Architecture

To become a registered architect one must gain membership of the New Zealand Institute of Architects, qualifying by one or other of three methods of examination:

1. Professional examinations conducted by the Examinations Board of the University Grants Committee, with two years' internal study at the University of Auckland.

2. Diploma in Architecture of the University of Auckland.

3. The degree of B.Arch.

At present (1965) the University of Auckland is the only one offering a course for a degree in architecture. It includes an intermediate examination in physics and two general subjects, and first, second, third, and fourth year professional examinations.

The Diploma in Architecture may be awarded to candidates who, having satisfied certain specified conditions, have been admitted to and passed the third and fourth year professional examinations.

Engineering

In the major technical colleges in New Zealand, instruction is given to the level of the examinations of the Institutes in London and the qualification A.M.I.C.E. or A.M.I.Mech.E. For admission to the Institute of Electrical Engineers, however, a candidate must take classes in a university department for one year, though, after taking the first and second parts of the London examinations and after practical work and “interview”, he may be admitted to the N.Z.I.E.

Entry to the ranks of tradesmen or craftsmen is through apprenticeship after at least two years of post-primary education. By the terms of his apprenticeship, the youth is required to attend technical classes for three years, and his employer is required to release him for the purpose for one half-day a week or its equivalent in longer periods. The apprentice may sit examinations (instruction for which is provided in approved technical schools) for a Certificate in Engineering issued by the Technicians' Certification Authority set up by Act of Parliament (1960). The standard of the certificate is somewhere between Stage I and Stage II of a university degree course; and the University of Canterbury gives exemption from the Intermediate and the First Professional Examinations of the course for B.E. degree to students who have obtained the certificate with “outstanding merit” and are otherwise considered suitable.

Professional Engineering

The Universities of Canterbury and of Auckland provide courses and examine for the degree of Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) — civil, electrical, and mechanical. The course of study in each case is of four years. The course for the degree of Master of Engineering (M.E.) extends for a further year. The University of Canterbury also provides instruction for its degree of B.E. (chemical), while the University of Otago provides for its degree of B.E. (mining) and B.E. (metallurgical). Otago also provides for an Associateship of the Otago School of Mines (A.O.S.M.), an old-established qualification.

Accountancy

Admission to the practice of accountancy is governed by the New Zealand Society of Accountants Act 1958. To qualify for admission as a member of the society, a person is required to satisfy certain prerequisites, and thereafter to pass the prescribed professional examinations in accountancy, for which each university provides instruction, while the examinations are conducted by the Examinations Board set up by the University Grants Committee.

Each university also provides for the degrees Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) and Master of Commerce (M.Com.).

Law

Admission to practise either as barrister or solicitor is governed by the Law Practitioners Amendment Act 1961, which established a Council of Legal Education comprising two Judges, four representatives of the Law Society, and the deans of the faculty of law in the four universities. The council has power to prescribe the courses of study and other qualifications required for admission as barristers and as solicitors of the Supreme Court. Each of the four universities provides the required courses of study and conducts the examinations.

A candidate for admission as a barrister must be matriculated, must have kept terms, and must have passed the examinations prescribed for the degree of Bachelor of Laws. A candidate for admission as a solicitor must be matriculated, must have kept terms, and must have passed examinations in subjects that include English, an optional subject as for the degree of B.A., the legal system, and the 13 subjects pertaining to the practice of law.

Forestry

There were at one time schools of forestry in the universities both at Auckland and at Christchurch; these have been closed for many years. The Forest Service itself conducts some forms of instruction or in-service training, and there is a Forest Research Institute at Rotorua; but it relies mainly on sending selected undergraduates overseas for training in degree courses.

Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Public Health

There is a well established Medical School in the University of Otago, in which courses are provided leading to the following degrees and diplomas: Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, Master of Surgery, Bachelor of Medical Science, Master of Medical Science, Doctor of Medicine; and the Diplomas of Public Health, of Diagnostic Radiology, of Microbiology, and of Obstetrics.

In the University of Auckland is a Post-graduate School of Obstetrics and Gynaecology providing courses for the diploma in that subject.

Dentistry

In the University of Otago there is a modern well equipped School of Dentistry, in which courses are provided leading to the degrees of Bachelor, Master, and Doctor of Dental Surgery.

Teaching

Training in the art and practice of teaching is provided by the Education Department in the several teacher training colleges managed by education boards. The universities have no direct concern with these, but each university has an organised faculty of education and each provides a course for a university Diploma in Education.

A candidate for a Diploma in Education must be a graduate or the holder of a diploma or other qualification approved for the purpose, and must pass in prescribed professional subjects, carry out an original investigation or special study on an approved topic, and have been engaged for at least two years at full-time work in the practice of teaching or in educational work of a related character.

Physical Education

The University of Otago in a special school provides a course, normally of two years' duration, for its Diploma of Physical Education. A condition for admission to the course is a pass in School Certificate or some higher qualification, and to qualify for the Diploma a candidate must pass in subjects comprising educational theory and practice and some elementary science, and attend practical classes in gymnastics, games, etc.