The subjects in which the Graduate Diploma in Arts may be awarded are: American Studies, Anthropology, Art History and Theory, Chinese, Cinema Studies, Classics, Cultural Studies, Education, English, Ethics, European Languages and Culture, European Union Studies, French, Geography, German, History, Human Services, Japanese, Linguistics, Maori and Indigenous Studies, Mathematics, Media and Communication, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Russian, Sociology, Spanish, Statistics, Te Reo Maori and Theatre and Film Studies.

To qualify for the Diploma a candidate shall pass courses that shall have been selected from the Schedule to the Bachelor of Arts Degree or from courses which the Academic Board has accepted as equivalent thereto. All courses of study shall be approved by the Director of the majoring Programme, and the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences.

These courses must have a total value of no fewer than 120 points, including no fewer than 90 points at 300-level, of which at least 60 must be in a single subject from the list above. A maximum of 15 points towards the Graduate Diploma in Arts may be taken from subjects not in the BA Schedule. Normally all courses would be from the same subject.

Note: These regulations took effect from 1 January 2011. A candidate enrolled before 2011 may complete under the 2010 regulations, providing they complete their course of study before 31 December 2013. Candidates may apply to the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences for such variation as the Dean may determine.

Graduate Diploma in Arts (Ethics)

Candidates for the Graduate Diploma in Arts (Ethics) will be required to pass courses totalling not fewer than 120 points, including 90 points at 300-level, and including:

With the approval of the Head of School, the candidate may include up to two appropriate courses from Philosophy or another subject in the Diploma.

The Graduate Diploma in Arts may be awarded with distinction

Normal prerequisites for any course may be exempted at the discretion of the Director of the Programme where the course is offered.

The Diploma may be studied part-time, normally over a maximum of five years.

A candidate who has failed one or more courses for the Diploma is allowed to repeat those courses for credit.

Courses that are from the BA Schedule, or equivalent courses from any other tertiary institution, that are surplus to previously awarded degrees, and which were obtained as a graduate student, may, with the approval of the Academic Board and upon recommendation from the Programme Director and the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, be assigned to the Diploma.