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The University of Otago in Dunedin
Dunedin

Dunedin , Otepoti in Maori, is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the region of Otago. It is New Zealand's fifth largest city in population, the largest in size of council boundary area, and the hub of the sixth-largest urban area....
 is New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
's oldest university
List of oldest universities in continuous operation

This is a list of the oldest extant universities in the world. To be listed on this page, an educational institution must satisfy the definition of a university at the time of founding; it must have been founded before 1500 or be the oldest university in a region; and it must have been operational without a significant interruption ever sin...
 with over 20,000 students enrolled during 2006. It is the South Island
South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major Islands of New Zealand of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. The Maori name for the South Island, Te Wai Pounamu, meaning "The Water/s of Greenstone" , possibly evolved from Te Wahi Pounamu which means "The Place Of Greenstone"....
's largest employer and claims to have the world's second longest continuously running annual student revue (the Capping Show
Capping Show

The Capping Show is the name given to the University of Otago student revue. This is a comedy revue full of offensive and entertaining skits....
) and New Zealand's oldest ballet
Ballet

Ballet is a formalized type of performative dance, the origins of which date lay in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century France courts, and which was further developed in England, Italy, and Russia as a concert dance form....
 company (the Selwyn
Selwyn College, Otago

Selwyn College is part of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. The college was founded by Bishop Samuel Tarratt Nevill in 1893 as a theological college training clergy for the Church of England....
 Ballet).

The University is known throughout the country for its unique student lifestyle and particularly its flatting culture, where students generally share semi-dilapidated housing units with a unique name and "character building" domestic life.






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The University of Otago in Dunedin
Dunedin

Dunedin , Otepoti in Maori, is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the region of Otago. It is New Zealand's fifth largest city in population, the largest in size of council boundary area, and the hub of the sixth-largest urban area....
 is New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
's oldest university
List of oldest universities in continuous operation

This is a list of the oldest extant universities in the world. To be listed on this page, an educational institution must satisfy the definition of a university at the time of founding; it must have been founded before 1500 or be the oldest university in a region; and it must have been operational without a significant interruption ever sin...
 with over 20,000 students enrolled during 2006. It is the South Island
South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major Islands of New Zealand of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. The Maori name for the South Island, Te Wai Pounamu, meaning "The Water/s of Greenstone" , possibly evolved from Te Wahi Pounamu which means "The Place Of Greenstone"....
's largest employer and claims to have the world's second longest continuously running annual student revue (the Capping Show
Capping Show

The Capping Show is the name given to the University of Otago student revue. This is a comedy revue full of offensive and entertaining skits....
) and New Zealand's oldest ballet
Ballet

Ballet is a formalized type of performative dance, the origins of which date lay in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century France courts, and which was further developed in England, Italy, and Russia as a concert dance form....
 company (the Selwyn
Selwyn College, Otago

Selwyn College is part of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. The college was founded by Bishop Samuel Tarratt Nevill in 1893 as a theological college training clergy for the Church of England....
 Ballet).

The University is known throughout the country for its unique student lifestyle and particularly its flatting culture, where students generally share semi-dilapidated housing units with a unique name and "character building" domestic life. Throughout the history of the University the student community of Otago has been notable for student protest
Protest

Protest expresses relatively overt reaction to events or situations: sometimes in favor, though more often opposed. Protesters may organize a protest as a way of publicly and forcefully making their opinions heard in an attempt to influence public opinion or government policy, or may undertake direct action to attempt to directly enact desi...
, with Otago students having contested the contentious issues of many different decades. The nickname Scarfie
Scarfie

Nickname for a student of the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Derived from the cold local climate and the tradition of wearing gold and blue striped scarves....
 applies to the students after the cold weather and traditional habit of wearing a scarf for most of the year.

Otago graduates are known to be among the most dispersed alumni in the world, due in part to New Zealand being considered a relatively good value destination for many Asian students seeking a high-quality Western education, and with the greater variety of jobs, opportunities, and salaries on offer overseas (for domestic students), many graduates ultimately settle in Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, Malaysia
Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
, India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India....
, South Korea
South Korea

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea , ), often referred to as Korea and the "names of Korea#Revival of the names", is a Semi-presidential system republic in East Asia, located in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula....
, Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 or elsewhere in New Zealand.

The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality, and is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers employed, and topped the New Zealand Performance Based Research Fund
Performance Based Research Fund

The Performance Based Research Fund is a New Zealand tertiary education funding process, assessing the research performance of tertiary education organisations and then funding them on the basis of their performance....
 evaluation in 2006..

Founded in 1869 by a committee including Thomas Burns
Thomas Burns (New Zealand)

Thomas Burns was a prominent early European settler and religious leader of the province of Otago, New Zealand.Burns was baptised at Mauchline, Ayrshire, Scotland in April 1796, the son of estate manager Gilbert Burns, who was the brother of the poet Robert Burns....
, the university opened in July 1871. Its motto is "Sapere aude" ("Dare to be wise"). (The University of New Zealand
University of New Zealand

The University of New Zealand was the New Zealand university from 1870 to 1961. It was the sole New Zealand university, having a federal structure embracing several constituent colleges at various locations around New Zealand....
 subsequently adopted the same motto.) The Otago University Students' Association
Otago University Students' Association

The Otago University Students' Association is the student body of which all students enrolled at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand are members....
 answers this with its own motto, "Audeamus" ("let us dare").

Between 1874 and 1961 the University of Otago was a part of the University of New Zealand
University of New Zealand

The University of New Zealand was the New Zealand university from 1870 to 1961. It was the sole New Zealand university, having a federal structure embracing several constituent colleges at various locations around New Zealand....
, and issued degrees in its name.

History

Dunedin founders Thomas Burns and James Macandrew
James Macandrew

James Macandrew was a New Zealand ship-owner and politician. He served as a member of Parliament and as the last Superintendent of Otago Province....
 urged the Otago Provincial Council during the 1860s to set aside a land endowment for an institute of higher education. An ordinance of the council established the university in 1869, giving it of land, and the power to grant degrees in Arts, Medicine, Law and Music. Burns was named Chancellor, but he did not live to see the university open on 5 July 1871.

The university issued just one degree, to Alexander Watt Williamson
Alexander Watt Williamson

Alexander Watt Williamson was the first person in New Zealand to receive a University degree in 1874 and was also the only person to ever receive a degree from the University of Otago before it was merged into the University of New Zealand ....
, before becoming an affiliate college of the federal University of New Zealand
University of New Zealand

The University of New Zealand was the New Zealand university from 1870 to 1961. It was the sole New Zealand university, having a federal structure embracing several constituent colleges at various locations around New Zealand....
 in 1874. With the dissolving of the University of New Zealand in 1961 and passage of the University of Otago Amendment Act 1961, the university regained authority to confer degrees.

Originally operating from the future stock exchange building on Princes Street, it relocated to the Clocktower
University of Otago Registry Building

The University of Otago Registry Building is one of the most notable pieces of architecture in the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Built in several stages from 1879, it contains the university's clocktower , and stands next to the banks of the Water of Leith, New Zealand....
 and Geology buildings in 1878 and 1879.

Otago was the first university in Australasia to permit women to take a law degree, Ethel Benjamin
Ethel Benjamin

Ethel Rebecca Benjamin was New Zealand?s first female lawyer. On 17 September 1897, she became the first woman in the British Empire to appear as counsel in court, representing a client for the recovery of a debt....
 graduated LLB in 1897, and later that year became the first woman in the British Empire to appear as counsel in court.

Professor Robert Jack made the first radio broadcast in New Zealand from the physics department on 17 November 1921.

Faculties

Administratively, the university is divided into four divisions: Commerce, Health Sciences, Humanities, and Sciences. For external and marketing purposes, the Division of Commerce is known as the School of Business, as that is the term commonly used for its equivalent in North America. Historically, there were a number of Schools and Faculties, which have now been grouped with standalone departments to form these divisions.

In addition to the usual university disciplines, the Otago Medical School
University of Otago Dunedin School of Medicine

The Dunedin School of Medicine is one of three medical schools that make up the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Otago. All Otago University medical students who gain entry after a first year "Health Sciences" program, or who gain graduate entry spend their second and third years studying in Dunedin at the school of medicine....
 (founded 1875) is one of only two in New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
 (with constituent branches in Christchurch
University of Otago Christchurch School of Medicine

The Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences is one of three medical schools that make up the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Otago....
 and Wellington
University of Otago Wellington School of Medicine

The Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences is one of three medical schools that make up the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Otago....
), and is the only university in the country to offer training in Dentistry. Other professional schools and faculties not found in all New Zealand universities include Pharmacy, Physical Education, Physiotherapy, Medical Laboratory Science, and Surveying. It was also home to the School of Mines, until this was transferred to the University of Auckland
University of Auckland

File:University Of Auckland Tamaki Campus.jpgThe University of Auckland is New Zealand's largest university and the top-ranked New Zealand university in the THES - QS World University Rankings....
 in 1987. Theology is also offered, traditionally in conjunction with the School of Ministry, Knox College
Knox College, Otago

Knox College is a privately run residential college affiliated to the University of Otago in New Zealand, providing accommodation for primarily first and second year students, with a smaller number of postgraduates....
, and Holy Cross, Mosgiel.

Students

Enrolment By Qualification Type 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003
Doctoral 1,074 935 829 755 723
Masters 1,048 1,052 1,108 1,060 994
Bachelors Honours 750 736 769 771 763
Bachelors Ordinary 13,136 12,868 12,939 12,711 12,186
Postgraduate Diplomas and Certificates 1,435 1,507 1,378 1,353 1,345
Graduate Diplomas and Certificates 494 204 392 314 298
Undergraduate Diplomas and Certificates 265 216 239 318 344
Intermediates 1,084 965 991 1,003 909
Miscellaneous 1,246 1,235 1,326 1,291 1,186
Sub-degree 133 135 86 98 96
Total 20,665 19,853 20,057 19,674 18,844


Ethnicity of Students 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003
European/Pakeha 68.4% 68.3% 69.1% 69.5% 71.8%
Maori 6.9% 6.4% 6.2% 6.1% 6.3%
Asian 15.6% 16.5% 16.1% 15.2% 13.5%
Pacific Islanders 2.6% 2.6% 2.5% 2.5% 2.4%
Other / unknown 6.5% 6.2% 6.1% 6.6% 5.9%


Campuses


In addition to the main Dunedin campus, the University has small facilities in Auckland
Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area or Greater Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban areas of New Zealand with over 1.3 million residents, percent of the country's population....
 and Wellington (based at Westpac Stadium
Westpac Stadium

Westpac Stadium, previously known as WestpacTrust Stadium, is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. Due to its shape, it is colloquially known as The Cake-Tin in other parts of New Zealand, although the locals refer to it by either its proper name or simply as The Stadium....
). The medical schools have larger campuses near Christchurch and Wellington Hospitals. Additionally, the University has the Portobello
Portobello

Portobello or Porto Bello may refer to:Placenames* Portobelo, Panama * The Battle of Porto Bello, a 1739 British naval victory from which may other uses take their name....
 Marine Laboratory on Otago Harbour
Otago Harbour

Otago Harbour is the harbor of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland....
.

Merger with Dunedin College of Education


The University and the Dunedin College of Education
Dunedin College of Education

The University of Otago College of Education is a teacher-training facility in Dunedin, New Zealand, run as part of the University of Otago since 2007....
 (a specialist teacher training institution) merged on 1 January 2007. The University of Otago College of Education is now based on the College site, and includes the College's campuses in Invercargill
Invercargill

Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland, New Zealand List of regions in New Zealand....
 and Alexandra
Alexandra, New Zealand

Alexandra is a town in the Central Otago district of the Otago region of New Zealand. It is located on the banks of the Clutha River , on New Zealand State Highway network, 188 km by road from Dunedin and 33 km south of Cromwell, New Zealand....
. Staff of the University's Faculty of Education relocated to the college site. A merger had been considered before, however the present talks progressed further, and more amicably, than previously.

Student Lifestyle


O-Week


'O-Week' or Orientation Week is the Otago equivalent of Fresher's Week. While the new students are sometimes referred to as 'freshers' the label of 'first years' is more common. O-week is organised by the Student's Association OUSA
OUSA

OUSA may mean:* The Otago University Students' Association* The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance* The Organization of African Trade Union Unity ...
 and involves competitions such as 'Fresher of the Year' whereby several students volunteer to carry out a series of tasks throughout the week before being voted to win. All tasks are related to the O-Week theme. The OUSA also organise events each night including various concerts, a comedy night, hypnotist plus busses to Carisbrook
Carisbrook

Carisbrook is a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it has also been used for other sports such as cricket, football , rugby league and motocross....
 (at the other end of Dunedin) where the Highlanders usually schedule a game. Local bars organise events also with a range of live music and promotional deals including the Cookathon and a Miss O-Week competition hosted by The Outback. The Cookathon is held by a local pub (the Cook) with the premise that your first drink costs you about $20 which gives you a t-shirt, three meal vouchers and reduced price on drinks then you spend the rest of the day binge drinking and telephoning the occasional jug with mates.
Traditions
Each year the first years are encouraged to attend the toga parade and party dressed in white sheets wrapped as togas. Retailers called for an end of the parade after property damage and disorder during the 2009 event. A clocktower race also occurs, in the style of Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire

Chariots of Fire is a United Kingdom film released in 1981 in film. Written by Colin Welland and directed by Hugh Hudson, it is based on the true story of British athletes preparing for and competing in the 1924 Summer Olympics....
. Students must race round the tower and attached building, beginning on the first chime of the clock at noon and completing before the chimes cease. Unlike Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire

Chariots of Fire is a United Kingdom film released in 1981 in film. Written by Colin Welland and directed by Hugh Hudson, it is based on the true story of British athletes preparing for and competing in the 1924 Summer Olympics....
 the task is possible with a couple of students completing each year.
Themes
Each year a theme is chosen for the O-week festivities, usually based on a recent movie or TV show. The week is then branded with altered posters depicting the theme plus all events are somehow linked to this (except for 2008).
  • Supersize Me - 2005
  • Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - 2006
  • Prison Break
    Prison Break

    Prison Break is an American serial drama Television program created by Paul Scheuring, which premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company on August 29, 2005....
     - 2007
  • Orientation '08 - 2008
  • Orientation '09 - 2009


Couch burning

Couch burning is a frequent, illegal
Arson

Arson is the crime of deliberately and maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires caused by lightning for example....
, problem with partying students in the student neighbourhood surrounding the campus. In 2007, a pub owner was charged with sedition
Sedition

Sedition is a term of law which refers to covert conduct, such as Speech communication and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority as tending toward insurrection against the established order....
 over a pamphlet offering O-Week students the prize of a fuel-soaked couch.

Student protest

Otago students are notable for protesting contentious political issues in nearly every decade. In the 1960s students at Otago who were involved with the Progressive Youth Movement led protests against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War

The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina Wars, the Vietnam Conflict, or often in Vietnam the American War occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1959 to April 30, 1975....
. In the 1970s mixed flatting (males and females were prohibited from sharing housing up to that time) was contested in various creative ways by Otago students. On 28 September 1993 Otago students protested against a fee increase at the university, going as far as occupying the University Registry (Clocktower Building), which ended in a violent clash with police.. Since 2004, the Otago University NORML club has met twice weekly on the Otago campus to protest what they term 'New Zealand's unjust cannabis prohibition laws', an action which precipitated the first on-campus arrests of students since the Registry occupation. Additional issuses protested during 2008 included student debt, civil unrest in Tibet
Tibet

Tibet is a Tibetan Plateau in Asia, north of the Himalayas, and the home to the indigenous Tibetan people and its related ethnic groups. With an average elevation of 4,900 metres , it is the highest region on Earth and has in recent decades increasingly been referred to as the "Roof of the World"....
, and a protest against the legalise cannabis demonstrations.

Distinctions

Otagoulibrary
Many Fellowships add to the diversity of the people associated with "Otago". They include:
  • Robert Burns Fellowship
    Robert Burns Fellowship

    The Robert Burns Fellowship, established in 1958 as a bicentennial celebration, is claimed to be New Zealand's premier fellow. The list of past fellows includes many of New Zealand's most notable writers....
     (literature)
  • Caroline Plummer Fellowship in Community Dance
  • Charles Hercus Fellowship
  • Claude McCarthy Fellowship
  • Foxley Fellowship
  • Frances Hodgkins Fellowship
    Frances Hodgkins Fellowship

    The Frances Hodgkins Fellowship, established in 1962, is one of New Zealand's premier arts residencies. The list of past fellows includes many of New Zealand's most notable artists....
     (art)
  • Henry Lang Fellowship
  • Hocken Fellowship
  • James Cook Fellowship
  • Mozart Fellowship
    Mozart Fellowship

    The Mozart Fellowship is a 12-month composer residency attached to the Music Department of the University of Otago. It may be awarded for a second time only to any one composer....
     (music)
  • THB Symons Fellowship
  • William Evans Visiting Fellowship


In 1998, the physics department gained some fame for making the first Bose-Einstein condensate in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere

The Southern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is south of the equator?the word sphere literally means 'half ball'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere south of the celestial equator....
.

The 2006 Government investigation into research quality (to serve as a basis for future funding) ranked Otago the top University in New Zealand overall, taking into account the quality of its staff and research produced. It was also ranked first in the categories of Clinical Medicine, Biomedical Science, Law, English Literature and Language, History and Earth Science. The Department of Psychology received the highest score for any nominated academic unit. Otago had been ranked fourth in the 2004 assessment.

In 2006, a report released by the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology found that Otago was the most research intensive university in New Zealand, with 40% of staff time devoted to research and development.

Journal "Science" has recommended worldwide study of Otago's Biochemistry database "Transterm
Transterm

Transterm is a database of mRNA sequences, codon usage, and associated cis-regulatory elements that regulate gene expression. Many of these elements are in the 3' UTR....
", which has genomic
Genomics

Genomics is the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts....
 data on 40,000 species.

Otago was recently ranked 79th from a listing of top 200 institutions in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and within 201-300 in the Shanghai Jiaotong rankings of world top 500 universities.

Residential Colleges


The vast majority of first year ("fresher") students at the University of Otago stay in one of the many Residential Colleges
Residential college

A residential college is an organisational pattern for a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a halls of residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federalism relationship with the overall university....
. These provide food, accommodation, social and welfare services. Some of the colleges have developed a strong institutional personality over the years. This becomes self-perpetuating as applicants choose the college most suited to their own personality.

Quiet, conservative St Margaret's College
St Margaret's College, Otago

Saint Margaret's College, Otago is a hall of residence in Dunedin, New Zealand. Most of the residents are students at the University of Otago. Some residents study at Otago Polytechnic....
 is next to the largest College, University College
University College, Otago

University College , founded in 1969, is the largest residential hall at the University of Otago. It houses approximately 550 residents during the academic year....
 (Unicol) in the heart of the campus, which houses approximately 550 residents during the academic year. It is the most central hall on the campus, situated beside the university's original buildings.

Aquinas College, being the smallest and perhaps farthest of the halls, has developed a more tight-knit community than many of the others. City College is influenced by two-thirds of its students coming from the Dunedin College of Education
Dunedin College of Education

The University of Otago College of Education is a teacher-training facility in Dunedin, New Zealand, run as part of the University of Otago since 2007....
 or the Otago Polytechnic
Otago Polytechnic

The Otago Polytechnic is a public Education in New Zealand#Tertiary education, centred in Dunedin with campuses throughout the region of Otago including Cromwell, New Zealand, Wanaka and Queenstown, New Zealand....
, and Toroa International House is almost exclusively filled by international students. It provides accommodation that is welcoming and supportive yet allows residents to live, eat, study and socialise in an environment that meets their individual needs.

Residential Colleges affiliated with the University of Otago select students based on their marks, extracurricular activities and high school testimonials. However, some colleges are more selective than others. Although their order varies from year to year, the most selective colleges are consistently Knox College
Knox College, Otago

Knox College is a privately run residential college affiliated to the University of Otago in New Zealand, providing accommodation for primarily first and second year students, with a smaller number of postgraduates....
, Selwyn College
Selwyn College, Otago

Selwyn College is part of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. The college was founded by Bishop Samuel Tarratt Nevill in 1893 as a theological college training clergy for the Church of England....
 and Carrington College. Arana College
Arana College

Arana College is a residential college of the University of Otago, founded in 1943 by the Rev. William Turner and the Stuart Residence Halls Council....
 received the most placement request for 2007. Unsuccessful applicants are referred to other colleges.

St Margaret's College
St Margaret's College, Otago

Saint Margaret's College, Otago is a hall of residence in Dunedin, New Zealand. Most of the residents are students at the University of Otago. Some residents study at Otago Polytechnic....
 has similar entry standards, but the reputation of the college as quiet, religious and hard-working tends to attract a self-selected small group of highly-qualified applicants.

Otago's Residential Colleges are not as significant in the life of the University when compared with the Colleges and Halls of the Universities of Oxford
University of Oxford

The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
 and Cambridge
University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge , located in Cambridge, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation university in the Anglosphere....
. Some halls seek to imitate Oxbridge colleges (occasional tutorials, "fellows", chapels etc) but students' primary affiliation is to the University rather than the hall, and the bulk of formal education does not take place within the college.

CollegeFounded
Selwyn College
Selwyn College, Otago

Selwyn College is part of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. The college was founded by Bishop Samuel Tarratt Nevill in 1893 as a theological college training clergy for the Church of England....
1893
Knox College
Knox College, Otago

Knox College is a privately run residential college affiliated to the University of Otago in New Zealand, providing accommodation for primarily first and second year students, with a smaller number of postgraduates....
1909
St Margaret's College
St Margaret's College, Otago

Saint Margaret's College, Otago is a hall of residence in Dunedin, New Zealand. Most of the residents are students at the University of Otago. Some residents study at Otago Polytechnic....
1911
Studholme College1915
Arana College
Arana College

Arana College is a residential college of the University of Otago, founded in 1943 by the Rev. William Turner and the Stuart Residence Halls Council....
1943
Carrington College1945
Aquinas College
Aquinas College, Dunedin

File:Aquinas College, Dunedin 2009.jpgAquinas College is a residential college of the University of Otago, located in the Dunedin suburb of Dalmore....
1952
University College
University College, Otago

University College , founded in 1969, is the largest residential hall at the University of Otago. It houses approximately 550 residents during the academic year....
1969
Salmond College1971
Cumberland College
Cumberland Hall, Otago

Cumberland College is a residential college in Dunedin, New Zealand for the University of Otago. Cumberland College was established as a hall of residence in 1989....
1989
Hayward College1992
Toroa International House1996
City College2000
Abbey College2008




Notable people


Faculty

  • John Carew Eccles
    John Carew Eccles

    Sir John Carew Eccles, Order of Australia Royal Society Royal Australasian College of Physicians Royal Society of New Zealand Australian Academy of Science was an Australian neurophysiologist who won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the synapse....
    , Nobel Prize
    Nobel Prize

    The Nobel Prize , established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel Prize in Literature, and Nobel Peace Prize in 1901....
     winner, professor of physiology at the Medical School from 1944 to 1951.
  • Michael Cullen
    Michael Cullen

    Michael John Cullen is a New Zealand politician. He served as Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, also Minister of Finance , Minister of Tertiary Education, and Attorney-General ....
    , Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, lecturer from 1971 to 1981.
  • James R. Flynn
    James R. Flynn

    File:Jim Flynn Political Studies University of Otago.jpgJames Robert Flynn , aka Jim Flynn, Emeritus Professor of Political Studies at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, researches intelligence quotient and has become widely known for his discovery of the Flynn effect, the continued year-on-year rise of IQ scores in all p...
    , intelligence researcher, namesake of the Flynn Effect
    Flynn effect

    The Flynn effect is the rise of average Intelligence Quotient test scores over the generations, an effect seen in most parts of the world, although at greatly varying rates....
  • J. L. Mackie
    J. L. Mackie

    John Leslie Mackie was an Australian philosophy, originally from Sydney. He is perhaps best known for his views on meta-ethics, especially his defence of moral skepticism....
    , noted philosopher, faculty member 1955-1959


Alumni and alumnae

(with Hall of Residence, if any, in parentheses where known)
  • Arthur Henry Adams
    Arthur Henry Adams

    Arthur Henry Adams was a journalist and author....
    , journalist and writer
  • Annette Baier
    Annette Baier

    Annette C. Baier is a well-known ethics philosopher and David Hume scholar, focusing in particular on Hume's moral psychology. For most of her career she taught in the philosophy department at the University of Pittsburgh, having moved there from Carnegie Mellon University....
    , moral philosopher
  • Barbara Anderson
    Barbara Anderson

    Barbara Anderson is a New Zealand writer who has become internationally recognised, despite only starting her writing career in her late fifties....
    , novelist
  • David Benson-Pope
    David Benson-Pope

    David Henry Benson-Pope is a New Zealand Labour Party politician who has sat in the Parliament of New Zealand since 1999. He formerly served as a New Zealand Cabinet....
    , former MP and Labour cabinet minister
  • Dame Silvia Cartwright
    Silvia Cartwright

    Dame Silvia Rose Cartwright, New Zealand Order of Merit, Order of the British Empire, Queen's Service Order is a former Governor-General of New Zealand....
    , former High Court judge and Governor-General
  • Roderick Carr, former acting governor of the Reserve Bank, Vice-Chancellor of Canterbury University
  • David Cunliffe
    David Cunliffe

    David Richard Cunliffe is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the New Zealand Labour Party, and the sitting member of parliament for New Lynn , West Auckland....
     (Carrington), Labour MP, former Minister of Health
  • Sir Thomas Davis
    Tom Davis (Cook Islands)

    Sir Thomas Robert Alexander Harries Davis Order of British Empire was a Prime Minister of the Cook Islands and a medical researcher....
    , first Cook Islands
    Cook Islands

    The Cook Islands are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in Associated state with New Zealand. The fifteen small islands in this Pacific Ocean country have a total land area of 240 square kilometres , but the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone covers 1.8 million square kilometres of ocean....
     medical graduate in New Zealand, former Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
    Prime Minister of the Cook Islands

    The Prime Minister of the Cook Islands is the most powerful official within the government of the Cook Islands, a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand....
    , High Commissioner
    High Commissioner

    High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages....
     to New Zealand, and research physiologist with NASA
    NASA

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, responsible for the nation's public list of space agencies....
    . M.B.Ch.B. (1945) LL.D. (2005).
  • Marc Ellis (Unicol), rugby and TV personality
  • Bill English
    Bill English

    Simon William "Bill" English is the Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, Minister of Finance and Minister of Infrastructure of New Zealand....
     (Selwyn), former National Party
    New Zealand National Party

    The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties....
     leader
  • Janet Frame
    Janet Frame

    Janet Paterson Frame, Order of New Zealand, Order of the British Empire published eleven novels in her lifetime, together with three collections of short stories, a book of poetry, an edition of juvenile fiction, and three volumes of autobiography....
    , author
  • Ian Fraser
    Ian Fraser (broadcaster)

    Ian Fraser Order of British Empire is a New Zealander who was the chief executive officer of Television New Zealand from 2002 until 2005. During his time in this office, TVNZ made a transition from a wholly commercial broadcaster to a public company operating under a charter....
    , broadcaster, head of Television New Zealand
  • William Fyfe
    William Fyfe

    William Sefton Fyfe, Order of Canada, Royal Society of Canada, Royal Society is a Canada geologist and Professor Emeritus in the department of Earth Sciences at the University of Western Ontario....
    , Geochemist
  • Jon Gadsby
    Jon Gadsby

    Jon Gadsby Queen's Service Order is a New Zealand television comedian and writer, most well known for his role in the comedy series McPhail and Gadsby co-starring alongside David McPhail....
    , comedian and actor
  • Tim Gibson, chief executive of NZ Trade & Enterprise
  • Malcolm Grant
    Malcolm Grant

    Malcolm Grant , CBE, is the Provost and President of University College London. He took up the post ? the principal academic and administrative officer and head of UCL ? on 1 August 2003....
    , President and Provost
    Provost (education)

    Provost is the title of a senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada. It is the equivalent of Deputy Vice Chancellor or Pro-Vice-Chancellor at certain institutions in United Kingdom and Ireland such as Trinity College Dublin, and the head of certain ancient colleges ....
    , University College London
    University College London

    University College London is a university institution and constituent college of the University of London based primarily in London, England, United Kingdom....
    , Environmental Law specialist.
  • Julian Grimmond, co-producer of "The Amazing Race", which won two consecutive Primetime Emmys
  • Graeme Hart
    Graeme Hart

    Graeme Hart is a New Zealand businessman reported to be the richest person in New Zealand with a personal fortune of NZ$6.1 billion according to the 2008 Forbes rich list....
    , reportedly the richest person in New Zealand in 2007.
  • Jan Hellriegel
    Jan Hellriegel

    Jan Hellriegel is a singer/songwriter based in Auckland, New Zealand.Her first recorded appearances were with her brother Rob Hellriegel's band, Working With Walt, in Dunedin in the mid 1980s, where Jan studied at the University of Otago....
    , singer/songwriter
  • Greg Henderson
    Greg Henderson

    Gregory Henderson is a professional track cyclist and road racing cyclist who currently rides for Team Columbia. His career highlights include becoming the 2004 world champion by winning the 15km scratch race at the world cycling championships and, in road cycling, winning the points competition at the Tour de Georgia 2005 Tour de Georgia....
    , world-champion track cyclist and road cyclist
  • Fergus Hume
    Fergus Hume

    Fergusson Wright Hume, known as Fergus Hume was an England novelist....
    , English novelist
  • David Kirk
    David Kirk

    David Edward Kirk, Order of the British Empire, , is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He is best known for having been the captain of the All Blacks when they won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 Rugby World Cup....
    , Rhodes scholar, World Cup winning All Black captain and former CEO Fairfax (Australia)
  • Josh Kronfeld
    Josh Kronfeld

    Joshua Adrian Kronfeld is a former rugby union footballer who represented All Blacks at international level and Otago Rugby Football Union, Otago Highlanders and Leicester Tigers at first-class level....
    ,(Aquinas College) All Black and Physiotherapy graduate
  • Chris Laidlaw
    Chris Laidlaw

    Christopher Robert Laidlaw , Rhodes Scholarship, All Black, diplomat, Member of Parliament, talk radio host, author, is a 20th century New Zealand figure....
    , All Black and politician
  • Michael Laws
    Michael Laws

    Michael Laws , a New Zealand politician, broadcaster and writer/columnist, served two terms as a Member of the New Zealand Parliament, representing the New Zealand National Party and New Zealand First ....
    , (Arana Hall) politician, writer, broadcaster, Mayor of Wanganui
    Wanganui

    Wanganui is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region.Like several New Zealand centres, it was officially designated a List of cities in New Zealand until administrative reorganisation in 1989, and is now run by a District Council....
  • John Edward "Jack" Lovelock
    Jack Lovelock

    John "Jack" Edward Lovelock was a New Zealand Track and field athletics, and a 1936 Summer Olympics champion.Born in the town of Crushington, New Zealand as the son of England immigrants, Lovelock showed a talent for sports while at Timaru Boys' High School....
    , athlete
  • Sir Kamisese Mara
    Kamisese Mara

    Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara Order of St Michael and St George Order of British Empire Order of Fiji, is considered the Father of the Nation of the modern nation of Fiji....
     (Knox), Fiji
    Fiji

    Fiji , officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands , is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga and south of Tuvalu....
    an politician
  • Archibald McIndoe
    Archibald McIndoe

    Sir Archibald McIndoe Order of British Empire Royal College of Surgeons of England was a pioneering New Zealand Plastic surgery who worked for the Royal Air Force during World War II....
    , plastic surgeon
  • Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas, former head of the City of London Corporation.
  • Joseph William Mellor
    Joseph William Mellor

    Joseph William Mellor was a chemist.He was born in Lindley, West Yorkshire, Huddersfield, England, in 1869. He grew up on New Zealand's South Island where his father found employment in the textile industry....
    ,F.R.S., chemist
  • Arnold Nordmeyer
    Arnold Nordmeyer

    Sir Arnold Henry Nordmeyer, Order of New Zealand, Order of St Michael and St George , born Heinrich Arnold Nordmeyer, was a New Zealand politician....
    , Opposition and Labour Party Leader
  • Anton Oliver
    Anton Oliver

    Anton David Oliver is a retired New Zealand rugby union footballer who most recently played professionally for the Rugby Pro D2 club RC Toulonnais, recently noted for signing veteran greats including former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga and great George Gregan....
     (Unicol), rugby player and member of the All Blacks
    All Blacks

    The New Zealand national rugby union team, often referred to by their nickname the All Blacks, is the representative side of New Zealand in rugby union....
  • Lord Porritt
    Arthur Porritt, Baron Porritt

    Arthur Espie Porritt, Baron Porritt, Baronet, Order of St Michael and St George, Royal Victorian Order, Order of the British Empire was a New Zealand physician, military surgeon, statesman and Athletics ....
     (Selwyn), Olympic Games
    Olympic Games

    The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event established for both summer and winter sports. There have been two generations of the Olympic Games; the first were the Ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia, Greece, Greece....
     100 meters bronze medalist, Governor-General of New Zealand and physician to the Queen.
  • Robert Stout
    Robert Stout

    Sir Robert Stout Order of St Michael and St George was Prime Minister of New Zealand of New Zealand on two occasions in the late 19th century, and later Chief Justice of New Zealand....
    , Prime Minister & Chief Justice.
  • Peter Tapsell
    Peter Tapsell (New Zealand)

    Sir Peter Wilfred Tapsell, New Zealand Order of Merit, Order of the British Empire, Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, was Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1993 to 1996....
    , Cabinet minister
  • Jeremy Waldron
    Jeremy Waldron

    Jeremy Waldron is a professor of law and philosophy at the New York University School of Law. Waldron is currently Fowler-Hamilton Visiting Fellow at Christ Church, Oxford....
    , legal philosopher
  • Simon Wigley, professor of philosophy, Bilkent University
    Bilkent University

    Bilkent University , the first private university of Turkey, was founded in Ankara on October 20, 1984 by Ihsan Dogramaci through the resolution of the foundations which had earlier been established by him....
  • Allan Wilson
    Allan Wilson

    Allan Charles Wilson was a pioneer in the use of Molecular evolution approaches to understand evolutionary change and reconstruct phylogeny. One of the great innovators of science, he revolutionised the study of human evolution....
    , biologist
  • Dr. Sarah Winters Professor Of English Studies, Children's Literature Studies Leader


Rhodes Scholars from the University of Otago


(College at Oxford in brackets)(Source: )1 two of Dan Davin's
Dan Davin

Daniel Marcus Davin was an author who wrote about New Zealand, although for most of his career he was in Oxford, England with the Oxford University Press....
 novels are set at Otago University.

See also

  • Capping Show
    Capping Show

    The Capping Show is the name given to the University of Otago student revue. This is a comedy revue full of offensive and entertaining skits....
  • Hocken Library
    Hocken Library

    The Hocken Library is a research library, historical archive and art gallery based in the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is a national library administered by the University of Otago....
  • Otago MBA
  • Otago University (soccer)
    Otago University (soccer)

    Otago University is the football team of the University of Otago. The team is based at Logan Park, Dunedin in an area immediately beside the University of Otago....
  • Otago University Debating Society
    Otago University Debating Society

    The Otago University Debating Society was established in 1888 and is the oldest University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand society.For 118 years OUDS has aimed to provide a welcoming forum to debate issues facing New Zealand and beyond....
  • Otago University Rowing Club
    Otago University Rowing Club

    Otago University Rowing Club was established on the 16th of April 1929. The first President was Professor Carmalt Jones, who continued as president until 1944....
  • Otago University Social Rugby
    Hardmen RFC

    The Hardmen Rugby Football Club is a New Zealand social rugby union club who play in the University of Otago social rugby competition. The Hardmen RFC is based in Dunedin, New Zealand....
  • Otago University Tramping Club
    Otago University Tramping Club

    The Otago University Tramping Club is a large student club at the University of Otago for the pursuit of outdoor activities, mainly tramping, mountaineering and climbing....
  • OUSA Clubs and Societies Centre
    OUSA Clubs and Societies Centre

    The Otago University Students Association Clubs And Societies Centre is a multi-purpose recreation centre at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand....
  • Scarfie
    Scarfie

    Nickname for a student of the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Derived from the cold local climate and the tradition of wearing gold and blue striped scarves....
  • Scarfies
    Scarfies

    Scarfies is a low-budget 1999 New Zealand film set in the southern university city of Dunedin. The film's title comes from the local nickname for university students, scarfie, so called because of the traditional blue and gold scarves worn by students during the city's cool winters in support of the Otago Rugby Football Union....
  • Undie 500 Car Rally
    Undie 500 Car Rally

    The Undie 500 is an annual student-run car rally between Christchurch and Dunedin, New Zealand. The event is held on the last Friday of the third term and was organised by the University of Canterbury Engineering Society Inc....
  • University of Otago Christchurch School of Medicine
    University of Otago Christchurch School of Medicine

    The Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences is one of three medical schools that make up the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Otago....
  • University of Otago Dunedin School of Medicine
    University of Otago Dunedin School of Medicine

    The Dunedin School of Medicine is one of three medical schools that make up the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Otago. All Otago University medical students who gain entry after a first year "Health Sciences" program, or who gain graduate entry spend their second and third years studying in Dunedin at the school of medicine....
  • University of Otago Faculty of Dentistry
    University of Otago Faculty of Dentistry

    University of Otago Faculty of Dentistry is one of the faculties of the University of Otago.Founded in 1907, the Faculty of Dentistry is the only Faculty and School of Dentistry in New Zealand....
  • University of Otago Faculty of Law
    University of Otago Faculty of Law

    The Faculty of Law is one the professional schools at the University of Otago. Otago is New Zealand's oldest law school, lectures in law having begun in 1873....
  • University of Otago Registry Building
    University of Otago Registry Building

    The University of Otago Registry Building is one of the most notable pieces of architecture in the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Built in several stages from 1879, it contains the university's clocktower , and stands next to the banks of the Water of Leith, New Zealand....
  • University of Otago Wellington School of Medicine
    University of Otago Wellington School of Medicine

    The Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences is one of three medical schools that make up the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Otago....


External links