Victoria University of Wellington
Master of TESOL – MTESOL
Wellington, New Zealand
Master degree
DURATION
18 months
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Nov 2026
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
About: The MTESOL at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington develops teaching skills and deepens understanding of language learning by linking practice, research, and theory. Staff are recognized researchers and teacher educators. You can start in February, July, or November; study full- or part-time. The programme typically completes in 1 year (3 trimesters); part-time takes two to four years.
Career Outcomes: Graduates teach and lead in English language education. Potential roles include ESL/EFL teacher, TESOL specialist, curriculum developer, teacher trainer, and language program coordinator. Skills in methodology, analysis, assessment, research-informed practice suit adult education, international schools, higher education, and educational publishing.
Boost your English-Teaching Career
Studying the Master of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) will help you develop your teaching skills.
You’ll strengthen your understanding of language learning, explore common challenges that language teachers and learners face, and reflect on your learning and teaching experience.
In all these areas, you’ll be guided to make links between teaching practice, research, theory, and the contexts within which people teach and learn languages.
World-Class Programme
The University's TESOL programme is highly regarded worldwide. It has a strong international orientation which reflects New Zealand’s unique position in the Asia–Pacific region. Our graduates have gone on to teach English and work in educational leadership roles in New Zealand and around the globe.
The MTESOL programme builds on the legacy of sixty years of graduate TESOL education at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
Staff teaching in the programme are internationally recognised researchers. They draw on their extensive experience as language teachers and teacher educators to bridge the gap between research, theory, and teaching practice.
Duration and Workload
3 Trimesters, 1 year
You can study the MTESOL, PGDipTESOL, or PGCertTESOL full-time or part-time, and you can start in any trimester—February, July, or November.
You’ll typically complete the MTESOL in four trimesters of full-time study, although it is possible to complete it in three trimesters of intensive study. Studying part-time, may take from two to four years.
If you’re studying the PGDipTESOL full-time, you’ll study eight courses over two trimesters. If you’re studying the PGCertTESOL full-time, you’ll study four courses over one trimester.
Full-time students can expect a workload of around 40 hours a week. Part-time students will need to do around 20 hours of work a week. Make sure you take this into account if you are working.
You can estimate your workload by adding up the number of points you’ll be doing. One point is roughly equal to 10 to 12 hours of work.
What You’ll Study
On the 180-point MTESOL programme, you’ll take 12 courses. Seven of these are core courses covering the areas of teaching practice, language awareness, and language learning. You can then choose a further five elective courses to complete the degree.
With the approval of the Programme Director, you can replace one or more taught courses with a supervised 15-point research course (LALS 580 or LALS 581), a 30-point research project (LALS 582), a 60-point dissertation (LALS 583), or a 90-point thesis (LALS 584). Each of these research courses has specific entry requirements.
Wide Range of Topics
To get a balanced understanding of the field, you’ll take courses from three different areas: teaching practice, language awareness, and language learning.
Courses in the MTESOL programme cover a wide range of topics:
- Teaching language skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing
- Language testing and assessment
- Language for specific purposes
- Computer-assisted language teaching
- Discourse analysis
- Formulaic language
- Identity and language
- Second language acquisition
- Teaching pronunciation
- Grammar and vocabulary
- Task-based language teaching
How You’ll Be Assessed
You’ll be assessed in a range of ways, including through research, assignments, literature reviews, reflective blogs, and the analysis and design of lessons and classroom materials.
Globally Ranked
The School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies is internationally renowned for its research. Our Linguistics programme is consistently rated among the top 100 in the world in the QS World University Rankings.
The QS World University Rankings is an annual publication that ranks universities around the world. It gives overall rankings and subject rankings for more than 18,000 universities worldwide.
