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Student facts and figures

Equivalent full-time students (EFTS) 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Commerce 2,885 2,954 2,928 3,074 3,082
Health Sciences 6,267 6,089 5,871 5,857 5,815
Humanities 4,712 4,807 4,944 5,180 5,328
Sciences 4,334 4,437 4,413 4,458 4,375
Subtotal 18,198 18,287 18,156 18,570 18,600
Other group EFTS* 260 259 256 261 275
Total 18,457 18,547 18,421 18,830 18,875

* Other group EFTS comprise domestic EFTS enrolled in the Foundation Studies programme of the University Subsidiary Foundation Studies Limited, law professional EFTS and from 2002–2003 students in the Overseas Trained Doctors Bridging Programme.

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EFTS by type (University only) 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Domestic 16,708 16,854 16,793 17,172 17,155
International 1,490 1,433 1,363 1,397 1,445
Total 18,198 18,287 18,156 18,570 18,600

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Enrolment by qualification type 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
PhD 1,383 1,325 1,307 1,317 1,293
Professional Doctorates 118 86 80 71 68
Master’s 1,261 1,287 1,224 1,214 1,216
Postgraduate Diplomas 1,072 1,016 946 841 898
Postgraduate Certificates 690 638 596 547 485
Graduate Diplomas 243 294 314 388 416
Bachelor Honours 366 385 451 434 460
Bachelor’s 14,448 14,598 14,559 15,136 15,489
Undergraduate Diplomas 20 29 39 60 66
Undergraduate Certificates 0 0 0 5 7
Certificate of Proficiency 1,492 1,493 1,442 1,284 1,228
Interest Only 11 1 4 10 0
Foundation Studies 305 292 316 300 303
Other 0 0 4 6 7
Total 20,838 20,814 20,601 20,942 21,113

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Gender of students 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Female 12,272 12,147 11,879 12,004 12,171
Male 8,565 8,665 8,720 8,936 8,942
X 1 2 2 2 N/A
Total 20,838 20,814 20,601 20,942 21,113

Note: The Department of Internal Affairs has created X as a category to accommodate indeterminate or unspecified gender for the purposes of passports or other identification documents.

The University’s usage of X is consistent with this. Prior to 2014, X was not available as an option within the University’s student enrolment system.

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First-year and returning students 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
First year 3,770 4,002 3,738 4,057 4,149
Returning 17,068 16,812 16,863 16,885 16,964
Total 20,838 20,814 20,601 20,942 21,113

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Ethnicity of students 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
European / Pākehā 72.4% 73.1% 73.4% 74.3% 74.3%
Māori 9.3% 8.9% 8.5% 8.5% 8.0%
Asian 19.8% 19.2% 18.8% 18.3% 18.6%
Pacific 4.5% 4.2% 3.9% 3.6% 3.2%
Middle Eastern / Latin American / African 3.4% 3.4% 3.6% 3.5% 3.3%
Other / unknown 3.9% 3.7% 3.6% 3.2% 3.3%

Note: Ethnic data is expressed as a percentage because students may identify with more than one ethnic group.

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Home area of students 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Dunedin 3,043 3,127 3,182 3,407 3,627
Otago / Southland 1,860 1,969 2,033 2,213 2,309
Remainder of South Island 3,813 3,903 3,828 3,895 3,792
North Island 8,737 8,570 8,482 8,425 8,284
Overseas (including NZ citizens overseas) 3,348 3,191 3,014 2,938 3,012
Unknown 37 54 62 64 89
Total 20,838 20,814 20,601 20,942 21,113

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International students 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Undergraduate 1,807 1,810 1,768 1,868 1,879
Postgraduate 1,030 913 824 825 769
Total 2,837 2,723 2,592 2,693 2,648

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International students by home country 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
United States of America 798 721 656 581 578
China 500 488 458 452 426
Malaysia 241 241 254 287 405
India 130 118 103 99 101
United Kingdom 89 86 100 100 104
Germany 69 72 62 79 72
Singapore 68 52 45 45 42
Canada 67 54 54 66 87
Iran, Islamic Republic of 55 53 61 59 49
France 46 52 40 39 38
Brunei Darussalam 41 52 56 61 60
Indonesia 39 32 20 19 12
Japan 37 44 51 55 49
Thailand 31 30 32 32 33
Norway 30 34 25 31 18
Saudi Arabia 30 42 52 63 74
Korea, Republic of 30 31 32 38 46
Vietnam 27 25 26 27 26
Oman 27 30 30 30 25
Pakistan 27 21 21 11 13
Samoa 24 19 22 24 25
Other 431 426 392 378 342
Total 2,837 2,723 2,592 2,577 2,648

Note: Australian, Tokeluan, and Cook Islands students – whether resident in their home country or New Zealand prior to commencing study – are not counted as international students, and so are not included in the above figures.

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Home area of first-year students 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Dunedin 578 616 554 593 652
Otago / Southland 428 432 416 474 518
Remainder of South Island 714 831 768 876 833
North Island 1,794 1,826 1,722 1,882 1,822
Overseas (including NZ citizens overseas) 255 277 263 230 321
Unknown 1 20 15 2 3
Total 3,770 4,002 3,738 4,057 4,149

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Staff profile

Full-time equivalent (FTE) academic and research staff20172016201520142013
Females545535522512509
Males651662668676670
Total FTE academic and research staff1,1961,1961,1901,1881,179
Full-time equivalent (FTE) research-only staff
Females198181246240243
Males159155182183178
Total FTE research-only staff357336429423420
Full-time equivalent (FTE) professional staff
Females1,6041,4891,4031,4071,402
Males872841781770750
Total FTE professional staff
2,4762,3302,1842,1772,152
Total staff4,0293,8623,8033,7883,752

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Land and buildings

Land (hectares) 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Land owned by the University (other than endownment land) 33 32 33 33 33
Land in Crown title for the University 11 12 12 12 12
Endowment land 22,243 22,244 22,243 22,243 22,243
Total land controlled by the University 22,287 22,288 22,288 22,288 22,288

Note: Endowment land is tied up in long-term pastoral leases.

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University of Otago net assignable space (floor space in square metres) 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Commerce 7,662 8,633 8,453 8,714 8,929
Health Sciences 63,751 65,558 65,645 66,050 66,475
Humanities 19,364 19,702 20,027 20,167 20,163
Science 42,169 41,791 42,018 41,671 41,998
Administration and other 70,966 68,771 72,124 70,425 75,626
Corporate 759 759 759 759 776
Information services 15,113 15,195 15,687 15,803 15,962
Total 219,784 220,408 224,713 222,589 229,929

Note: 1. Assignable space is defined as the floor area measured from the inside face of the walls and deducting all the common-use areas (corridors, toilets, etc.) and non-inhabitable areas (lifts, stairs, service ducts, etc.). Corridors provided within ‘open plan’ offices are considered to be assignable space.

Note: 2. Assignable space at University-owned flats and residential colleges totals a further 56,577 m².

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Library

Library collection 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Books (volumes) 1,224,672 1,217,737 1,216,154 1,212,901 1,095,169
Serials (items) 455,644 459,541 467,117 493,941 570,385
Print serials subscriptions 2,855 2,915 3,247 3,791 3,932
Hocken pictures and photographs 1,136,251 1,131,493 1,131,458 1,130,574 1,130,452
Hocken linear meters of archives 10,272 10,178 10,034 9,950 9,680
Electronic serials available 169,530 152,490 171,199 164,304 215,047
Electronic books available 850,783 779,443 744,321 672,789 510,375
Seating places available 4,500 4,392 4,388 4,388 4,320

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