A new opportunity to take te reo to the world has risen at the University of Waikato.

The Māori Medium Education Programme, Te Maiea o te Rangi, is opening to school leavers and career changers with a passion for te reo Māori and teaching.

Senior Lecturer, Te Kura Toi Tangata School of Education, Dr Katarina Edmonds (Te Whānau ā Apanui, Ngāti Porou) says the new programmes are a chance for students to take the mana of te reo Māori to the world.

'Our students don't just become teachers, they are like manutukutuku, who will take our culture and our language across Aotearoa and the oceans to every country on earth. Speakers of te reo find doors open to them because of their ability to understand indigenous language and culture, and because they can speak more than one language."

The Māori Medium Bachelor of Teaching, Te Ara Poutama Toitū Te Reo is a 3 year course, or students can choose to include a subject specialism in Science or Math, which includes an extra year and a half of study.

Also available now is the Graduate Diploma in Teaching Māori Medium Te Ahikāroa, for those who are already working in schools and wish to upskill with a one year programme.

'We have nurtured our language through kōhanga and puna (early childhood), kura and kura kaupapa Māori (primary) to wharekura (secondary) - this is the place for all of that knowledge to find an academic and practical outcome that will allow our students and our language to fly,” says Katarina.

Classes are taught entirely in Māori, with the exception (initially) of those specialty subjects of math and science, although even here there is an opportunity to grow scientists and mathematicians who embrace te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori, says Katarina.

'We at Waikato are leading the way in growing the body of mātauranga science for undergraduates – it is part of everything we do. This is an extraordinary opportunity to be part of the change that is long overdue.”

University of Waikato Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori Sarah-Jane Tiakiwai says while teachers are desperately needed and hugely valued, students who gain a degree in Māori Medium teaching aren't restricted to the classroom.

'There is wider value in any degree, because there are so many transferable skills that are learned through study. Those skills, delivered in te reo, are transferable worldwide.”

Katarina says the opportunity to study science, math or other subjects at the university to complement the teaching degree and the student experience through the Māori Medium programme is unique.

'Students become part of a wider whānau. This place becomes a second home to our students and while we are sad to see them go when they set out into the world, they go with our blessing and they take the mana - and the future - of our language and our culture with them.

'We, the people, come and go, but te reo Māori will remain eternal.”

Scholarships are open now for both school leavers, those returning to study and career changers wishing to become Māori medium teachers.