List of universities in New Zealand explained

This is a list of the universities in New Zealand, of which there are eight. Many of the universities are descended from the former University of New Zealand, a collegiate university that existed from 1870 to 1961. All universities are public. In 2021, they provided tertiary education to over 182,900 students or 142,720 equivalent full-time students (EFTS).^[1]

General information

Name	Main campus	Established	Student headcount	Equivalent full-time students	Staff (FTE, 2013)^[2]	Government funding ($ millions, 2013)^[3]	Funding (NZD) per student	Students per staff member
Auckland University of Technology		2000	26,030^[4]
Lincoln University	Lincoln	1878	5,819^[5]
Massey University		1927	27,445^[6]
University of Auckland		1883	41,866^[7]
University of Canterbury		1873	18,771^[8]
University of Otago		1869	21,159^[9]
University of Waikato		1964	12,278^[10]
Victoria University of Wellington		1897	22,273^[11]
Overall

* i. Predecessors established in 1895.

Faculties and colleges

The top-level divisions (faculties, colleges) of each university can vary widely from university to university. While all universities have faculties of science, for instance, fewer have faculties of education. The table below summarises the faculties and colleges of every university in New Zealand: ^{[12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]}

Subject area	University of Otago	University of Canterbury	Lincoln University	Victoria University (Wellington)	Massey University	University of Waikato	AUT	University of Auckland
Arts	Division of Humanities	College of Arts		Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences	College of Humanities and Social Sciences	Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social SciencesTe Pua Wānanga ki te Ao – Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies	Faculty of Culture and SocietyFaculty of Māori and Indigenous Development	Faculty of Arts
Sciences	Division of Sciences	College of Science	Faculty of Agriculture and Life SciencesFaculty of Environment, Society, and Design	Faculty of Science	College of Sciences	Division of Health, Engineering, Computing and Science	Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences	Faculty of Science
Business	Otago Business School(Division of Commerce)	UC Business School	Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce	Victoria Business School	Massey Business School	Waikato Management School	Faculty of Business, Economics and Law	University of Auckland Business School
Health Sciences	Division of Health Sciences	Faculty of Health		Faculty of Health	College of Health	Division of Health, Engineering, Computing and Science	Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences	Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences
Medicine	Otago Medical School Faculty of Dentistry							School of Medicine
Engineering		College of Engineering		Faculty of Engineering	College of Sciences	Division of Health, Engineering, Computing and Science	Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies	Faculty of Engineering
Law	Faculty of Law	Faculty of Law		Faculty of Law		Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences	Faculty of Business, Economics and Law	Auckland Law School
Fine Arts, Architecture		Ilam School of Fine Arts	School of Landscape Architecture	Faculty of Architecture and Design	College of Creative Arts		Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies	Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries
Education	College of Education	Faculty of Education		Faculty of Education	Institute of Education	Division of Education	Faculty of Culture and Society	Faculty of Education and Social Work

International rankings

These three ranking systems are regarded as the most influential and widely observed international university rankings.^{[20] [21] [22]}

According to QS World University Rankings:^[23]

Institution	2008/09	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
University of Auckland	65	61	68	82	83	94	92	82	81	82	85	83	81	85	87	68
University of Otago	124	125	135	130	133	155	159	173	169	151	175	176	184	194	217	206
Massey University	283	299	302	329	308	343	346	337	340	316	332	287	272	284	292	239
Victoria University of Wellington	227	229	225	237	237	265	275	229	228	219	221	215	223	236	275	241
University of Waikato	378	314	316	357	374	401–410	401–410	338	324	292	274	266	375	373	331	250
University of Canterbury	186	188	189	212	221	238	242	211	214	214	231	227	270	258	284	256
Lincoln University, New Zealand	Lincoln University	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	481–490	411–420	373	343	319	317	356	387	372	368	362
Auckland University of Technology	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	451–500	471–480	501–550	481-490	441-450	441-450	464	442	437	451	486	407	+

According to THE World University Rankings:^[24]

Institution	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
University of Auckland	145	173	161	164	175	172	165	192	201-250	179	147	137	139
University of Otago	data-sort-value="999"	—	201–225	226–250	226–250	251-275	201-250	201-250	201-250	201-250	201-250	201-250	201-250	301-350
Victoria University of Wellington	data-sort-value="999"	—	251–275	251–275	276–300	276-300	351-400	351-400	401-500	401-500	501-600	501-600	501-600	401-500
University of Canterbury	data-sort-value="999"	—	301–350	301–350	301–350	301-350	401-500	351-400	351-400	301-350	301-350	401-500	501-600	601-800
University of Waikato	data-sort-value="999"	—	301–350	301–350	301–350	351-400	401-500	401-500	351-400	401-500	501-600	501-600	401-500	401-500
Massey University	data-sort-value="999"	—	350–400	351–400	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	501-600	401-500	401-500	501-600	501-600	601-800	601-800	601-800
Auckland University of Technology	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	601-800	501-600	401-500	301-350	251-300	251-300	201-250	251-300
Lincoln University, New Zealand	Lincoln University	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	401-500	501-600	501-600	501-600	601-800	501-600	401-500

According to Academic Ranking of World Universities:^[25]

Institution	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
University of Auckland	201–250	202–301	203–300	201–300	203–304	201–302	201–302	201–300	201–300	151–200	201–300	201–300	201-300	151-200	201-300	201-300	201-300	201-300	201-300	201-300
University of Otago	351–400	202–301	301–400	201–300	305–402	201–302	201–302	201–300	201–300	201–300	201–300	201–300	201-300	301-400	301-400	301-400	301-400	301-400	301-400	301-400
Victoria University of Wellington	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	401–500	401–500	403–510	402–503	402–501	401–500	401–500	401–500	401–500	401–500	data-sort-value="999"	—	301-400	301-400	301-400	301-400	401-500	401-500	401-500
University of Canterbury	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	401–500	401–500	403–510	402–503	402–501	401–500	401–500	401–500	401–500	401–500	data-sort-value="999"	—	301-400	401-500	401-500	401-500	401-500	401-500	401-500
Massey University	351–400	404–502	401–500	401–500	305–402	303–401	402–501	401–500	401–500	401–500	401–500	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	501-600	501-600	601-700	601-700	701-800	601-700
Lincoln University	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	601-700	701-800	801-900	801-900	701-800	701-800
The University of Waikato	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	601-700	701-800	701-800	701-800	701-800	701-800
Auckland University of Technology	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	data-sort-value="999"	—	901-1000	701-800	901-1000	701-800	701-800	+

Endowment

New Zealand universities by endowment (millions NZD)

Institution	2019	2020	2021	2022
Auckland University of Technology	$2.0 ^[26]	$2.1 ^[27]	$2.4 ^[28]	$2.4 ^[29]
Lincoln University		$0.47 ^[30]	$0.71 ^[31]	$0.97 ^[32]
Massey University	$48 ^[33]	$55 ^[34]	$56 ^[35]	$56 ^[36]
University of Auckland	$223 ^[37]	$251 ^[38]	$293^[39]	$269^[40]
University of Canterbury		$137 ^[41]	$142 ^[42]
University of Otago	$242 ^[43]	$258 ^[44]	$280^[45]	$261^[46]
University of Waikato	$5.3 ^[47]	$8.8 ^[48]	$14 ^[49]	$13 ^[50]
Victoria University of Wellington	$70 ^[51]	$74 ^[52]	$84 ^[53]	$75 ^[54]	+

See also

• Tertiary education in New Zealand
• Polytechnics and institutes of technology in New Zealand
• List of New Zealand university leaders
• Torrens University Australia, an Australian private university which has a campus in New Zealand

External links

• No Major Drama - for lists of all majors for bachelor's degrees available from New Zealand universities, grouped in subject areas

Notes and References

1. Web site: Introducing New Zealand's universities. Universities New Zealand. 8 July 2023.
2. Web site: The NZ University System. Universities New Zealand. 2014-11-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20150320160300/http://www.universitiesnz.ac.nz/nz-university-system. 2015-03-20. dead.
3. Web site: The Tertiary Education Performance Report 2013. The Tertiary Education Commission. 2015-03-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20150117044254/http://pr2013.publications.tec.govt.nz/Universities. 17 January 2015. dead.
4. Web site: AUT Universities New Zealand - Te Pōkai Tara. www.universitiesnz.ac.nz. 2023-12-16.
5. Web site: Lincoln University Universities New Zealand - Te Pōkai Tara. www.universitiesnz.ac.nz. 2020-03-10.
6. Web site: Massey University Universities New Zealand - Te Pōkai Tara. www.universitiesnz.ac.nz. 2023-12-16.
7. Web site: University of Auckland Universities New Zealand - Te Pōkai Tara. www.universitiesnz.ac.nz. 2020-03-10.
8. Web site: University of Canterbury Universities New Zealand - Te Pōkai Tara. www.universitiesnz.ac.nz. 2020-03-10.
9. Web site: University of Otago Universities New Zealand - Te Pōkai Tara. www.universitiesnz.ac.nz. 2023-12-16.
10. Web site: University of Waikato Universities New Zealand - Te Pōkai Tara. www.universitiesnz.ac.nz. 2020-03-10.
11. Web site: Victoria University of Wellington Universities New Zealand - Te Pōkai Tara. www.universitiesnz.ac.nz. 2020-03-10.
12. Web site: Departments and schools of the University of Otago. University of Otago. en-nz. 2019-06-17.
13. Web site: Colleges. The University of Canterbury. en-nz. 2019-06-17.
14. Web site: Faculties and Divisions. Lincoln University New Zealand. 2019-06-17.
15. Web site: Faculties and schools. 2018-05-23. Victoria University of Wellington. en. 2019-06-17.
16. Web site: Colleges - Massey University. Massey University. en. 2019-06-17.
17. Web site: Faculties: University of Waikato. www.waikato.ac.nz. 2019-06-17.
18. Web site: Faculties & Schools - AUT. Auckland University of Technology University. 2019-06-17.
19. Web site: Our faculties - The University of Auckland. The University of Auckland. 2019-06-17.
20. News: New world university ranking puts Harvard back on top. Ariel Zirulnick. The Christian Science Monitor. 2010-09-16.
21. News: We're fighting above our weight when it comes to uni rankings. The Australian. 2012-07-18.
22. News: Top schools don't always get top marks. Indira Samarasekera and Carl Amrhein. The Edmonton Journal. 2010-10-03. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20101003203348/http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/schools%2Balways%2Bmarks/3560240/story.html. 2010-10-03.
23. Web site: QS World University Rankings . QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 6 July 2023.
24. THE World University Rankings. Times Higher Education.
25. Web site: ShanghaiRanking's Academic Ranking of World Universities . Shanghai Ranking Consultancy . 2022-10-15.
26. Web site: AUT Foundation 2019 Report to Donors. 5 December 2022.
27. Web site: AUT Foundation 2020 Report to Donors. 5 December 2022.
28. Web site: AUT Foundation 2021 Report to Donors. 5 December 2022.
29. Web site: AUT Foundation 2022 Report to Donors. 7 July 2023.
30. Web site: Lincoln University Foundation Anuual Report 2020. 5 December 2022.
31. Web site: Lincoln University Foundation Anuual Report 2021. 1 December 2022.
32. Web site: Lincoln University Foundation Anuual Report 2021. 7 July 2023.
33. Web site: Massey University Foundation Annual Review 2019. 5 December 2022.
34. Web site: Massey University Foundation Annual Review 2020. 1 December 2022.
35. Web site: Massey University Foundation Annual Review 2021. 1 December 2022.
36. Web site: Massey University Foundation Annual Review 2021. 7 July 2023.
37. Web site: Annual Report to Donors 2019 . 5 December 2022.
38. Web site: Annual Report to Donors 2020 . 28 July 2021.
39. Web site: Annual Report to Donors 2021 . 1 December 2022.
40. Web site: Annual Report to Donors 2022 . 7 July 2023.
41. Web site: University of Canterbury Annual Report 2019. 14 February 2021. 18 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200618050156/https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/media/documents/annual-reports/1-Annual-Report-2019-Full.pdf. live.
42. Web site: Endowments at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha The University of Canterbury. 1 December 2022.
43. Web site: University of Otago Foundation Trust Report 2019 . 5 December 2022.
44. Web site: University of Otago Foundation Trust Report 2020 . 28 July 2021 . 28 July 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210728054336/https://alumni.otago.ac.nz/document.doc?id=830 . live .
45. Web site: University of Otago Foundation Trust Annual Report 2021. 1 December 2022.
46. Web site: Otago Foundation Trust 2022 Report. 9 November 2023.
47. Web site: University of Waikato Annual Report 2019. 5 December 2022.
48. Web site: University of Waikato Annual Report 2020. 5 December 2022.
49. Web site: University of Waikato Annual Report 2021. 1 December 2022.
50. Web site: University of Waikato Annual Report 2022. 9 November 2023.
51. Web site: Victoria University of Wellington Annual Report 2019. 5 December 2022.
52. Web site: Foundation Trust Financial Statement. 28 July 2020.
53. Web site: Foundation Trust Financial Statements. 22 March 2022.
54. Web site: Foundation Trust Financial Statements. 7 July 2023.