Political Science & Politics Study Abroad Programs in Wellington, New Zealand

I had the most wonderful time studying abroad in Wellington. Vic U is a great institution with plenty of courses to choose from, an active student life, and supportive staff. Wellington itself is a vibrant city with amazing food tons of things to do and wonderful people.

This semester was by far my favorite out of all I’ve done. New Zealand is the perfect place to really find yourself, connect with nature and culture. From hiking (or as they say tramping) to learning about Māori culture, I feel as though I got everything I wished for and more out of this experience. You have enough freedom to get up and go on a roadtrip to a lighthouse across the island and stop to see the Milky Way but enough support to get help if you need any. I cannot express how much I recommend Wellington to anyone. It’s a perfect in between point for the North and South Island. One weekend my friends and I hopped on the ferry and went to Kaikōura to go whale watching. There’s access to everything and anything you want with the city right there (in a very manageable size) and nature in your backyard (quite literally too).

Studying abroad in Wellington was one of the best decisions I've ever made. The city is beautiful, the people are super friendly, and Vic is an amazing school to study at. Personally, I'm really into exploring different cafes and Wellington is full of them. No matter where you are in the city, you will be within walking distance of a good latte and pastry. I'm also a really big sports fan and Wellington is home to two really fun teams to watch. The Hurricanes (Rugby) and the Phoenix (soccer) both have discounted student tickets and are a great way to meet new people so if you're into sports Wellington is a great city to be in. TEAN did such an amazing job organizing the program and they will always be there if you need them. The program's orientation is in Queenstown and it was a life changing experience for me. Getting to spend a week in one of the most beautiful places on earth was an amazing way to start my experience abroad.

If you're going to study abroad in New Zealand, do it through TEAN. They provide multiple opportunities to make the most out of your time abroad: orientation in Queenstown, mid-semester excursions, and several cultural events in your host city. They also provide an abundance of support from start to finish. Preparing to study abroad can be overwhelming, but TEAN's website guides you through the process in six easy steps, and they also provide a checklist for documents to submit. Although I would've preferred not to have the virus affect my time abroad at all, it did show how capable TEAN is: I felt like I could trust TEAN when I was deciding on whether to go home or not. They made it clear that they would support students whatever their decision was. Studying abroad with TEAN means unique opportunities and continuous support.

I studied abroad in Spring of 2019 for Trimester 1 at Victoria University Wellington in New Zealand. I usually try my very best to not have expectations before going into things, so that way I can experience whatever was meant to happen to its fullest, and I have to say, even if I had expectations this program and this experience would've blown them out of the water. With AIFS a single all-inclusive fee paid for my tuition, housing, insurance, most meals, excursions, and travel. I opted in for the travel payment because I also went to Fiji through the optional Pacific Studies program and I didn't want the flights to get too overcomplicated. I spent my first week abroad in Fiji doing a cultural immersion/university learning program, and it included going to the University of the South Pacific for lectures on a few of the days and basking in the beauty of Fiji for the rest. We spent our last day at a resort, which, needless to say, was stunning. In New Zealand, I was able to go to many different parts of the country through AIFS-funded excursions. From visiting the studio where LOTR was made, to relaxing in a Polynesian hot spa, I really felt like I was able to see New Zealand. In addition, the city that I stayed in was right on the coast, so the ocean was literally just a few minutes' walk from my house. Once I even saw a shark just swimming around! I could really go on about how amazing my time was, and how much I'm looking forward to returning one day to continue my adventures, but I will just say that choosing to study abroad in Wellington, New Zealand through AIFS (with the optional Pacific Studies program) was the best decision of my life, and I highly highly recommend to any and everyone who is able.

The entire experience feels like it was a dream. TEAN gave me the opportunity to live in the coolest city and introduced some of the most genuine people I have ever met. The staff at VIC were incredibly accommodating and you could see how much they enjoyed working with the students. Each house in University Hall was unique which just added to the charm of Wellington. I could not recommend this program enough. I felt entirely connected to this program that, even leaving for weekend trips I would always have Wellington in the back of my mind.

My experience with TEAN was extremely helpful and supportive. The people I met in the program became some of my best friends. The TEAN orientation for New Zealand, which brought together students from all of the New Zealand universities, was a huge highlight for me and gave me access to locations throughout New Zealand. Meeting people from all of the New Zealand universities gave me friends to stay with across New Zealand, and I ended up exploring the country with close friends I made there. Once we were moved in at our universities, TEAN was very good at being supportive to us and provided several memorable outings. The outings were really fun and allowed me to do activities and see places that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Overall, the TEAN staff and fellow students in my program were crucial to my wonderful experience abroad in New Zealand.

I could not have picked a better program for me in choosing to study abroad in Wellington, New Zealand through TEAN. The program administration answered all questions I had beforehand, and was easy to reach once I got there. The city itself had a great mix of urban and rural activities, there was always something to do. I definitely recommend checking out the farmer's market and the local chocolate factory! Victoria University had all the courses I needed for my major and I found the classes to be very interesting. It was easy to get involved through their club fairs and student hub events. I also found the locals as well as the overall culture to be very welcoming.

Studying abroad in New Zealand was a fantastic experience. At Victoria University Wellington, I got to choose from a wide range of courses that would fulfil my course requirements for my school in the US. The classes challenged me but the workload was light enough that I had ample time to travel and experience my new city and community. I lived in an International Student Housing Flat with two other international students (one from Italy and one from South Korea) which was a great experience. Wellington is a fun city with lots of great food and art. I would highly recommend New Zealand to anyone who loves hiking and other outdoor activities.

My experience at Vic was wonderful not only for the beautiful, easily accessible campus, but the extremely friendly and knowledgeable professors. The city of Wellington itself was so fun to live in as it was extremely walkable yet filled with a variety of restaurants, cafes, shops, museums, and other activities. Everything the city had to offer was colorful and unique and there was never a shortage of things to do! Being at the southern tip of the North Island made Wellington the perfect home base for travelling throughout New Zealand. I can attribute my preparation beforehand and comfort throughout the experience to the kind and helpful TEAN staff who were always accessible and happy to support their students in any way possible. The program provided an unforgettable experience that I would recommend to anyone looking to go abroad!

API was a fantastic program to work with!! The pre-departure material was comprehensive and made me confident starting life in a new country. Housing was included in the cost of the program and API took care of setting up the living situation. I was in a co-ed "flat" style living, which is similar to student housing, with people from all across the world. It was a unique experience to live with people from different backgrounds and integrate our experiences, living styles, cooking preferences, and personalities. API provided multiple excursions within the program which allowed me to see amazing places I probably would not have seen otherwise! These excursions fostered friendships and typically included a meal, always a bonus for a student! API went above and beyond to ensure us students were taken care of and had the assistance necessary to thrive in a new environment. There was an international education adviser on campus we had access to as API program members. Everything from housing, travel, and education was seamless through the help of API. Terrific program, and I would recommend to anyone looking for a new experience in a vibrant country!! So much beauty and culture to explore, let the adventure begin!

API was a fantastic program to work with!! The pre-departure material was comprehensive and made me confident starting life in a new country. Housing was included in the cost of the program and API took care of setting up the living situation. I was in a co-ed "flat" style living, which is similar to student housing, with people from all across the world. It was a unique experience to live with people from different backgrounds and integrate our experiences, living styles, cooking preferences, and personalities. API provided multiple excursions within the program which allowed me to see amazing places I probably would not have seen otherwise! These excursions fostered friendships and typically included a meal, always a bonus for a student! API went above and beyond to ensure us students were taken care of and had the assistance necessary to thrive in a new environment. There was an international education adviser on campus we had access to as API program members. Everything from housing, travel, and education was seamless through the help of API. Terrific program, and I would recommend to anyone looking for a new experience in a vibrant country!! So much beauty and culture to explore, let the adventure begin!

Hi there! My name is Alissa and I studied abroad in Wellington, New Zealand spring semester of my sophomore year in college thanks to AIFS. Before the start of my trip in the beautiful island of Fiji, I always felt supported and connected to AIFS. Beginning with my mentor answering all of my emails, consisting of what seems like a million questions (along with my curious parents), in a timely manner which left the pre-departure process feeling inclusive and not like I was left alone to figure it all out for myself. This feeling continued throughout my time abroad, and still holds true today. LIVING I was placed in a house "off campus" which was a short five minute walk from campus, not to mention a view of a rugby field from my kitchen window. This cute little New Zealand flat (as the kiwi's would call a home) was the home of mine and two others, one from England and the other from California. From a social aspect, I really enjoyed how AIFS placed me with other international students from different programs so we were able to meet people in other programs and from different countries. CLASS at Uni College is known as Uni here in this country. Victoria University Of Wellington's campus gives off a modern and hip vibe. There is a lot happening and it was cool to attend school with the local kiwis and Maori. Many AIFS students were in the same classes while being really immersed with the culture of attending school in a different country while still having the comfort of already knowing some students on campus. All classes were taught in English, and I must say the New Zealand accent is nice on the ears. TRANSPORTATION Luckily, my flat was located a 1 minute walk from a stop for the infamous Wellington cable car. The cable car ran from 7am-10pm and was a great way to be transported to downtown Wellington or up to the botanical gardens for a view of the city. Besides the cable car, Uber was always an option as long as you are okay with riding on the left side of the road. Or even better, you can walk almost anywhere if you are willing to (and get a good work out while you're at it because of all of the hills). FREE TIME AIFS created a great network of connections and lifelong friends that I am still in contact with to this day. As a group, we voted on the group trips we wanted to take. We took a trip to Rotorua, a town in the North Island known for their geothermal pools and close by to the Hobbiton movie set. Also for any sports lovers, we got to attend a Hurricanes rugby game at Wellington's Westpac stadium. Besides the organized excursions, it was not hard to find a travel buddy to explore this country with. I took 3 separate trips to the South Island and rented a car/van with friends to travel across the island in. Bring your cameras! Pretty much everywhere you look, anywhere in this place has something beautiful to look at and capture. This country is home to the adventure capital of the world and after my travels here I can really see why. WEATHER It's not called "Windy Welly" for nothing. Seriously, bring a rain jacket and lots of layers. When I arrived in February, it was this country's last month of summer so, thankfully there was some time with 75 degree (F) weather and sunshine. June and July are the coldest and rainiest months of the year while December, January, and February are the warmest. So if you are looking to escape the cold, driving north (not south, south is colder) will lead you to a bit more warmth and probably a beautiful black sand beach.

Studying abroad with IFSA in Wellington was one of the highlights of my college career. Not only is New Zealand an amazing country, but Wellington is the coolest, windiest capital city at the bottom of the world. The Victoria University of Wellington (Vic) has about 22,000 undergrads, which, coming from a liberal arts college of 4,000, was pretty big. But international student orientation made registering for classes easy and I got all the courses that I needed to transfer back home. Class sizes are usually pretty big, but half of mine were less than 30 students, and large lectures usually break down once a week into a smaller group with a tutor (some attendance at these sessions is mandatory). International students have a special housing division and live in houses and flats (apartments) in the neighborhoods near the Kelburn campus - my house was less than a 5 minute walk from the main campus. Living in Wellington is cool - the Botanic Gardens are beautiful and there's a ring city park in an arc around the city, plus getting further outside the city to nature is super easy. Bars, cafes, Cuba Street, surfing if you want it in Lyall Bay - I don't think there's anything about Wellington I don't like. Wellington is grungy and has the coolest vibe of any city I've ever been to - in case you couldn't tell, I love Welly a lot. IFSA made sure that my entire experience was incredible, from before I even got to the country until I left. There's an option to take a group flight to Auckland from LA where everyone meets before the 4 day orientation. I ended up going on my own and meeting everyone there before we went to a natural park only an hour outside Auckland for four days of sailing, kayaking, mountain biking, ROGAIN, and lots of muddy tramps around the grounds. We learned about Maori culture and New Zealand slang, among more serious orientation topics before spending the night at a marae (traditional Maori gathering house). IFSA was great throughout my semester in Wellington, with weekly meet-ups with our local advisor Hannah, who always brought us cool food and organized cool events like taking us to volunteer removing invasive species in the bush before a hike, to the World of Wearable Art show in Wellington, and sailing and white water rafting on a weekend trip to Taupo.

My overall educational experience at VUW was really amazing - the teachers were all incredibly accomplished and easily accessible and the classes themselves were interesting. In addition, the administrations of both VUW and TEAN were absolutely amazing. Everyone with whom I spoke was kind, knowledgable, and very willing to help. TEAN did a fantastic job of preparing me for the specific program, so I really had all the information I needed. The only thing is that I wish I had known how amazing the food was going to be in Wellington, because I would have budgeted more money per week to eating out. In terms of opportunities, both TEAN and VUW provided experiences to interact with the culture. For example, during TEAN's orientation in Queenstown, the staff there had made arrangements for a professor from the University of Otago to come and teach us all about Maori culture. VUW offered many different events also related to Maori culture and discussion about it. Wellington itself is also a diverse and culturally rich city, with tons of different museums and cultural immersion opportunities. I felt very strongly that both TEAN and VUW encouraged participating in those opportunities, and I spent most of my off days doing so. I loved TEAN, VUW, and Wellington and would recommend the program, the university, and the city to absolutely anyone.

I could not be happier with my choice to study abroad in New Zealand. Wellington especially! Coming into my abroad experience, I knew that I wanted to explore as much of the beautiful landscape as I could, and I was not disappointed in the slightest. New Zealand is a true backpacker's dream and has supplied me with some of the most amazing landscapes I have ever seen. Some of my trips including seeing Mount Cook, hiking past Mount Doom, and also trekking across the Southern Tasmanian Coastline. It's so easy to get around a travel for cheap in New Zealand as well. Wellington itself is such a gem of a city. It is a perfect little San Francisco with a vibrant waterfront, coffee culture, and great food and craft beer. It is a very liveable city with lots of cultural events and activities. Check out the Sundays Farmer's Market, such a great time! Overall, TEAN as a study abroad aid was instrumental. They made it so easy to know exactly what was needed to be done before departure and their orientation provided a good transition into the study abroad lifestyle and definitely got some of the jitters out. We even got to go to Milford Sound! All my questions were answered promptly and accurate before and during the program. Highly reccomend TEAN and can't wait to go back to New Zealand again!

I had such an amazing experience with TEAN and my amazing host country, New Zealand. TEAN was amazing and provided me with so many resources to seek out scholarships and through there resources I applied with the NZ education department and received a stipend to do social media marketing and received a letter of recommendation from them in return. TEAN provided me with an efficient and useful orientation and were incredibly reachable but they also let me personalize my abroad experience and do my own personal travel. It was nice to be able to meet all of the NZ students so that we were able to network and couch surf the country to save on travel costs. It was also really nice to be able to lean back on a TEAN advisor in my home city where she would take us out on coffee check ins, day trips to Weta workshop or Zealandia and a beautiful farewell dinner. A day has not gone by where I do not wish i was back in my flat with my amazing friends in Aotearoa.

I truly enjoyed all aspects of my study abroad experience. The entire process was made very manageable through IFSA-Butler. The pre-departure team was an amazing resource to turn to with any questions before leaving. They assisted me in picking my courses and aided with the visa application process. Once in country the IFSA organized orientation was an amazing way to begin my abroad experience. Fighting through the jetlag they organized a great array of different cultural and informational activities and events to ease the transition. My experience studying at Victoria University was great. I was able to take types of classes not offered at my home university. I especially enjoyed the IFSA organized events throughout the semester. These events were some of my favorites during my time in New Zealand. They were all very different experiences but equally enjoyable. Lastly, I loved having an IFSA staff member in Wellington and extremely accessible to us at all times for any problems we faced while abroad. IFSA-Butler made my abroad experience less stressful and ensured an amazing abroad experience.

Studying abroad in New Zealand was always a dream of mine when I was in High School. The education abroad network (TEAN) proved to not only be the best program for me as an international studies major, but as a young traveler eager to see the country. TEAN has in an in country staff that is very helpful and guides you through helpful orientations along the way. I was able to experience real New Zealand culture through many different events planned by TEAN as well as travel outside of the program. I felt safe, supported, and happy because of the help of this program. VIC University is a phenomenal school with a gorgeous campus that over looks the greater Wellington area. I found the courses to be engaging and thoroughly interesting. Wellington itself is my favorite place in the world, seriously. I would go back and do it again in a heart beat if I could!

I love to travel, and I hope that never changes. Coming to New Zealand has made me realize how much I love to travel for an extended period of time. Backpacking around is fun and all, and I love that too, but I loved meeting the people here, spending time with the Kiwi's learning the Maori Culture, taking classes, going to food stores, and being fully immersed in a culture the way that you can never experience in only a few days or weeks at a time.