Massey University
Massey University is a public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington, as well as a branch campus in Singapore which was opened in 2024.
Massey is home to New Zealand’s only veterinary school which is ranked 19th in the world and first in Australasia and Asia. It also specialises in animal science and agriculture, aviation, and creative arts.
Massey has been delivering distance learning for over 60 years.
Data from Universities New Zealand shows that in 2024 the university had approximately 26,505 students enrolled, making it the country's second-largest university. Research is undertaken on all three campuses and people from over 130 countries study at the university.
According to the university's annual report, in 2024, around 16.2% of equivalent full-time students were based at the Auckland campus, 17.7% at the Manawatū campus, and 13.3% at the Wellington campus. Distance learning accounted for 47.7% of the student body, while the remaining 5.1% studied at other locations.
Vice-Chancellor Jan Thomas announced her resignation in April 2025. In October 2025, Professor Pierre Venter was named as the next Vice-Chancellor, beginning in February 2026.
History
Origins (1879–1926)
The idea of establishing an agricultural college in New Zealand’s North Island gained momentum as early as 1879, championed by figures like Sir George Grey, and late by Inspector-General George Hogben. In 1912, newly elected Prime Minister William Ferguson Massey made the project his priority, leading to the formation of agriculture chairs at Victoria University College and Auckland University College. In 1926, both institutions transferred their agricultural schools under the New Zealand Agricultural College Act to form the New Zealand Agricultural College. Shortly thereafter, the decision was made to establish the college at the Batchelar property near Palmerston North.Massey Agricultural College (1927–1962)
The first College Council meeting took place in Wellington on 1 February 1927. In September 1927 the Massey Agricultural College Act was passed, renaming the college Massey Agricultural College after former New Zealand Prime Minister William Fergusson Massey, who died in 1925 and had been vigorous in land reform efforts. The college opened on its doors to students on 2 March 1928, under the leadership of Principal Geoffrey Peren and Vice-Principal William Riddet. Initial enrolment featured eight students on Day One, swelling to 85 by the end of the first year, and 175 in the second.On 20 March 1928 the college was officially opened by Minister of Agriculture Oswald Hawken. The college emphasised practical farming alongside scientific study, pioneering research in dairy, irrigation, and animal breeding on its own farmlands. Despite hardship during the Great Depression and World War II, it expanded student accommodation, established the students’ association, and welcomed its first female diploma student, Enid Hills, in 1932, and in 1938 its first female undergraduate degree student, Paddy Thorpe.
Post-war growth set the stage for university status. In 1961, after the dissolution of the University of New Zealand, the agricultural college became Massey College and allied temporarily with Victoria University of Wellington until full autonomy could be gained.
University status and expansion (1963–1992)
The establishment in 1960 of the Palmerston North University College, a branch of Victoria University of Wellington, provided university-level education in the humanities and social sciences in Palmerston North, and also introduced distance education. On 1 January 1963, PNUC and Massey College merged to become Massey University College of Manawatu. The Massey University Act of 1963 officially established Massey University of Manawatu on 1 January 1964, granting it full autonomy and university status, including the power to confer degrees. The current name, Massey University, was adopted in 1966.Under founding Vice-Chancellor Sir Alan Stewart, the university grew rapidly. In its first year it enrolled approximately 1,877 students, and by 1992 the total roll had grown to nearly 24,700 across nine faculties. Key early faculties included agriculture, veterinary science, technology, science, humanities, social sciences, business, education, and maths/information science.
Multi campus growth (1993–present)
The 1990s saw Massey University expanding and become a tri-city university and expand its academic programmes:- Auckland campus opened at Albany on Auckland's North Shore in 1993, under Vice-Chancellor Sir Neil Waters. Classes at this campus began that same year.
- The merger with Palmerston North College of Education occurred in 1996, under Vice-Chancellor Prof James McWha.
- Wellington Polytechnic merged with Massey University in 1999, which lead to the formation of the College of Creative Arts in Wellington.
In April 2024, Massey University signed an agreement with the private Singaporean education provider PSB Academy to provide various media, design and management courses as part of plans to establish a campus in Singapore. Chancellor Jan Thomas said this was part of Massey University's plans to diversify its income and enrol 5,000 offshore students by 2026. The campus opened its first intake in November 2024.
Colleges and schools
Massey University organises its teaching and research through five discipline-based colleges, while a stand-alone School of Aviation reports directly to the senior leadership team.The College of Creative Arts is centred on the Wellington campus and brings together the National Academy of Screen Arts, Whiti o Rehua School of Art, Te Rewa o Puanga School of Music and Screen Arts, and Ngā Pae Māhutonga Wellington School of Design.
The College of Health unites the School of Health Sciences, the School of Nursing, the School of Social Work, and the School of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition, reflecting the university’s broad focus on population and individual wellbeing.
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences hosts the Institute of Education, the School of Humanities, Media and Creative Communication, the School of People, Environment and Planning, the School of Psychology, and Te Pūtahi-a-Toi – School of Māori Knowledge, making it Massey’s largest and most diverse college.
The science and technology disciplines are grouped in the College of Sciences, which includes the School of Agriculture and Environment, the School of Built Environment, the School of Food Technology and Natural Sciences, the School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, and School of Veterinary Science.
Business, economics and executive education are provided by the Massey Business School. It comprises the School of Accountancy, Economics and Finance, the School of Management and Marketing, and the Professional and Executive Development unit.
Outside the college structure, the School of Aviation delivers New Zealand’s only university-based professional pilot training and aviation management programmes.
Campuses
Massey University has campuses in Palmerston North in the Manawatū, in Wellington and on Auckland's North Shore in Albany. In addition, Massey offers most of its degrees extramurally within New Zealand and internationally. Research is undertaken on all three campuses. In November 2024, Massey University began offering several programs at the Singaporean PSB Academy as part of plans to establish an international branch campus in Singapore.Auckland campus (Ōtehā)
Since 1993 the Ōtehā campus in Auckland has grown rapidly in a fast developing part of Auckland's North Shore City. Science and Business are the two largest colleges on the campus, with the College of Science housing the New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study solely on the campus. Around 4,809 students are enrolled at Albany. This campus has grown since then and an on-campus accommodation facility opened in semester one 2015. On the Albany campus, a large golden chicken wing sculpture commemorates the site's history as a chicken farm.On 1 July 2025 the New Zealand Police opened a branch of the Royal New Zealand Police College on the Massey campus. This facility is being used for recruit training as well as senior courses.
Palmerston North campus (Manawatū)
Massey University was first established at the Turitea campus in Palmerston North, and hosts around 3000 students annually.The Turitea site houses the main administrative units of Massey University as well as the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the College of Sciences, the College of Health and Massey Business School. It is also home to the only Veterinary School in New Zealand. Massey University acquired a smaller second campus in Palmerston North in Hokowhitu when it merged with the Palmerston North College of Education in 1996, which was combined with the existing Faculty of Education to form Massey University's College of Education. In 2013 the Institute of Education was formed as part of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. The Hokowhitu Campus was later sold in 2016 after the institute was relocated to the Turitea campus.
Wharerata is a historic colonial home built in 1901 and surrounded by formal gardens and mature trees. It housed the staff social club until the late 1990s, and is now used as a cafe, function centre and wedding venue.
In 2019, Heritage New Zealand listed student hostel, Colombo Hall as a category 2 historic place. It was built in 1964.
In February 2023 the university announced that it would be building two solar farms on the Palmerston North campus, with a peak output of 7.87MW.