Whakarāpopototanga

At a glance

Key facts about the University's performance on the national and world stage.

Research

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington is New Zealand’s top ranked university for intensity of high-quality research (according to the latest Performance-Based Research Fund evaluation). It is the only university to twice top the country's main measure of research excellence.

More than 3,030 publications resulting from our researchers’ work were published in 2023.

Global rankings

Victoria University of Wellington consistently ranks among the top 300 of the world’s universities in the QS World University Rankings.

QS logo with five stars and the word outstanding

Outstanding quality

Victoria University of Wellington has an overall rating of Five Stars Plus—the maximum possible in the QS Stars University Ratings system.

According to QS, “Five Stars Plus-rated universities go above and beyond excellence, consistently delivering exceptional performance in every single category. From outstanding student satisfaction to cutting-edge research, they set the gold standard for higher education.”

Our university is one of only 23 in the world to achieve this outstanding rating. It’s a mark of our exceptional performance across multiple indicators, including academic reputation, student satisfaction, graduate employment rate, international collaborations, and campus facilities.

Find out more about what QS stars and ratings mean.

At the top

Overall, Victoria University of Wellington is in the top 2 percent of the world’s universities.

We are in the top 1% of the world's universities for 15 subjects and in the top 2% for 27 subjects in the latest QS World University Rankings.

The QS rankings results include one subject in the top 50 in the world—Linguistics.

We have nine other subjects in the top 100 of the QS rankings:

  • English Language and Literature
  • Performing Arts
  • Theology/Divinity and Religious Studies
  • Development Studies
  • Hospitality and Leisure Management
  • Law
  • Library and Information Management
  • Politics and International Studies
  • Geography.

Victoria University of Wellington has five further subjects in the top 150—History, Sociology, Psychology, Earth and Marine Sciences, and Geology—and six further subjects in the top 200—Modern Languages, Philosophy, Accounting and Finance, Communication and Media Studies, Education, and Geophysics.

Among universities in Aotearoa New Zealand, we are ranked first in three subjects—Linguistics, Library and Information Management, and Politics and International Studies.

Triple crown

Wellington School of Business and Government is one of an elite group of commerce faculties worldwide that hold the Triple Crown of international accreditations of EQUIS, AACSB (Business), and AMBA.

Our students

Victoria University of Wellington has around 17,000 students, including international students from around 120 countries. We awarded 5,634 qualifications in 2023.

Staff, schools, and faculties

The University has around 2,200 full-time equivalent staff, more than 1,000 of whom are involved in teaching and research.

The University has nine faculties, eight of which conduct teaching and research. Our faculties are divided into schools, many of which are closely aligned with our numerous research centres and institutes. The Faculty of Graduate Research is responsible for the administration of doctoral students’ candidature.

In addition, Toihuarewa is a university-wide faculty equivalent that provides a forum for Māori academic issues at the University and ensures there is appropriate Māori content in the University's teaching and research programmes.

Campuses and research institutes

Victoria University of Wellington has three main campuses and the Miramar Creative Centre in Wellington. We also have premises in Auckland.

In addition to the main campuses, we have a number of research centres and institutes.

Globally connected, nationally engaged

Victoria University of Wellington is a capital city university with strong global engagement. We work in partnership with universities and organisations around the world for the benefit of students, researchers, and communities.