University of Otago

Summary

COVID-19 Information

The COVID-19 situation is rapidly evolving, and the University of Otago recommends that all students considering Otago visit the dedicated website for the latest information. If students have any questions that are not answered on the COVID-19 page or questions about their individual circumstances, they can visit the university’s Future Students webpage.

Overview

As New Zealand's first university, founded in 1869, the University of Otago has earned an international reputation for excellence in research and teaching. Otago is ranked in the top 1% of universities in the world (QS World Rankings) and offers over 200 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across Business, Health Science, Humanities, and Science subjects.

Otago at a glance

• 5-stars plus QS Stars ranking, reflecting quality and excellence across teaching, employability, internationalisation, and research.
• A national presence, with its main campus in Dunedin, and specialised campuses in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Invercargill.
• New Zealand’s top university for student performance and retention (TEC Educational Performance Indicators).
• 85% of its students come from outside of Dunedin.
• 21,000 students, including 3,000 students from 100+ countries.
• 95% of its students go into work or to further study.

Online education offer for 2021

The University of Otago has expanded its coursework delivery options for the 2021 academic year in recognition of the impact of COVID-19 on students. A selection of papers and programmes that would normally only be delivered on-campus will be temporarily delivered online:

• Online BA, BCom, and BACom programmes + scholarships

Otago’s online offering includes the BA, BCom, and BA/BCom with most majors available for the BCom and a number of majors for the BA. Health sciences and sciences at the undergraduate level will not be available as an online option. For the full list of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and papers, visit the Learning at Otago in 2021 webpage.

All new international students who are offshore and who are offered admission to a bachelor’s degree programme being offered online will receive a Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship for International Students valued at NZD10,000 in recognition that they are prepared to start their studies online until they can join on campus once borders and visa processing enables them to do so.

• Online English Language and Foundation Year studies + scholarships

The University of Otago Language Centre and Foundation Year offers online delivery of the Foundation Year Certificate as well as several English language options, including: English for Otago, General English, IELTS preparation and English for Academic Purposes. For the full list of Foundation Year and English language programmes, visit the Language Centre and Foundation year webpage.

NZD4,000 scholarships are also available for students who are admitted to the Foundation Year programme: Otago International Pathway Scholarship.

Academic excellence

Otago is renowned as one of the top research universities in the Asia-Pacific region and produces the most winners of national teaching awards of any university in New Zealand. The academic staff profile is diverse and truly world-class, with one of the highest proportion of internationally-trained academic staff in the world – helping to provide a global perspective and foster international collaborations.

With over 200 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes on offer, many of the programmes at Otago are the only ones of their kind in New Zealand.

Otago also has the best performance indicators of any New Zealand university for successful completion of courses and qualifications, student progression to higher level study, and students retained in study.