Southern Institute of Technology Courses

All qualifications offered at SIT are NZQA approved and accredited. After approval, NZQA monitors delivery to ensure the institution delivers the programme as intended and to standard.

The level 1-6 NZQA qualifications SIT provides are:

• STAR/Gateway - offered to Secondary Schools.
• Certificates - to help prepare you for employment or further study and training.
• Diplomas - it can follow a certificate or as a stand-alone qualification.
• New Zealand Certificates and Diplomas and National Certificates and National Diplomas - recognise skills and knowledge that meet nationally endorsed unit and achievement standards.

The undergraduate and postgraduate (levels 7-10) NZQA qualifications SIT provides are:

• Bachelor Degrees
• Graduate Certificates
• Graduate Diplomas
• Postgraduate Certificates
• Postgraduate Diplomas
• Masters Degree

SIT also offers Micro-Credentials which are stand-alone awards, and some micro-credentials may also form part of a programme that leads to a qualification.

Certificate - Level 3 & 4
Certificates are normally programmes of study between 12 weeks and 1 year. Certificates are often required for entry level positions.

Diploma - Level 5 & 6
Diplomas are normally 1 or 2 years of study and are often necessary for advanced trades or technical and professional occupations. Some diplomas may be cross-credited towards degrees.

Bachelor's Degree - Level 5, 6 & 7
Degrees are Bachelor level qualifications and require specialist study in a particular subject area. A degree usually takes three years of study, covering levels 5, 6 and 7.

Graduate Certificates & Diplomas - Level 7
Graduate Certificates and Diplomas are available to applicants who have a degree (or in special circumstances the equivalent skills, knowledge and work experience), who want to gain further skills and knowledge in either a familiar or a new discipline.

Postgraduate Diplomas, Postgraduate Certificates - Level 8
Postgraduate Diplomas and Certificates are available to applicants who have a degree in the same subject area (or in special circumstances the equivalent skills, knowledge and work experience).

Masters Degree - Level 9
A Master’s Degree is an advanced postgraduate degree which builds on a Bachelor's or Postgraduate qualification, or in some cases extensive professional experience. Candidates undertake research and/or advanced scholarship, such as writing a thesis, in one discipline or programme of study, and may be undertaken by taught courses or research, or a combination of both.

Changes to NZQA Qualification Titles

Titles of some qualifications listed on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF) are changing. Over time, qualifications listed at levels 1-6 on the NZQF will have “New Zealand” in their titles. All qualifications – new, reviewed, and phased out of use – will still be listed under New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF) and all are valid qualifications.