [email protected]

Have a chat with one of our friendly advisers to help you plan your degree.

Phone: +64 7 807 9275
Email: [email protected]

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