Important:
Graduates of Toi Paematua: Diploma in Māori and Indigenous Art (Level 5) pathway directly into Year 2 of the Maunga Kura Toi degree. When you apply for Maunga Kura Toi, you will need to select "Maunga Kura Toi - Bachelor of Māori Art - Rauangi - Level 7 (Year 2)" on your application.
If you have not completed Toi Paematua, you may be able to enrol in Maunga Kura Toi Year 2 through granted recognition of prior learning or special admission. Please see the entry criteria section on this page or contact us with any questions.
Tirohanga whānui
Refine your creative and cultural practice as a Māori visual artist
Shape your direction in Māori visual arts with Maunga Kura Toi (Rauangi) - a degree where the cultural depth of toi Māori and the creative freedom of contemporary practice drive your studio work.
Across three years of study, you’ll refine your artistic skills and explore the stories, values, and creative processes that shape your identity as a toi Māori practitioner.
You’ll experiment with a range of media such as painting, print, design, and digital art while deepening your understanding of mātauranga Māori, tikanga, and visual storytelling.
Guided by kaiako who are practising artists, you’ll gain the technical, creative, and academic skills to produce a professional portfolio that expresses both your cultural roots and your creative voice.
He aha tāu ka whiwhi?
Skills you'll leave with
Completing this programme means you’ll be able to:
Demonstrate advanced knowledge and skill in visual arts within kaupapa Māori contexts
Apply mātauranga Māori, tikanga, and kaupapa wānanga principles to creative and academic practice
Conduct rangahau and apply research to inform artistic and theoretical development
Critically analyse traditional and contemporary art forms and methods
Create, exhibit, and reflect on an advanced body of visual art
Contribute leadership and cultural knowledge to creative and community settings
Mā te mahi ka ako
Learn by doing
You will get to:
Deepen your mātauranga Māori relating to visual arts and apply it directly to your creative practice
Use te reo Māori and tikanga in your mahi toi
Develop and refine your own creative processes through projects and critiques
Strengthen your research, writing and presentation skills using academic conventions
Engage in reflective practice – analysing, critiquing and synthesising ideas to shape your direction as a toi Māori practitioner
Ngā ara e wātea ana
Where will this take me?
By graduation, you'll be ready to:
Keep studying
Apply to enrol on our master's degree, He Waka Hiringa – Master of Applied Indigenous Knowledge, or postgraduate programmes in visual arts or Māori studies.
Use at work
Work as a professional artist, curator, designer, or educator in the creative or cultural sector.
Community involvement
Participate in iwi, hapū, or community projects that use art to express cultural identity and tell Māori stories.
He meka
Quick facts
- Level 7 (Advanced)
- 360 Credits
- Maunga Kura Toi: Bachelor of Māori Art Level 7
- 3 years
- NZQA Accredited
- Fees apply
Paearu whakauru
Entry criteria
You can enrol if you:
Are 16 years or older
Are a NZ citizen or resident (includes Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau) or Australian citizen/permanent resident
Currently reside in New Zealand
Attend an interview
Provide evidence of your readiness to study at a degree level (see criteria below)
To enrol in Year 2, your evidence might be through:
Completion of Year 1 of Maunga Kura Toi, or Toi Paematua: Diploma in Māori and Indigenous Art (Level 5)
Granted credit recognition of prior learning
Special admission as determined through an interview and portfolio presentation
Not sure if you're ready to study for a degree?
Our Study & Employment Skills programme will help you develop the skills you need for success in advanced study.
Te wā
Time commitment
This programme is:
Full-time
360 credits (120 credits per year)
3 years (40 weeks per year, including 4 holiday weeks per year)
Noho-based, with workshops
Toi Paematua: Diploma in Māori and Indigenous Art (Level 5) may be completed in place of Year 1 of this degree.
The yearly time commitment is outlined below.
Fees and scholarships
The 2027 fees for this programme are:
Year 1: $6,296
Year 2: $5,984
Year 3: $7,047
GST inclusive
Kōnae ako
Learning modules
Year 2
120 Credits
Ki hea, mō āhea hoki au ako ai?
Where and when can I learn?
Kaupapa anamata
Upcoming events
Pitopito kōrero o te wā
Latest news
From the classroom to the world stage for toi kaiako
From the classrooms of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa to the bright lights of New York City, toi kaiako Shawnee Tekii and Jordyn Daniels (Ngāi Tahu) took their creativity to the world stage earlier this year, showcasing their mahi toi across one of the world's most iconic cities.
From full-time māmā to future social worker
Like many māmā, Nickola Savage (Ngāti Rangitihi) has dedicated much of her time to her whānau, ensuring her 3 tamariki are cared for and supported. But alongside her role as a full-time māmā, Nickola felt ready to do something for herself.
Te Reo Kairangi – kia tika, kia rere, kia Māori, kia ora!
Ehara kē i te mea ko te angitu haeretanga o Te Reo Kairangi e mātāmua ana i ō Leon Blake whakaaro, engari ko ngā hua ka whakahokia e ngā tauira ki ō rātou iwi, ki ō rātou hapori, ki ngā uri whakaheke anō hoki.
Vote at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in the 2026 General Election
Selected Te Wānanga o Aotearoa campuses will be open as voting places during the 2026 General Election, making it easier for tauira, kaimahi, whānau and our wider communities to have their say.
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa launches new reo Māori programmes to help te reo thrive for generations to come
For over four decades, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa has created pathways for generations of tauira to learn, speak, teach and live te reo Māori. That legacy has supported the return of te reo Māori to everyday life, from whānau learning their first kupu, to tauira carrying reo onto marae, and into workplaces, classrooms and homes.
Turning a passion for rongoā into community healing
Rongoā Māori has always been part of Patricia Tangira-Falwasser's life, but it was her studies at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa that deepened her knowledge and inspired her to start a business that now serves her wider community.
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa kaimahi claims gold at Waka Ama World Championship
Ken Henry (Te Whakatōhea, Waikato-Tainui) is a Tauira Support Advisor at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Whakatāne campus who took home gold at the Waka Ama World Championships in Singapore in August.
A passion for taonga Māori takes Chanel to Oxford
What started as a desire to strengthen her reo Māori has taken Chanel Coromandel (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Apakura, Ngāti Whanaunga) on an unexpected path, leading to an opportunity to contribute to the care and preservation of taonga Māori at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, England.
Reconnecting to te ao Māori through raranga
Haylee Roussel (Ngāti Rārua, Rangitāne, Ngāti Maniapoto) was searching for a way to reconnect with te ao Māori when she enrolled in the Certificate in Māori and Indigenous Art, Raranga, at the Waiwhero campus of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
A journey shaped by whānau and a love of tamariki
Members of Tayla-Marie Takawe’s (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Maniapoto) whānau were among the first tauira to graduate from the Bachelor of Education (Primary Teaching) at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
