Student facts and figures
Equivalent full-time students (EFTS) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Commerce | 2,910 | 2,768 | 2,811 | 2,829 | 2,885 |
Health Sciences | 6,554 | 6,409 | 6,435 | 6,483 | 6,267 |
Humanities | 5,167 | 4,799 | 4,901 | 4,825 | 4,712 |
Sciences | 4,720 | 4,532 | 4,543 | 4,435 | 4,334 |
Subtotal | 19,351 | 18,508 | 18,689 | 18,572 | 18,198 |
Other group EFTS* | 252 | 215 | 226 | 268 | 260 |
Total | 19,603 | 18,722 | 18,915 | 18,840 | 18,457 |
* Other Group EFTS comprise EFTS enrolled in the Foundation Studies programme of the University subsidiary Foundation Studies Limited.
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Enrolment by qualification type | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
PhD | 1,397 | 1,368 | 1,402 | 1,399 | 1,383 |
Professional Doctorates | 196 | 180 | 177 | 142 | 118 |
Master's | 1,664 | 1,549 | 1,469 | 1,360 | 1,261 |
Postgraduate Diplomas | 985 | 832 | 942 | 1,063 | 1,072 |
Postgraduate Certificates | 687 | 595 | 649 | 628 | 690 |
Graduate Diplomas | 192 | 185 | 192 | 215 | 243 |
Bachelor Honours | 478 | 400 | 396 | 404 | 366 |
Bachelor’s | 15,429 | 14,782 | 14,728 | 14,677 | 14,448 |
Undergraduate Diplomas | 21 | 22 | 14 | 17 | 20 |
Undergraduate Certificates | 730 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Certificate of Proficiency | 730 | 1,151 | 1,1576 | 1,455 | 1,492 |
Interest Only | 12 | 5 | 13 | 5 | 11 |
Foundation Studies | 299 | 236 | 263 | 298 | 305 |
Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 21,549 | 20,721 | 21,240 | 21,108 | 20,838 |
Note: Enrolments by qualification type sum to more than the total headcount as students can enrol for more than one qualification type.
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Gender of students | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Female | 13,094 | 12,501 | 12,711 | 12,588 | 12,272 |
Male | 8,398 | 8,187 | 8,510 | 8,519 | 8,565 |
Gender Diverse | 57 | 33 | 19 | 1 | 1 |
Total | 21,549 | 20,721 | 21,240 | 21,108 | 20,838 |
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First-year and returning students | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
First year | 4,459 | 4,018 | 4,025 | 4,023 | 3,770 |
Returning | 17,090 | 17,215 | 17,085 | 17,068 | 16,812 |
Total | 21,549 | 20,721 | 21,240 | 21,108 | 20,838 |
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Ethnicity of students | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
European / Pākehā | 74.7% | 72.9% | 71.5% | 71.4% | 72.4% |
Māori | 11.7% | 11.0% | 10.3% | 9.9% | 9.3% |
Asian | 19.3% | 20.0% | 20.3% | 20.5% | 19.8% |
Pacific | 6.0% | 5.5% | 5.0% | 4.7% | 4.5% |
Middle Eastern / Latin American / African | 3.6% | 3.6% | 3.7% | 3.6% | 3.4% |
Other / unknown | 1.8% | 2.8% | 3.8% | 3.7% | 3.9% |
Note: Students who reported more than one ethnic group are counted once in each group reported. This means that the total number of responses for all ethnic groups can be greater than the total number of students who stated their ethnicities. Therefore, totals may be greater than 100%.
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Home area of students | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Dunedin | 3,116 | 2,968 | 3,078 | 2,999 | 3,043 |
Otago / Southland | 2,018 | 1,869 | 1,853 | 1,858 | 1,860 |
Remainder of South Island | 3,901 | 3,651 | 3,662 | 3,796 | 3,813 |
North Island | 10,300 | 9,368 | 9,180 | 8,946 | 8,737 |
Overseas (including NZ citizens overseas) | 2,200 | 2,852 | 3,448 | 3,482 | 3,348 |
Unknown | 14 | 13 | 19 | 27 | 37 |
Total | 21,549 | 20,721 | 21,240 | 21,108 | 20,838 |
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International students | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Undergraduate | 790 | 1,256 | 1,833 | 1,819 | 1,807 |
Postgraduate | 900 | 1,099 | 1,139 | 1,096 | 1,030 |
Total | 1,690 | 2,355 | 2,972 | 2,915 | 2,837 |
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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International students by home country | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
China | 464 | 445 | 525 | 507 | 500 |
Malaysia | 136 | 198 | 263 | 301 | 241 |
United States of America | 114 | 440 | 804 | 772 | 798 |
India | 87 | 150 | 149 | 133 | 130 |
Vietnam | 55 | 57 | 52 | 40 | 27 |
Indonesia | 45 | 50 | 48 | 43 | 39 |
Singapore | 44 | 68 | 70 | 68 | 52 |
Sri Lanka | 42 | 42 | 36 | 29 | 23 |
Iran, Islamic Republic of | 40 | 43 | 50 | 52 | 55 |
Oman | 38 | 40 | 37 | 33 | 27 |
Korea, Republic of | 38 | 33 | 37 | 29 | 30 |
United Kingdom | 36 | 64 | 64 | 85 | 89 |
Canada | 35 | 68 | 59 | 71 | 67 |
Fiji | 30 | 30 | 27 | 23 | 21 |
Pakistan | 30 | 31 | 36 | 34 | 27 |
Japan | 28 | 29 | 29 | 35 | 37 |
Thailand | 26 | 36 | 31 | 34 | 31 |
Samoa | 25 | 25 | 27 | 18 | 24 |
Kuwait | 23 | 20 | 12 | 4 | 4 |
Nepal | 22 | 26 | 27 | 21 | 16 |
Bangladesh | 22 | 24 | 27 | 26 | 23 |
Other | 310 | 423 | 520 | 491 | 472 |
Total | 1,690 | 2,353 | 2,972 | 2,915 | 2,837 |
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 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Dunedin | 654 | 575 | 577 | 573 | 578 |
Otago / Southland | 479 | 435 | 414 | 462 | 428 |
Remainder of South Island | 842 | 769 | 717 | 745 | 714 |
North Island | 2,329 | 2,023 | 2,015 | 1,950 | 1,794 |
Overseas (including NZ citizens overseas) | 154 | 216 | 302 | 293 | 255 |
Unknown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Total | 4,459 | 4,018 | 4,025 | 4,023 | 3,770 |
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Academic attainment | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Number of programme completions | | | | | |
Undergraduate diplomas and certificates | 92 | 104 | 97 | 130 | 143 |
Undergraduate degrees | 3,596 | 3,693 | 3,517 | 3,395 | 3,368 |
Postgraduate diplomas and certificates | 947 | 903 | 912 | 940 | 969 |
Postgraduate degrees | 1,312 | 1,183 | 1,044 | 1,054 | 1,056 |
Total University | 5,947 | 5,833 | 5,570 | 5,519 | 5,536 |
Commerce graduates | 764 | 775 | 709 | 724 | 700 |
Health Science graduates | 1,831 | 1,835 | 1,691 | 1,768 | 1,674 |
Humanities graduates | 1,279 | 1,289 | 1,237 | 1,099 | 1,275 |
Science graduates | 1,639 | 1,579 | 1,566 | 1,541 | 1,494 |
Interdivisional graduates | 434 | 405 | 367 | 387 | 393 |
Total University | 5,947 | 5,883 | 5,570 | 5,519 | 5,536 |
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Staff profile
Full-time equivalent (FTE) academic and research staff | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Females | 778 | 814 | 888 | 792 | 743 |
Males | 772 | 817 | 857 | 804 | 810 |
Total FTE academic and research staff | 1,552 | 1,631 | 1,746 | 1,596 | 1,552 |
Full-time equivalent (FTE) professional staff |
Females | 1,618 | 1,635 | 1,434 | 1,612 | 1,604 |
Males | 867 | 881 | 812 | 872 | 872 |
Total FTE professional staff | 2,493 | 2,523 | 2,246 | 2,484 | 2,476 |
Total staff | 4,044 | 4,154 | 3,996 | 4,080 | 4,029 |
Note: Total staff includes staff who identify as neither female nor male. Total reflects non-rounded FTE data.
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Research activities
Research activities (revised for previous years) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Research outputs produced | | | | | |
Total publications | 5,309 | 5,559 | 5,375 | 5,837 | 5,354 |
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Land and buildings
Land (hectares) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Land owned by the University (other than endownment land) | 35.43 | 33.4 | 33.7 | 33.9 | 33 |
Land in Crown title for the University | 10.81 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
Endowment land | 22,243 | 22,243 | 22,243 | 22,243 | 22,243 |
Total Freehold Land | 22,289 | 22,287 | 22,288 | 22,288 | 22,287 |
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University of Otago net assignable space (floor space in square metres) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Total | 221,350 | 221,750 | 223,565 | 220,495 | 219,784 |
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 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Books (volumes) | 1,232,823 | 1,237,274 | 1,235,974 | 1,231,268 | 1,224,672 |
Print serials subscriptions | 867 | 944 | 1,093 | 2,776 | 2,855 |
Hocken pictures and photographs | 1,143,779 | 1,142,817 | 1,141,358 | 1,137,522 | 1,136,251 |
Hocken linear meters of archives | 10,551 | 10,538 | 10,518 | 10,415 | 10,272 |
Electronic serials available | 254,918 | 233,395 | 199,772 | 163,586 | 169,530 |
Electronic books available | 1,607,631 | 1,118,416 | 1,037,433 | 953,812 | 850,783 |
Seating places available | 4,629 | 4,681 | 4,419 | 4,584 | 4,500 |
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