Auckland University of Technology (reviews)

I’m so excited to be studying Visual Arts at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). From day one, the atmosphere has been incredibly inspiring ,everyone here genuinely values creativity and individuality. The orientation and workshops were fantastic, giving me a real taste of the supportive and artistic community AUT fosters.
The program encourages us to experiment, take risks, and express our ideas through different mediums, which I absolutely love. The lecturers are approachable and passionate about helping us grow as artists. I already feel like I’m developing my own creative voice, and I can’t wait to see how my skills and confidence evolve over the next few years.

As an alumnus of Auckland University of Technology (AUT), I can honestly say it’s one of the best places to study if you enjoy a hands-on, practical approach to learning. What stood out to me most was how interactive and industry-focused the classes were. We didn’t just learn theory — we applied it through real projects, workshops, and collaborations.

The lecturers were incredible, many coming from different professional backgrounds, which made every lesson unique. They shared real-world insights and always encouraged creativity and critical thinking. The supportive and innovative environment at AUT helped me grow both academically and personally, and it truly prepared me for my career.

I’m proud to be an AUT graduate — it’s a university that values ideas, diversity, and real experience.

Overall, I am grateful for the knowledge obtained and challenges faced. However, I feel there is more AUT could have contributed. My learning was very self directed during lockdown at times, given my degree was a Bachelor of Communications, I was not always a Screenproduction major and Digital Communications minor with electives in Psychotherapy. Originally I was an Advertising major, but the lecturer and assistant constantly miscommunicated, were unprofessional and picked on certain groups of people. That’s when I began to understand the hostility of some in the industry, so I dropped that immediately and redirected myself to my actual passion, Film. Even then, in lockdown they encouraged us to film with our mobile phones for convience. I was uncomfortable with this so worked as an essential worker and bought a camera to self shoot the projects. Eventually in my final year, as I was making my graduate project I was singled out and not well looked after as compared to other people doing their projects; due to my film being a unique depiction of South Asian family dynamics and the struggles of young adults to pursue their passions. Whilst some professors contributed and accelerated my journey, others made it unnecessarily racist or unfair at times. Especially when I began to battle with my health and had to drop a paper due to long Covid effects. The university had me explaining myself more without much support in return, or if there was support it would take a while to arrive.

AUT is such a good university especially if you want a more hands on approach to your subjects. In regards to my degree i thought having a wide range of professionals from different backgrounds was cool as we got to learn what they specialise in and see what they could teach us.