Motivations for Study

Interested to know more about your programme of study?

Read more in the FMHS 2016 Postgraduate Prospectus.

Learning to Study

Are you worried about any learning difficulties?
There is support that is available to learners with identified learning difficulties.  

If you think you might want to learn more, download the "Scholarships and awards for students with disabilities" brochure to learn about financial support that may be available to you in your postgraduate study.

Utlising Life & Professional Experience

Practice Exercise - Academic Reading

You may find it helpful to try the practice exercise on the Preparation Tools Page: Utilising Life & Professional Experience.  It is in the last "Optional" (blue) section further down the page.

You are asked to read the following article and try answering some questions about the academic text to give you a feel for the kinds of reading you will do in your postgraduate study.  Then you can download the 'annotated' article that shows you where to find answers in the text to the questions asked.

Download: Academic Reading by Richardson (2004)

Download: Annotated Academic Reading by Richardson (only look at this version after you try to answer the questions)

Cultural and Community Networks

Juggling Study and Children

Have a look at the following page of tips about ways other students have found to juggle postgraduate study with children.

Download: Tips for Juggling Study and Children

Seeking Support and Information

Where can you go for help?

Have a look at the following flowchart that outlines who you go to if you need support at any time during your learning.

Download: Who do I go to for help?

Key places in the university

Download the following maps to help you to find your way around the university campuses.

Grafton Campus Map

Tāmaki Campus Map

City Campus Map

Space to Study

What programmes will your computer need?

Download the following document that tells you about computer software you will need for your study.  You can access free software from the University of Auckland IT Essentials website once you are enrolled.

Download: Computer programmes you will need for study

Get to know your libraries on campus at University of Auckland (UOA)

Download the following sheet that gives you physical location details for the main libraries you may need to use or visit for your study and to participate in any workshops provided.

Download: Get to know your libraries at UOA

Access to Finances

Potential programme costs

Download the following information about fees for domestic postgraduate students as of 2016.

Download: domestic postgraduate programme cost information for University of Auckland students.

Download the following informatino about fees for international postgraduate students as of 2016.

Download: international postgraduate programme cost information for University of Auckland students.

Scholarship information

Download: Māori Postgraduate Scholarship information

Download: Pacific Postgraduate Scholarship information

Organising and plan for your study time each week

You can download the following Weekly planner as an example of how to start to think about, and plan for, a few big 'chunks' of time that you will need available each week for your study.  One chunk will be for attending face-to-face lectures/sessions or doing online required work.  

Another big chunk of time will be needed to keep up with required readings.  A third chunk will be needed at times to work on assignments, case studies, essays or to prepare for tests.

Download: Weekly planner example

Stress busting tips

Download the following resource developed by University of Auckland counselling staff to help you in identifying, and dealing with, potential stressors you may be experiencing. 

Download: Stress-busting technique

Breaking Down Big Tasks

Understand how to break down your big assignments into manageable parts of information to find.

See the attached "Understanding the information cycle" pdf document.

Then, if you want more information, you can visit the Philson Library online resource "The information cycle" for more detail.

Writing (and Reading) Effectively

Are you concerned about your academic writing (or reading) capabilities?

Self Check Sheet
Take a few minutes to download and think about the Self Check Sheet below.  Follow up by sending us an email if you are worried:

stepps.fmhs@auckland.ac.nz

 Download: Self Check Sheet for Reading and Writing

Effective Reading Strategies at Postgraduate Level

If you would like to develop your skills in quickly reading academic articles, download the following sheet: "The 3 Read Strategy for Academic Reading".

Download: The 3 Read Strategy for Academic Reading

Constructing Academic Arguments

Understand Assignment Expectations

Get to understand the difference between poor quality or average assignments versus really good or excellent assignments.  A lot of it depends on how well you have thought critically about your readings and how you have developed and supported a really strong academic argument.

Download the visual chart "Understanding Assignment Expectations: From Average to Excellent" to understand what makes the difference for teachers and markers.

Download: Understanding Assignment Expectations: From Average to Excellent

Read and Write Critically

Critical thinking is a huge part of being a successful postgraduate student.

The downloadable resource "Being Critical" developed by the University of Manchester helps you to understand what critical thinking, reading and writing are like at university.

Download: Being Critical

You may also find some of the other following documents are really helpful as you think about, and begin, your first academic reading and postgraduate assignments.

Download: Reading Effectively - Critical Reading

Download: What is Criticaly Writing (University of Leicester)

Download: Do's and Don'ts in Critical Writing

Download: Useful phrases for argument construction

Using Academic Literature

During your study you will need to keep track of academic readings (references) that you quote and use for assignments.  If you have a large volume of references to keep track of you may wish to learn more about online tools such as RefWorks - a programme that helps you to store, and retrieve, your academic references when you need them.

To download a RefWorks Quick Start Guide, click on the link below.

Download: RefWorks 2.0 Quick Start Guide

Academic vs Non-Academic Information

You may find it helpful to download the quick powerpoint below that illustrates the differences between academic (scholarly) and non-academic sources of information.
In your postgraduate study you will need to be able to find, and use, academic sources of information.

Download: Difference between Academic vs Non-Academic Sources of information

Searching for information

You may be used to searching online on Google for information you need.

In postgraduate study, you will need to be able to search for academic information using online databases through the University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services homepage.

The following visual "Broaden your research pathways" helps you see how you can move from somewhat relevant, narrow searches for information to much broader, highly relevant searches for information simply by changing the search tools you use.

Download: Broaden your research pathways image

Get to know the Libraries and Learning Services website

To learn how to find your way around the Libraries and Learning Services homepage, download the short power point "Using the Library to Search for Information".

Download: Using the Library to Search for Information

Find how to search for information using the "Articles and More" tab on the Library homepage
You may find it helpful to view the short power point that illustrates the "Articles and more" search function in the Library online catalogue.

Download: Articles and more