Founded by the community in 1964 with just over 100 students, the University of Waikato is now home to more than 13,000 students and 1,600 staff across its Hamilton and Tauranga campuses, located in the North Island of New Zealand.

The University of Waikato ranks among the country's top three universities and is placed 235th globally in the QS World University Rankings, holding the top spot in New Zealand for research citations per faculty member.

As a comprehensive University, Waikato strives to ensure its teaching and research have an impact and actively contribute to society’s most pressing challenges. Aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, the University collaborates with industry and business to create a fairer, safer, more peaceful world.  It boasts New Zealand's first Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute, the world's first Bachelor of Climate Change, and delivers world-leading research across areas including environmental sustainability, cyber security, health, and Indigenous wellbeing. 

The University is actively exploring new and innovative solutions to New Zealand’s health workforce crisis and has been instrumental in developing new programmes in Nursing, Pharmacy and Midwifery.

Waikato offers smaller class sizes, flexible study options, and work-integrated learning opportunities (compulsory in all our undergraduate degree programmes), with support from internationally acclaimed academics. The University is committed to improving outcomes for all its students and offers a wide range of support initiatives to help them achieve their goals. The diverse community includes a strong Māori (New Zealand’s Indigenous population) and Pacific presence and hosts 2,500 international students from more than 70 countries.  

The 65-hectare Hamilton campus features several award-winning architectural buildings including the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts, the Student Centre, and The Pā, a new facility incorporating a student hub and Indigenous meeting house. This year, it opened HIKO hub, a co-working space for businesses to engage with students and researchers.

The Tauranga campus, in the heart of the CBD, is home to the Coastal Marine Field Station and the Adams Centre for High Performance, providing a training facility for some of New Zealand’s leading athletes.