The University of Otago is a public research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in Oceania.
Otago is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately 32,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi), making it the country's second largest local government region. Its population was 254,600 in June 2023.
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The city has a rich Māori, Scottish, and Chinese heritage.
Knox College is a selective residential college, founded and run by the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and affiliated with University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. The college is set in a 4.57 hectares landscaped site in Opoho on the opposite side of the Dunedin Botanic Gardens from the university. It is named after John Knox, a sixteenth century leader of the Scottish Reformation, whose efforts in establishing a universal system of free education comprising both academic learning and character formation had a profound influence, not just in Scotland, but internationally, as subsequent generations of Scottish settlers, products of the Scottish Enlightenment, emigrated to far-flung corners of the globe, including New Zealand, taking with them a deep-seated belief in the benefits of applied knowledge and a broad and liberal education. Those strong Scottish Presbyterian foundations are something that Knox College has in common with the university to which it is affiliated. They are depicted on the college's Coat of Arms in the form of a blue St Andrew's Cross. Superimposed on the St Andrew's Cross is the image of a white dove in flight, carrying an olive branch in its mouth, a symbolic depiction of the flood myth in Genesis 8, wherein the olive-branch-bearing dove is a symbol of life and peace. The college motto, Gratia et Veritas (Latin), or Grace and Truth (English), comes from the Prologue to the Gospel according to Saint John.
Selwyn College is a residential college affiliated to the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was founded by Bishop Samuel Tarratt Nevill as a theological college training clergy for the Anglican Church and as a hall of residence for students attending the university. It is named after George Augustus Selwyn, the first Bishop of New Zealand and is owned by the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin. It was opened on 15 January 1893. It was Otago's first residential college and on the model of an English university college it included students of all subjects. Women were admitted in 1983. The main building is listed as a Category II Historic Place. Selwyn is one of the most popular colleges in Dunedin, its 214 available places oversubscribed every year.
Carrington College is a residential college of the University of Otago. This complex of buildings has accommodation for 243 students and was opened in 1945. It was the first university hall of residence in Australasia to accept both male and female students. It is named for G.W. Carrington, a former head of the Otago Education Board. The current Warden is Ali Norton.
Dunedin is a city of 134,600 people in the South Island of New Zealand. The principal suburbs of Dunedin are as follows. Inner and outer suburbs are ordered by location, clockwise from the city centre, starting due north:
University College (UniCol), founded in 1969, is the largest residential hall at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. It houses approximately 501 residents during the academic year. Originally consisting of two towers, North Tower and South Tower, it has since been expanded with the acquisition of a set of flats on Clyde street and then in 2004 with the Northern and Southern Annexes. It is the most central college on the campus, situated beside the university's original buildings. The college is home to a variety of University of Otago students from all over the world. These students pursue a myriad of different degrees.
Arana College is a residential college of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, founded in 1943 by the Rev. Harold W.Turner and the Stuart Residence Halls Council. The name "Arana" is a Māori transliteration of "Allen", chosen to honour Sir James Allen, a former Vice Chancellor (1903–1909) and Chancellor (1909–1912) of the University of Otago. The current warden is Ruben Katigbak.
Otago Polytechnic is a public New Zealand tertiary education institute, centred in Dunedin with additional campuses in Cromwell and Auckland. Otago Polytechnic provides career-focused education and training, offering a range of New Zealand accredited postgraduate qualifications, degrees, diplomas and certificates at levels 2–10. In November 2022, it became a business unit of the national mega polytechnic Te Pūkenga, ending its existence as an independent entity.
The Otago University Students' Association (OUSA) is the students' association of the University of Otago, New Zealand. OUSA was founded in 1890 to advance student interests on campus.
Robert Arthur Lawson was one of New Zealand's pre-eminent 19th century architects. The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography states that he did more than any other designer to shape the face of the Victorian era architecture of the city of Dunedin. He is the architect of over forty churches, including Dunedin's First Church for which he is best remembered, but also other buildings, such as Larnach Castle, a country house, with which he is also associated.
Columba College is an integrated Presbyterian school in Roslyn, Dunedin, New Zealand. The roll is made up of pupils of all ages. The majority of pupils are in the girls' secondary, day and boarding school, but there is also a primary school for boys and girls in years 1–6.
Saint Margaret's College, Otago is a residential college affiliated to the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. The current head of college is Elizabeth Koni. The previous head of college, Dr Charles Tustin, retired in January 2023. His predecessor, Dr Peter Norris, retired in November 2016 after 28 years of service to the college.
North East Valley is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin.
Ōpoho is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It sits on the western flank of Signal Hill, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to the northeast of the city centre, overlooking North East Valley and the Dunedin Botanic Gardens.
Knox Church is a notable building in Dunedin, New Zealand. It houses the city's second Presbyterian congregation and is the city's largest church of any denomination.
James Louis Salmond was a New Zealand architect active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of his buildings remain, particularly in Otago. He established a practice carried on by his son and grandson into the 21st century.
The majority of first year students at the University of Otago's Dunedin campus stay in one of the fourteen residential colleges, alongside a smaller number of senior students and postgraduates. These colleges provide food, accommodation, social and welfare services, as well as some degree of additional academic support, particularly for the largest papers.
Caroline Freeman College is a residential college owned and operated by the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. The college is located a short distance north of the Otago central campus near the Dunedin Botanical Gardens.
