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Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Professor Nic Smith

Vice-Chancellor

Professor Nic Smith

Location / campuses

  • Kelburn campus
  • Pipitea campus
  • Te Aro campus
  • Miramar Creative Centre

Date established

1897

Numbers of students

  • Student headcount: over 21,780 (in 2022)
  • Equivalent full-time students: nearly 16,850 (in 2022)

Specialisation/s

  • Governing for the future
  • Living and making the Wellington vibe
  • Being Asia-Pacific globally minded
  • Thriving through creativity
  • Honouring Te Tiriri o Waitangi
  • Commitment to sustainability and wellbeing

Rankings / awards

  • Overall, Wellington University is in the top 2 percent of the world’s 18,000 universities.
  • In 19 subject areas, Wellington University is among the top 1 percent of the world’s universities (2020 QS World University Rankings by Subject)
  • The University is ranked in the top 100 universities in the world for 12 subjects in total: Earth and Marine Sciences, English Language and Literature, Geography, Geology, Hospitality and Leisure Management, Law, Library and Information Management, Lingui
  • Wellington University is New Zealand’s top-ranked university for intensity of high-quality research (2018 Performance-Based Research Fund).
  • Wellington School of Business and Government is one of an elite group of commerce faculties worldwide that hold the Triple Crown of international accreditations of EQUIS, AACSB (Business) and AMBA.

Victoria has eight faculties that conduct teaching and research:

  • Wellington Faculty of Architecture and Design Innovation

  • Wellington Faculty of Education

  • Wellington Faculty of Engineering

  • Wellington Faculty of Health

  • Wellington Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

  • Faculty of Law

  • Wellington Faculty of Science

  • Wellington School of Business and Government

The University is also home to more than 40 research centres conducting world-leading research in areas ranging from climate change and carbohydrate chemistry to engineering and applied physics.

In 2019, the University received $81.3 million in external research income.

In 2019, there were 2,178 publications resulting from the work of the University’s researchers.

In addition the University is home to:

  • Adam Art Gallery - Te Pātaka Toi, which presents a year-round programme of exhibitions, events and publications
  • International Institute of Modern Letters, which hosts the University’s Creative Writing programme and has seen many of its alumni establish successful writing careers
  • The New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī the country’s preeminent tertiary institution for music study.