University Entrance in New Zealand

University Entrance requirements

NZQA's University Entrance page lists four requirements. You must meet all of them:

UE literacy is at Level 2 or above, so the Level 1 literacy unit standards that meet the NCEA co-requisite do not count towards it. Check the standards your school enters you for. NZQA's UE page says the numeracy requirements changed in 2024, and that students who met the 2023 numeracy requirement before the end of 2023 also meet it for 2024 and 2025. It adds that "the current University Entrance review will inform any future changes", so check NZQA before you plan beyond this year.

Which subjects are approved?

NZQA keeps a list of approved University Entrance subjects, and each subject is defined by a list of achievement standards. The list includes Biology, Calculus, Chemistry, Physics, Statistics, Mathematics, Earth and Space Science, Digital Technologies, English, Geography, History, Economics, Accounting, Psychology and many languages and arts subjects. A few, such as Hauora, Pāngarau and Pūtaiao, can only be awarded to students learning through Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.

Credits count by subject, not by qualification: 14 credits from the Level 3 Calculus standards on NZQA's list are one approved subject, and 14 from Level 3 Physics are another. Our subjects have enough external credits to reach 14 on their own:

Credits come from NZQA's 2026 assessment specifications. Statistics has 12 external credits, so a Statistics subject also needs 2 more credits from internal standards. Check the approved list for the exact standards that count: NZQA says some subjects share standards.

Literacy and numeracy for University Entrance

The literacy requirement is 10 credits at Level 2 or above, which needs both reading and writing. Some standards count towards both, and credits can be split. The numeracy requirement is the Level 1 numeracy unit standard or a certain list of numeracy-rich achievement standards. NZQA advises you to carry on with mathematics beyond this foundational level, because some degrees have specific prerequisites from Level 3 mathematics standards.

University Entrance is the minimum, not a guarantee

NZQA says UE is a minimum requirement for entry. Universities can add their own entry requirements for particular degrees, such as Level 3 Calculus for engineering. UE also opens doors to tertiary study in other countries, and NZQA links to a page on applying overseas with NCEA. If you want to study in Australia, see NCEA to ATAR.

When you find out

UE depends on your NCEA results, so you cannot know it until the end-of-year results are out. NZQA says that is "from late January" in the MyNZQA learners portal. NZQA has not published an exact date for the January 2027 release yet.

Use today's paper to check your readiness

Uni-Sine publishes a free daily paper on the NCEA Level 3 Calculus track. It is a short timed paper of 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, not a full NCEA exam, and it is not written by NZQA. Mark it, then look at your stats page, which turns the papers you mark into a predicted grade. UE depends on credits, not grades, so a predicted Achieved is as good as a predicted Excellence for UE. Grades matter for university courses with their own entry rules.

Read next

New Zealand · Dates and gradesHow many credits to pass NCEA Level 3: 80 credits explainedNCEA Level 3 needs 80 credits, 60 at Level 3 or above. See what the Level 3 exams are worth and how that differs from University Entrance.