# 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. In 2021, universities provided tertiary education to over 182,900 students or 142,720 equivalent full-time students (EFTS).

## Universities in New Zealand

| University | Main campus | Established | University status |
| Auckland University of Technology | Auckland | 1895 | 2000 |
| Lincoln University | Lincoln | 1878 | 1990 |
| Massey University | Palmerston North | 1928 | 1963 |
| University of Auckland | Auckland | 1883 | 1883 |
| University of Canterbury | Christchurch | 1873 | 1873 |
| University of Otago | Dunedin | 1869 | 1869 |
| University of Waikato | Hamilton | 1964 | 1964 |
| Victoria University of Wellington | Wellington | 1897 | 1897 |

## General information

| Name | Main campus | Established | Student headcount (2024) | Equivalent full-time students (2024) | Staff (FTE, 2013) | Government funding ($ millions, 2013) | Funding (NZD) per student | Students per staff member |
| Auckland University of Technology | Auckland | 2000 | 25,270 | 18,565 | 2,143 | 150 | 7,963 | 8.8 |
| Lincoln University | Lincoln | 1878 | 4,220 | 3,070 | 610 | 41 | 12,662 | 5.3 |
| Massey University | Palmerston North | 1927 | 26,505 | 16,250 | 2,994 | 185 | 9,849 | 6.4 |
| University of Auckland | Auckland | 1883 | 45,755 | 35,295 | 4,909 | 389 | 11,819 | 6.7 |
| University of Canterbury | Christchurch | 1873 | 20,825 | 16,975 | 1,907 | 152 | 12,739 | 6.3 |
| University of Otago | Dunedin | 1869 | 21,315 | 18,564 | 3,838 | 271 | 14,731 | 4.9 |
| University of Waikato | Hamilton | 1964 | 14,065 | 10,485 | 1,520 | 102 | 10,257 | 6.6 |
| Victoria University of Wellington | Wellington | 1897 | 20,605 | 15,875 | 1,886 | 159 | 9,501 | 9.1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 135,079 | 19,807 | 1,449 | — | — |
| Average | Average | Average | Average | 16,885 | 2,475 | 181 | 11,190 | 6.7 |

## 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:
| 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 | Faculty of Arts | | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Division 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 |
| Sciences | Division of Sciences | Faculty of Science | Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty 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 | | Faculty 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.
According to QS World University Rankings:
| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | 481–490 | 411–420 | 373 | 343 | 319 | 317 | 356 | 387 | 372 | 368 | 362 |
| Auckland University of Technology | — | — | — | — | 451–500 | 471–480 | 501–550 | 481-490 | 441-450 | 441-450 | 464 | 442 | 437 | 451 | 486 | 407 |
According to THE World University Rankings:
| 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 | — | 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 | — | 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 | — | 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 | — | 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 | — | 350–400 | 351–400 | — | — | 501-600 | 401-500 | 401-500 | 501-600 | 501-600 | 601-800 | 601-800 | 601-800 |
| Auckland University of Technology | — | — | — | — | — | 601-800 | 501-600 | 401-500 | 301-350 | 251-300 | 251-300 | 201-250 | 251-300 |
| Lincoln University | — | — | — | — | — | — | 401-500 | 501-600 | 501-600 | 501-600 | 601-800 | 501-600 | 401-500 |
According to Academic Ranking of World Universities:
| 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 | — | — | 401–500 | 401–500 | 403–510 | 402–503 | 402–501 | 401–500 | 401–500 | 401–500 | 401–500 | 401–500 | — | 301-400 | 301-400 | 301-400 | 301-400 | 401-500 | 401-500 | 401-500 |
| University of Canterbury | — | — | 401–500 | 401–500 | 403–510 | 402–503 | 402–501 | 401–500 | 401–500 | 401–500 | 401–500 | 401–500 | — | 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 | — | — | — | 501-600 | 501-600 | 601-700 | 601-700 | 701-800 | 601-700 |
| Lincoln University | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 601-700 | 701-800 | 801-900 | 801-900 | 701-800 | 701-800 |
| The University of Waikato | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 601-700 | 701-800 | 701-800 | 701-800 | 701-800 | 701-800 |
| Auckland University of Technology | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 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 | $2.1 | $2.4 | $2.4 |
| Lincoln University | | $0.47 | $0.71 | $0.97 |
| Massey University | $48 | $55 | $56 | $56 |
| University of Auckland | $223 | $251 | $293 | $269 |
| University of Canterbury | | $137 | $142 | |
| University of Otago | $242 | $258 | $280 | $261 |
| University of Waikato | $5.3 | $8.8 | $14 | $13 |
| Victoria University of Wellington | $70 | $74 | $84 | $75 |