Prospective students from New Zealand

We welcome applicants from New Zealand who would like to apply for a place here at Christ's College. We also welcome teachers and guidance counselors at schools in New Zealand to get in touch if you have questions about supporting students from your school who would like to apply to Christ's College.

• International Webinar
• Entry requirements
• The application process
• Interviews
• Where can I find out more?

International Webinar

Each year we run the Christ's International Webinar in July. See the international webinar page.

From February until August we also run our regular webinars (such as Christ's College: A look at the Grounds and Facilities). We deliberately vary the times of these but if you are struggling to attend webinars due to the time differences, please send us an email.
 

Entry requirements

Our typical entry requirement for students studying the NCEA Level 3 would be based on a majority of Excellences in relevant subjects to be studied. See the subject requirements section of the relevant Christ's subject page. For many courses, a top result in mathematics at the highest academic level will form part of any offer, and this can apply to such courses as Economics, Engineering and Natural Sciences, as well as Mathematics itself. The overall NCEA Level 3 certificate is to be endorsed with Excellence.

Our typical entry requirement for students taking the International Baccalaureate is 42, with 776 at Higher Level. If you are applying for a course that requires maths, you must ensure that you are taking Maths: Analysis and Approaches at Higher Level.

Offers for Mathematics include STEP II and III. Further information about STEP and preparation support is available on the Maths page. 

Some courses also require an Admissions Test. The dates and registration details for these assessments vary from subject to subject so please check this carefully in relation to the course you are planning to apply for.

The application deadline

For applicants from New Zealand applying in 2024 (for 2025 entry or deferred 2026 entry) the application deadline is 15 October 2024.

It is very, very important to check whether your course has a "Registration Required" Admissions Test, as you will need to check the registration deadline for this. Depending on your subject you may need to register some time before the UCAS application deadline. See the application process section below.
 

The application process

We recommend that you apply as soon as possible once UCAS opens for applications in September. Your course may require registration for an admissions test in September (depending on the subject) and then the UCAS application deadline for all courses is 15 October 2024.  Application is for entry the following October (or for deferred entry the year after). We encourage all applicants to read the information about applying on the relevant subject page, as well as the how to apply page well in advance of September, as there are a number of parts to the application procedure which may take time to organise and complete:

1. If you have a test that requires registration (needed for some of the courses), you will need to make sure you are registered for this by the relevant deadline. Details are updated on the Written Tests page by July each year for students applying the following October. You will be able to search for the test centres in New Zealand.
2. There is more than one application form. You first make a UCAS application and then you complete an additional form called My Cambridge Application.
3. You will need a referee who can provide a reference and predicted grades for any exams that you have not yet taken.
4. You will also need to arrange for your school to provide a transcript, which you upload as part of My Cambridge Application.

Do also explore our additional support pages for international applicants, and note that on 20 September Christ's publishes the current applicants section, which will support you (in detail!) through the next steps once you have submitted a valid application and chosen Christ's College in your UCAS application.

Interviews (and College Registered Assessments, if relevant)

You will see if you read through our how to apply page, that we have interviews as part of our admissions process. We interview the majority of applicants, though not every applicant is selected for interview. Please see the information about interviews in the Christ's International Applicant Support section.

Christ's applicants who are selected for interview are interviewed online in all cases - the arrangements are the same for both UK and international applicants. You can have your interviews either at home (most applicants do this) or at school (if easier or if you have a better internet connection at school).

Obviously there is a huge time difference between New Zealand and the UK. If you are selected for interview, your interviews will be scheduled between 06:00 and 00:00 local time, so they will not be in the middle of the night but they are likely to be either early or late in the day. If you want to check the local time in Cambridge, UK, this is a useful website. Our clocks run on British Summer Time (BST) March to late Oct, and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) from late Oct to March.

In some subjects there is a "College Registered" assessment, which means an assessment that is only taken by those invited for interview. As the name implies, there is no registration for these assessments - they will be organised by Christ's for you to sit online if you are selected for interview, and we will send you full details at the time. You can check to see if there is a College Registered assessment and (if relevant) details for this in your subject by reading the how to apply section on the relevant subject page.

Finance

Do have a look at our finance section for details of the costs and financial support available. In addition to the university-wide awards from the Cambridge, Commonwealth, European and International Trusts, you'll see that at Christ's we have Christ’s College International Awards and Christ's Awards.
 

Where can I find out more?

Please also read the requirements for applicants from New Zealand on the Cambridge University international entry requirements page, and there is a full section for international students on the Christ's website.

We encourage you to explore the college online as there are lots of pictures to help you to get a sense of it. We have a College map and there are picture pages for First Court, Second Court, Third Court, New Court and the Fellows' Garden, as well as a section on Christ's facilities including pages on the Hall, Canteen, Working Library, Old Library, Law Library, Chapel, Theatre, Common Rooms, Café and Bar, Swimming Pool, Gym, Squash Court, Function Room, Sports Fields and Boathouse. There's a page on accommodation, and 360 degree photography of First Court, The Fellows' Garden, and Third Court.

If you read through some of the student profiles and the student life section, you'll pick up lots of detail about College life.

For your course research we recommend reading the Christ's subject page (and following links from it to the university pages too). It is essential to read this page before making your application as it also has any subject-specific requirements, advice and resources.

We encourage you to attend our annual Christ's International Webinar. See Christ's International webinar info. You may like to also attend other online events - we run lots of webinars, and our open days are online, with an optional visit, so you can still attend them even if you can't get to Cambridge.

We have a university Australian and New Zealand society - you'll be able to find them at the university freshers fair in the first week if you want to.
 

International Students / Should I apply? / How to apply / Subjects at Christ's / Application support for International Students