List of universities in New Zealand


This is a list of the universities in New Zealand, of which there are eight. As of 2024, all universities are public. All of the universities, with the exception of AUT, are descended from the former University of New Zealand, a collegiate university that existed from 1870 to 1961. The universities provided tertiary education to over 182,900 students or 142,720 equivalent full-time students in 2021.

Universities in New Zealand

General information

  • i. Predecessors established in 1895.

    Faculties and colleges

The top-level divisions 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:
Subject areaUniversity of OtagoUniversity of CanterburyLincoln UniversityVictoria University Massey UniversityUniversity of WaikatoAUTUniversity of Auckland
ArtsDivision of HumanitiesFaculty of ArtsFaculty of Humanities and Social SciencesCollege of Humanities and Social SciencesDivision of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences
Te Pua Wānanga ki te Ao – Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies		Faculty of Culture and Society
Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Development		Faculty of Arts
SciencesDivision of SciencesFaculty of ScienceFaculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Faculty of Environment, Society, and Design		Faculty of ScienceCollege of SciencesDivision of STEMFaculty of Health and Environmental SciencesFaculty of Science
BusinessOtago Business School
UC Business SchoolFaculty of Agribusiness and CommerceVictoria Business SchoolMassey Business SchoolWaikato Management SchoolFaculty of Business, Economics and LawUniversity of Auckland Business School
Health SciencesDivision of Health SciencesFaculty of HealthFaculty of HealthCollege of HealthDivision of HealthFaculty of Health and Environmental SciencesFaculty of Medical and Health Sciences
MedicineOtago Medical School
Faculty of Dentistry		New Zealand Graduate School of MedicineSchool of Medicine
EngineeringFaculty of EngineeringFaculty of EngineeringCollege of SciencesDivision of STEMFaculty of Design and Creative TechnologiesFaculty of Engineering
LawFaculty of LawFaculty of LawFaculty of LawDivision of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social SciencesFaculty of Business, Economics and LawAuckland Law School
Fine Arts, ArchitectureIlam School of Fine ArtsSchool of Landscape ArchitectureFaculty of Architecture and DesignCollege of Creative ArtsFaculty of Design and Creative TechnologiesFaculty of Creative Arts and Industries
EducationCollege of EducationFaculty of EducationFaculty of EducationInstitute of EducationDivision of EducationFaculty of Culture and SocietyFaculty of Education and Social Work

International rankings

These three ranking systems are regarded as the most influential and widely observed international university rankings.
According to QS World University Rankings:
Institution2008/092009/102010/112011/122012/1320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
University of Auckland65616882839492828182858381858768
University of Otago124125135130133155159173169151175176184194217206
Massey University283299302329308343346337340316332287272284292239
Victoria University of Wellington227229225237237265275229228219221215223236275241
University of Waikato378314316357374401–410401–410338324292274266375373331250
University of Canterbury186188189212221238242211214214231227270258284256
Lincoln University—————481–490411–420373343319317356387372368362
Auckland University of Technology————451–500471–480501–550481-490441-450441-450464442437451486407

According to THE World University Rankings:
Institution2011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
University of Auckland145173161164175172165192201-250179147137139
University of Otago—201–225226–250226–250251-275201-250201-250201-250201-250201-250201-250201-250301-350
Victoria University of Wellington—251–275251–275276–300276-300351-400351-400401-500401-500501-600501-600501-600401-500
University of Canterbury—301–350301–350301–350301-350401-500351-400351-400301-350301-350401-500501-600601-800
University of Waikato—301–350301–350301–350351-400401-500401-500351-400401-500501-600501-600401-500401-500
Massey University—350–400351–400——501-600401-500401-500501-600501-600601-800601-800601-800
Auckland University of Technology—————601-800501-600401-500301-350251-300251-300201-250251-300
Lincoln University——————401-500501-600501-600501-600601-800501-600401-500

According to Academic Ranking of World Universities:
Institution20032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022
University of Auckland201–250202–301203–300201–300203–304201–302201–302201–300201–300151–200201–300201–300201-300151-200201-300201-300201-300201-300201-300201-300
University of Otago351–400202–301301–400201–300305–402201–302201–302201–300201–300201–300201–300201–300201-300301-400301-400301-400301-400301-400301-400301-400
Victoria University of Wellington——401–500401–500403–510402–503402–501401–500401–500401–500401–500401–500—301-400301-400301-400301-400401-500401-500401-500
University of Canterbury——401–500401–500403–510402–503402–501401–500401–500401–500401–500401–500—301-400401-500401-500401-500401-500401-500401-500
Massey University351–400404–502401–500401–500305–402303–401402–501401–500401–500401–500401–500———501-600501-600601-700601-700701-800601-700
Lincoln University——————————————601-700701-800801-900801-900701-800701-800
The University of Waikato——————————————601-700701-800701-800701-800701-800701-800
Auckland University of Technology———————————————901-1000701-800901-1000701-800701-800