Radio and Audio Media

Study New Zealand’s only university degree in radio - and develop the audio, storytelling, and content-production skills to work across today’s media.

Radio is fast-paced, dynamic and immediate. It remains at the heart of popular culture, delivering music, conversation, entertainment and information across broadcast and digital platforms. If you love audio, music, storytelling or popular culture, Radio and Audio Media can open the door to a wide range of creative careers.

You’ll learn how to make compelling radio, podcasts, and online content while gaining practical experience in performance, production, programming, promotion and the business of media.

Get to know the radio industry by running an FM and online station with other students. You’ll create formats, manage playlists, write features and commercials, produce audio, sell advertising, promote the station and its clients, and learn to work as part of a fast-moving creative team.

What can I expect over the next two years?

Radio brings together art and science, commerce and creativity—and AUT continues to produce some of the best people in the business. If you’re a self-starter who loves music, stories and popular culture, you’ll enjoy the freedom to experiment, collaborate and make things happen.

In Year 2, you’ll make shows for SOUNZ, our dedicated online station for classic Kiwi music. You’ll explore radio production and programming, participate in industry research, design advertising campaigns, create web-based content and produce your own podcasts. These projects develop skills you can use both in front of and behind the microphone.

Year 3 extends your creative, technical and professional skills. You’ll run Static 88.1 FM, developing its sound and identity from the ground up while sharing responsibility for getting the station on air—and getting it noticed. You’ll make radio shows, documentaries, advertising and comedy, and create online and multiplatform content that reflects a changing industry.

Be prepared to work hard and have plenty of fun. You’ll learn in dedicated production spaces, professional radio and podcasting studios, and a real FM station. You’ll also work with industry professionals and graduate with practical experience, a portfolio of work and valuable connections.

Audio is everywhere. The storytelling, production and audience skills you develop can also lead into podcasting, online video and social content, branded audio, streaming, sound for screen, and audio for games and interactive media. You’ll learn to shape ideas for different audiences and platforms - skills that are increasingly valuable wherever organisations communicate through sound and digital content.

Key features

New Zealand’s only university degree in radio

Real broadcasting experience on Static 88.1 FM & SOUNZ
Access to professional radio, podcasting and multimedia studios
Practical experience creating audio and online content
Connections with RNZ, MediaWorks, NZME and The Radio Bureau

Hear more about these pathways from Peter Hoar