University of Auckland Fees for International Students

The short answer

The fee figure we carry for the University of Auckland is $51,020 /120pt — that is, per 120 points of study, not a flat annual sticker price. It comes from the University's own international student fees page (the postgraduate international fees section), and New Zealand institutions publish their fees in New Zealand dollars.

Two things follow from that, and both cause problems for Nepali families who budget from a single number. First, "per 120 points" is not the same as "per year" — you must check how many points your specific programme requires in your first year of enrolment before you multiply anything. Second, UoA is the most expensive institution on our New Zealand spine. If the fee is the constraint, the comparison table below matters more than the UoA page itself.

Always confirm the current figure on the official UoA international fees page before you transfer any money or sign an offer.

How UoA compares with other New Zealand institutions

Each of these is quoted exactly as the institution publishes it. Note that the units are not the same — some are per year, some per 120 points, some are a single programme figure. Do not compare them as if they were identical.

Two catches worth naming. AUT's figure carries a separate $1,260 levy on top of tuition — that levy is part of what you pay, so build it in. Otago Polytechnic's $23,400 is stated with a scholarship already applied; if you do not qualify for that scholarship, the number you actually pay is not the number on the table. Verify it in writing with the institution.

Toi Ohomai, ATMC New Zealand and Yoobee do not have a confirmed fee on our spine and are marked "verify". Do not plan around a fee we cannot show you.

What it costs to live in Auckland

Tuition is the headline; Auckland is where the budget quietly breaks. Auckland is the most expensive city in New Zealand on our cost-of-living spine.

The gap between Auckland at $3,662 a month and Invercargill at $1,950 a month is the single largest lever a Nepali student has over total cost. A cheaper city does not make a cheaper degree, but it changes what you need in the bank and what part-time work has to cover.

If you are not travelling alone

Our cost model scales living costs by family size rather than simply doubling them: a couple with no children is calculated at 1.5 times the single-student living cost, a couple with one child at 1.7, and a couple with two children at 1.9. On the visa side, the model uses a base of $20,000 for the student, plus $7,400 for a partner and $3,200 per child (so $6,400 for two children). These are the figures our calculator runs on — check the current official requirements yourself, because we are not an immigration adviser and this page is not immigration advice.

You can run your own numbers by city, institution and family size in the free Master Reckoner rather than doing it on paper.

English requirements at the University of Auckland

The fee is only useful if you can actually meet entry. UoA's standard requirements:

Read that last row twice. The BEd (Teaching) overall score is the ordinary undergraduate 6.0, but the band floor is 6.0 — not 5.5. A 6.0 overall with a 5.5 in writing meets the general undergraduate rule and fails this one. On top of that, BEd (Teaching) applicants must satisfy the Teaching Council's language competency requirement as well.

Accepted alternatives at UoA: TOEFL iBT 80 with Writing 21 for undergraduate and 90 with Writing 21 for postgraduate; PTE 50 with no communicative skill below 42 for undergraduate and 58 with none below 50 for postgraduate; Cambridge C1 Advanced 169 for undergraduate and 176 for postgraduate. A One Skill Retake is accepted within 60 days. UoA publishes no NZCEL pathway, so do not plan one.

The refusal-causing detail: some Arts and Education programmes at UoA accept only an IELTS test, because of professional registration rules. If you sat PTE or TOEFL for one of those, the score is not usable no matter how high it is. Check the programme page, not the general English page.

If you are comparing institutions on English rules, the differences are sharper than most agents admit. AUT refuses IELTS Academic Online and PTE Academic Online outright. Ara does not accept a Medium of Instruction letter as evidence — relevant if your Nepali college has offered you one. Waikato refuses PTE Online for its nursing, social sciences and clinical master's programmes. More of this is set out on the New Zealand destination hub.

If your IELTS is short of UoA's requirement

UP Education (the University of Auckland International College) publishes a Foundation fee of $36,830 and a tiered English entry ladder: Accelerated 6.0 (no band below 5.5), Fast-track 5.5 (no band below 5.0, 6.0 preferred), Standard 5.0 (no band below 4.5), and Foundation Connect and Pathways Link at 4.5 with no band below 4.0.

At 4.5 overall with no band below 4.0, that is the lowest usable English entry point across the institutions we track — the route where academics are fine but the IELTS is well short. The catch is at the top end: Accelerated entrants must meet the University of Auckland's own English requirement, not the College's. And Duolingo is accepted only at 75–95, only with a spoken interview run by the UP Education team, and DET 75 only for Foundation Connect and Pathways Link.

Common questions

How much does the University of Auckland cost per year for a Nepali student?

The published fee we hold is $51,020 /120pt — per 120 points, not per year. Because programmes differ in how many points you enrol in, you need your specific programme's point load before you can state an annual figure. Add Auckland living costs of $3,662 a month on top of tuition. Confirm both against the official UoA fees page before you budget.

Is AUT or UoA cheaper for international students?

On published figures, AUT is lower: $38,700 plus a $1,260 levy, against UoA's $51,020 /120pt. Both are in Auckland, so the living cost of $3,662 a month is the same for either. But AUT refuses IELTS Academic Online and PTE Academic Online on every level page, which is the strictest online-test refusal on our list — check what test you sat before you apply.

Which New Zealand institution has the lowest fees?

Of the institutions with a confirmed fee on our spine, SIT in Invercargill is lowest at $20,800 /yr, and Invercargill is also the cheapest city at $1,950 a month. Otago Polytechnic's $23,400 is quoted with a scholarship already applied, so confirm whether you qualify. Compare the full list in the table above and in our guides.

Does the University of Auckland accept a Medium of Instruction letter?

UoA's published English requirements are built around test scores — IELTS, TOEFL iBT, PTE and Cambridge C1 Advanced — so plan on sitting a test. Ara states explicitly that it does not accept Medium of English as evidence, which is worth knowing if that letter is your backup plan anywhere in New Zealand. If your score is short, the UP Education Foundation ladder starting at 4.5 is the documented route.