Set across six campuses in New Zealand’s largest city, the University of Auckland is the country’s premier tertiary education facility. It is consistently ranked as one of the world’s top 100 universities, offering a diverse array of degree programs for its more than 40,000 students.
The University of Auckland is divided into eight faculties, including the Faculties of Arts, Education and Social Work, Creative Arts and Industries, Engineering, Law, Science, Medical and Health Sciences and a Business School. It also includes the Liggins Institute which conducts research into the health and well-being of young children and the Auckland Bioengineering Institute. All of its six campuses are found in the Auckland and Northland Region, with the City campus boasting most of the university’s faculties and students across its 16 hectares. The Tāmaki campus lies to the south-east and offers degrees in Health, Sports Science, Environmental Science and Information Technology, while the Grafton campus is home to the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, as well as the Pharmacy and Optometry departments. The Faculty of Education is based primarily at the Epsom Campus, with a few courses offered at the Tai Tokerau Campus in Whangarei and others at the Manukau Institute of Technology. Marine studies are conducted at the Leigh Marine Laboratory within the Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve on Goat Island, around 100 kilometres to the north of Auckland.
Most of the University of Auckland’s campuses are well connected by public bus from the city centre, with the Leigh Marine Laboratory around an hour’s drive away. The City campus lies just to the east of Auckland’s CBD and is within easy walking distance of most major sights.
The institution started out as the Auckland University College in 1883 as part of the University of New Zealand. It became the University of Auckland in 1961 following the dissolution of the University of New Zealand and Queen Elizabeth II was present to open the new School of Medicine Building in 1970.