NZ · Master's
University of Auckland
Master of Museums and Cultural Heritage
University of Auckland
Course Overview
New Zealand's only dedicated museum studies Master's, run out of Auckland's Faculty of Arts with the Auckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and Te Papa Tongarewa as teaching partners. The 180-point programme covers collection management, curatorial practice, exhibition design, digital heritage and conservation ethics, and includes a supervised professional placement in a working institution rather than a purely academic dissertation.
The distinctive content is bicultural: the programme is built around Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations, taonga Māori care protocols and community co-curation — a repatriation-and-consultation model that maps closely onto live debates in Sri Lanka about colonial-era collections, Department of Archaeology practice, and the custodianship of Buddhist and Hindu material heritage. Graduates leave able to argue provenance and restitution questions in the vocabulary the international museum sector now uses.
Entry Requirements
Academic
- check_circle Bachelor's degree with a GPA of 5.0/9.0 (roughly a Sri Lankan Second Upper) in any discipline — history, archaeology, fine arts, anthropology, architecture and social sciences are the common backgrounds.
- check_circle A 500-word statement of intent explaining your museum, gallery or heritage interest and any relevant volunteer or professional experience.
- check_circle A CV listing any curatorial, archival, archaeological or gallery work — Department of Archaeology, Colombo National Museum, Sapumal Foundation and Barefoot Gallery experience all count.
- check_circle Two academic or professional referees.
English Proficiency
- check_circle IELTS Academic: 6.5 Overall (no band below 6.0).
- check_circle TOEFL iBT: 90 Overall (writing 21+).
- check_circle Waived if your Bachelor's was taught and assessed entirely in English — a Medium of Instruction letter covers most Sri Lankan state and English-medium private university graduates.
Estimated Cost of Study
| Expense Category | Amount (NZD) | Approx. LKR |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition Fee (180 points, 18 months) | NZD 67,000 | Rs. 12,730,000 |
| Living Expenses (18 months, Auckland) | NZD 42,000 | Rs. 7,980,000 |
| Health & Travel Insurance | NZD 1,100 | Rs. 209,000 |
| Visa, Medicals & Setup | NZD 1,200 | Rs. 228,000 |
| Total Programme Investment | NZD 111,300 | Rs. 21,147,000 |
*LKR conversion based on current bank rates. Subject to change.
Career Outcomes & PR
The placement component is what gets people hired — graduates move into collection, curatorial, registrar, education and exhibition roles at Auckland Museum, Auckland Art Gallery, Te Papa, Heritage New Zealand, regional museums and iwi cultural centres, plus auction houses and heritage consultancies. The 3-year Post Study Work Visa gives open work rights to build that record. Sri Lankan graduates return into the Department of National Museums, the Department of Archaeology, the Central Cultural Fund, private galleries and foundations in Colombo, and into UNESCO and heritage-tourism consulting where a formal museology qualification is still scarce locally.
Related Programs
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ඔබට සුදුසු විශ්වවිද්යාලයක් තේරීම, අයදුම්පත් යොමු කිරීම, SOP සකස් කිරීම සහ වීසා ලබා ගැනීම ඇතුළු සෑම පියවරකදීම, ඔබ වෙනුවෙන් සියලුම වගකීම් විශ්වාසවන්තව අප භාර ගනිමු.