Victoria University of Wellington

University Information, Campus and History
(Wellington, New Zealand)

Victoria University of Wellington is one of the largest, most prestigious, and oldest universities in New Zealand. It is known for its outstanding degree programmes in humanities, law, and other scientific disciplines.

Established in 1897 through a Parliament Act, the university started out as Victoria College, named in honour of Queen Victoria for her Diamond Jubilee celebration that year. During its first few years, all academic discussions were held in rented accommodation units in the city while the authorities debated about where the university campus should be built. A few years later, the College Council decided to establish the first university campus buildings on six acres in Kelburn, the site where the Kelburn Campus stands today. Victoria University of Wellington now has four campuses, which include Kelburn Campus, Karori Campus, Te Aro Campus and Pipitea Campus.

Along with the establishment of the academic buildings and facilities, the student population also increased dramatically, rising from 254 in 1905 to more than 700 in less than 20 years of operation. In 1961, the University of New Zealand was dissolved to make way for the establishment of Victoria College as an independent university to be eventually called Victoria University of Wellington in 1962.

The university gradually expanded its degree programmes, facilities, student body and teaching staff. Today, it has more than 20,000 students enrolled in various courses, including around 2,500 international students, and around 1,900 research, academic and non-academic staff.


The Victoria University of Wellington has six faculties:

• Architecture and Design
• Commerce and Administration
• Education
• Humanities and Social Sciences
• Law
• Science

Facilities

The university has several libraries including the Central Library, Law Library, Architecture and Design Library, Commerce Library and the W J Scott Library, all of which are open to all registered students of the university.

It has computer facilities readily available to all students. Because computers are used in many teaching courses, students can now view their course materials, download notes and lessons, check grade, and exchange messages and other documents with co-students and professors online. In relation to this, the university has established the Blackboard Online Teaching and Learning system, which is a university-wide system that provides a more flexible and versatile approach to learning and teaching. It offers students a range of educational tools designed for personal productivity such as task lists, calendars and an address book.

The university's Language Learning Centre was established to support the students taking up language courses. However, university staff, international students, and ordinary individuals who are interested in learning a foreign language can also go to the centre.

Famous Students

The Victoria University of Wellington is proud to have Alan Graham MacDiarmid as its alumnus. He studied Chemistry at the university and attained a bachelor's and a master's degree. In 2000, he received a Nobel Prize for Chemistry because of his work on conductive polymers.

For over 100 years now, Victoria University of Wellington has been recognised and fully accredited by the government. It is committed to meeting the demands of its local and international students. For foreign students who are interested in enrolling at WUV, the enquiry numbers and contact information are as follows:

Contact Victoria University of Wellington:
Address: Wellington, 6140, New Zealand
Tel: +64 (0)4 472 1000 Fax: +64 (0)4 499 4601 Email: info-desk@vuw.ac.nz Website: http://www.victoria.ac.nz

Victoria University of Wellington international students enquiries number: +64 4 463 5350