University of Canterbury

ABOUT UNIVERSITY

The University of Canterbury (UC), located in Christchurch, New Zealand, is the country’s second-oldest university, established in 1873 as Canterbury College. Originally part of the University of New Zealand, UC became an independent university in 1961, awarding its own degrees. The university initially operated in Christchurch’s central city in neo-Gothic buildings, which were later repurposed as the Christchurch Arts Centre after UC relocated to a larger campus in the suburb of Ilam, a move completed in 1975. Founded with the Oxbridge model, UC admitted female students from the outset and boasts notable early graduates such as Helen Connon, the first woman to graduate, and Āpirana Ngata, the first Māori graduate. The university expanded over time, founding a School of Art in 1882 and adding faculties of Arts, Science, Commerce, and Law by the 1920s. UC played a key role in the development of tertiary education in New Zealand, and its former agricultural college became Lincoln University in 1990. In the modern era, UC consists of five academic colleges and a School of Law, following a merger with the Christchurch College of Education in 2007. The university offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs in fields such as arts, commerce, education, fine arts, forestry, health sciences, law, music, social work, and more. Its Ilam campus includes facilities such as the James Hight Library and university halls of residence that once housed athletes during the 1974 Commonwealth Games. UC remains a prominent institution for research and education in New Zealand.