B3.3.7 New Zealand: Universities
Description
This article is from the New Zealand FAQ, by Phil Stuart-Jones and Lin Nah with numerous contributions by others.
B3.3.7 New Zealand: Universities
Otago is the oldest, Waikato is the newest, Auckland is the largest, and
Lincoln is the smallest. Apart from Lincoln which is essentially a
technical university offering a very limited range of courses (but is
expanding fast), all are full-scale universities. Try:
http://nz.com/NZ/EducationResearch/Universities.html
This will send you to home pages (and all sorts of info including snail
mail) of universities in NZ.
As an indication, deadline for enrolment in 1996 closed on 12 Dec for
returning students, 7 Dec for new students and for overseas students it
closed much earlier. The first semester starts at the end of February.
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Lin Nah wrote (edited somewhat):
"In New Zealand, it does not matter as much which university you attended,
at least not like in the US where the Ivy League graduates are very much in
demand compared to the lesser known schools. Within NZ they are more equal
although the culture and way things are done within each university is
different.
"Academic Considerations:
For many (most?) degrees, there is nothing stopping you from moving to a
different campus if you do not like the uni you choose (assuming they also
offer the course(s)). Of course it would be nice if you pick a good one in
the first place.
"Things you should look for when choosing a university include:
types of papers offered
structure of degree
research interests of staff
publications of staff
"There are certain strengths within each department in NZ, even though at a
BSc level they probably all teach the basics. It is very important to
consider these strengths as they may influence post-grad work.
"Financial considerations:
Cost of living in Auckland is certainly much higher than that in most other
Universities (except perhaps Wellington). While it may be possible to get
a room in Dunedin for $40 a week (yes, I did see at least 2 adverts at this
rate), the cheapest room in Auckland (per week) is probably around $70.
And that does not include expenses like food, transport, phone and
electricity.
"Fees vary from university to university for the same course, so do not be
surprised if your total bill at one uni is higher than another could have
been. Some universities set a rate for each type of degree, so, for
example, an arts degree would be cheaper than dentistry. Other
universities set a flat rate throughout the whole campus, not
differentiating between arts and science degrees. There are probably
variations inbetween.
"If you are a NZ permanent resident or a NZ citizen, you pay what other
NZers pay. If you are entering as an overseas students, there is a
separate schedule for fees which differ from institution to institution.
"Culture:
Campus life is very different at each university. Auckland University is
right in the middle of the city. It is therefore a very cosmopolitan
campus and does not have much of a campus life as known by Waikato or
Canterbury students. It also happens to be the biggest University in NZ.
"Check the webpages as they do say a little bit about life on campus."
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