The University of Otago (Māori: Te Whare Wānanga o Ōtākou) is a public research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand’s oldest University and one of the oldest universities in Oceania.
The university was created by a committee led by Thomas Burns, and officially established by an ordinance of the Otago Provincial Council in 1869.Between 1874 and 1961 the University of Otago was a part of the federal University of New Zealand, and issued degrees in its name.
Since 1961, when its roll was about 3,000, the University has expanded considerably (in 2016 there were over 20,000 students enrolled) and has broadened its range of qualifications to include undergraduate programmes in Surveying, Pharmacy, Medical Laboratory Science, Teacher Education, Physiotherapy, Applied Science, Dental Technology, Radiation Therapy, Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy (now combined in an Oral Health programme), Biomedical Sciences, Social Work, and Performing Arts, as well as specialised postgraduate programmes in a variety of disciplines.
Although the University’s main campus is in Dunedin, it also has Health Sciences campuses in Christchurch (University of Otago, Christchurch) and Wellington (University of Otago, Wellington) (established in 1972 and 1977 respectively), an information and teaching centre in central Auckland (1996), and an information office in Wellington (2001).
The university's architectural grandeur and accompanying gardens led to it being ranked as one of the world's most beautiful university campuses by the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph and American online news website The Huffington Post.
Courses on offer:
Visit University of Otago website