Originally founded as Canterbury College in 1873, the University of Canterbury (UC) is the second oldest university in New Zealand.
With historic ties to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, UC was by set up scholars who based it on the Oxbridge model.
Unlike Oxford, however, women students were permitted from the outset. One of the university’s earliest graduates, Helen Connon, was the first woman in the British Empire (as was) to be granted a degree with Honours.
Located in the Christchurch suburb of Ilam, the university is a ten minute drive away from the city centre and close to both mountains and the sea. Its campus houses a variety of facilities including libraries, laboratories and research centres to accommodate its 14,000 students.
UC offers 70 degree programmes across five colleges, including Arts, Business and Economics, Education, Engineering and Science, and a School of Law. It also boasts the most extensive network of field stations for research of any New Zealand university, with sites in Antarctica and Nigeria (as part of the Nigerian Montane Forest conservation project) and the country’s leading astronomical research facility at Mount John, Tekapo.
The main campus is set within 87 hectares of land and student accommodation is surrounded by playing fields and forests, as well as the renowned Ilam Gardens, famous for its flowers, trees and waterways.
The UC campus and Student Union is currently undergoing a huge renovation following the disaster wrought on it by the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The new building, expected to open in 2018, will include new student accommodation, social and study spaces and, what the university says will be, the most modern teaching and research facilities in the southern hemisphere.
Among UC’s alumni are leading New Zealand artist Rita Angus, children’s author Margaret Mahy, classical conductor Gemma New and legendary physicist Ernest Rutherford, whose face graces the nation’s bank notes.
One of the leading research universities in New Zealand, the University of Canterbury was founded by scholars of Oxford and Cambridge universities in 1873, making it the second oldest in New Zealand and the fourth oldest in Australasia, Since its establishment, the University of Canterbury has produced graduates who have gone on to become leaders in their fields. Today, Canterbury graduates go on to high-calibre jobs, are accepted into prestigious university programmes and secure research positions around the world. The University is located in attractively landscaped grounds in the suburb of Ilam, ten minutes drive from the city centre and an international airport. Lecture theatres, research centres, libraries, laboratories, studios, computer workrooms, halls of residence and a host of other student services and facilities are all located on campus. The University is structured around five Colleges: Arts, Business and Economics, Education, Engineering and Science and a School of Law. Each balances a commitment to innovation with a well deserved reputation for academic excellence. Education is a significant investment, so it is reassuring that Canterbury offers qualifications that are recognized worldwide.
UNDERGRADUATEThe University of Canterbury enjoys an international reputation as a university that has a distinguished heritage, embraces and extols traditional values of academic excellence and takes singular pride in its strong research culture. The University (five colleges - Arts, Business and Economics, Education, Engineering and Science and School of Law) is located in attractively landscaped grounds in the suburb of Ilam, ten minutes drive from the city centre and an international airport. Lecture theatres, research centres, libraries, laboratories, studios, computer workrooms, halls of residence and a host of other student services and facilities are all located on campus. The University has an impressive profile in research, learning and advanced scholarship as is evidenced by its strong performance in recent Performance-Based Research Fund exercises. This fuels the University's resolve to continue with strong contributions to fundamental and applied research, with well-regarded postgraduate and research programmes and with strong research and collaborative links with other leading tertiary institutions and research organisations, nationally and internationally. The University's teaching programmes represent a heritage of solidly-grounded basic disciplines in the laboratory sciences, commerce, education, engineering, field sciences, forestry, humanities, information and communication technology, law, life sciences, social sciences and visual and performing arts.