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The University of Otago

About

Otago Logo
  • One of the oldest universities of New Zealand, the University of Otago, was found in 1869 and since then has earned an immense global reputation for its quality research and education.
  • The University of Otago came to existence by a committee led by Thomas Burns and James Macandrew. It was officially established by the Otago Provincial Council in 1869 and started accepting admissions in July 1871.
  • According to QS World Ranking, the University of Otago is ranked in the top 1% of the world's universities.
  • The University of Otago offers more than 200 undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Business, Health Science, Science, and Humanities.
  • The University of Otago is the first University in New Zealand to be awarded for having courses in QS top list and ranked 8th in Dentistry in 2015.
  • The University of Otago has the only dental and surveying school in New Zealand. The University has the most extensive science communication program and medical school and the country's best law school.
  • The University of Otago is divided into four academic departments.

University Rankings

  • The University of Otago is rated with the highest possible rating of 5 Star plus for teaching and research by QS World University and QS Star Rating.
  • The University's staff has been awarded the Prime Minister's Supreme Award of Tertiary Education Excellence in 6 consecutive years (2012-2018) of the past nine year.
  • The University of Otago's Dunedin campus is rated as the most beautiful campuses in the world by the British newspaper "The Daily Telegraph" and American online news "The Huffington Post."
  • A survey shows 98% of the student's satisfaction with the administrative support, campus safety, library, residential college, sports, and recreation facilities.
  • The University of Otago is among New Zealand's top universities for educational performance.
  • The central library of the University of Otago is ranked as the 13th best library in the world.
  • The University of Otago is the first University to permit law education to women, Ethel Benjamin was the first female graduate of LLB in 1897.
  • The university has a diverse staff profile with one of the highest ratios of internationally-trained academic staff to provide a global outlook.
  • Along with world-class education, The University of Otago provides a world-class infrastructure with research labs, performance space, study area, lecture theatres, and sporting facilities.
  • Overall, 95% of Otago students either go for work after graduation or for further studies in New Zealand or worldwide.
  • The university has a student magazine as "Critic" which is New Zealand's longest-running student magazine.

Faculties and Departments

  • Division of Humanities
  • Division of Health Science
  • Division of Science
  • School of Business

Schools within these faculties

  • College of Education
  • Faculty of Dentistry
  • Faculty of Law
  • Otago Business School
  • Otago Medical School
  • School of Biomedical Sciences
  • School of Performing Arts
  • School of Pharmacy
  • School of Physical Education
  • Sports and Exercise Sciences
  • School of Physiotherapy
  • Te Tumu School of Maori
  • Pacific and Indigenous Studies

Additional Service division

  • External Engagement Division
  • Financial Service Division
  • Human Resource Division
  • Information Technology Service Division
  • Property Service Division
  • Research & Enterprise Division
  • Student Service Division

Colleges under the University of Otago

  • Aquinas College
  • Arana College
  • Caroline Freeman College
  • Carrington College
  • Cumberland College
  • Hayward College
  • Knox College
  • Salmond College
  • Selwyn College
  • St Margaret's College
  • Studholme College
  • Toroa College
  • University College

Campus

1.Dunedin main campus of the University of Otago is in Dunedin, which hosts the following departments:

  • a. Central Administration
  • b. Health Science
  • c. Humanities
  • d. Business School
  • e. Science Division

2. Auckland

The Auckland campus is located at the Auckland Center on Queen; this campus provides various teaching and distance learning courses.

3. Wellington

The University of Otago's Wellington campus is also known as the Wellington School of Medicine and Health Science. The university also provides physiotherapy clinical training programs, research, distance education, and postgraduate programs.

4. Christchurch

The Christchurch campus is situated at the Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Science. The university also provides physiotherapy clinical training programs, research, distance education, and postgraduate programs.

  1. The southland campus is a branch of the University of Otago College of Education. The campus provides education programs such as early childhood, primary, primary bilingual, and secondary teacher.
  2. The University of Otago also has a Department of Marine Science, and it operates the Portobello Marine Laboratory in the Otago peninsula

Scholarships

Undergraduate Scholarship

Vice-Chancellor's Scholarship for International Students

  The Vice-Chancellor's Scholarship is open for international students entering for the first time at University Otago and planning to undertake the full-time and full-year undergraduate program.

New Frontiers Scholarships

  Students looking to undertake a full-time or full-year undergraduate program can opt for New Frontiers Scholarship. An international student's eligibility to avail of this scholarship is to have a high school degree from a recognized board.

University of Otago Entrance Scholarships

  Students looking to undertake a full-time or full-year undergraduate program can opt for the University of Otago Entrance Scholarship. An international student's eligibility to avail of this scholarship is to have a high school degree from a recognized board.

Postgraduate Scholarship

Otago International Excellence Scholarship

  Otago International Excellence Scholarship is for international students willing to begin their coursework for a master's degree or postgraduate diploma in Business, Humanities of Sciences.

University of Otago International Master's Research Scholarship

  University of Otago International Master's Research Scholarship is for international students willing to enrolling in the research Master's program. The scholarship provides a partial tuition fee waiver plus NZ$15,000 stipend per annum.

University of Otago Coursework Master's Scholarship

  University of Otago Coursework Master's Scholarship is for international students willing to enrolling in a research Master's program. The scholarship provides with NZ$ 10,000 waiver of tuition fees.

Doctoral Scholarships

University of Otago Doctoral Scholarship

  University of Otago Doctoral Scholarship is for international and domestic students willing to enrolling in the Doctoral Program.

External Scholarships

  • New Zealand Excellence Awards(NZEA)
  • Generation Study Abroad Excellence and Travel Awards (NZUEA) Scholarship
  • Go Overseas – USA Study Abroad

Program

Popular courses in University of Otago are in:

  • Finance
  • MBA
  • Economics
  • Business Data Science

Accommodation

The University of Otago is affiliated with 14 residential colleges that provide accommodation, food, social, and welfare services. The residential colleges are:

  • Abbey College
  • Aquinas College
  • Arana College
  • Caroline Freeman College
  • Carrington College
  • Cumberland College
  • Harvard College
  • Knox College
  • Salmond College
  • Selwyn College
  • St Margaret's College
  • Studholme College
  • Te Rangi Hiroa College
  • Torao College
  • University College

Most of these colleges primarily serve students of the first year of the undergraduate program, and some of them cater to higher year's undergraduates and sometimes postgraduates. Around 3500 first-year students live in the residential colleges of the university.

These mentioned residential colleges provide fully furnished accommodation and facilities like Gym, Laundry, parking, and inter-college competitions. It also provides a supportive environment for students to develop their independence and build a social network.