New Zealand

BEST STUDENT CITIES IN NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand is mostly known as a tourist location, but what you might not know is that in recent years the country is steadily growing as a major study destination in the world. Every year, around 100,000 international students are enrolled in various Kiwi universities from all over the globe. The country has an English-speaking population, a variety of unique animal species, wide-ranging cuisine, and several wellknown universities. With exquisite beaches, and a plethora of adventure activities such as bungee jumping, river rafting, skydiving, and cave spelunking, it calls out to students who like an adrenaline rush. It is an affordable country as far as academics is concerned and you have the option to choose from a variety of streams like arts, communication, recreation, culinary arts, accountancy, and tourism and hospitality courses. As we have been closely working with students from years, at Whizstorm, we have come across the following top cities in New Zealand, that have been a popular choice amongst students based on the ease of stay and the quality and cost of study.

1. Auckland:

Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand, with over 1.6 million people and five major universities. Because the city is such a cultural hub, many programs centre around studying the Maori culture, art, and history. Auckland is also famous for being the filming location for the Lord of The Rings movies. The gorgeous sceneries and naturally beautiful landscapes make Auckland an ideal place to study film. However, being such a large city, Auckland has great courses from respectable universities in almost every department/stream. The University of Auckland is the highest-ranked university in the country, ranked at 91st in the world, and attracts a great number of international students every year. All the above factors have contributed to Auckland’s ranking of 27th in the QS Best Student Cities 2019 Rankings.

2. Christchurch:

Known as the Garden City due to its lush green landscapes and an abundance of public parks and gardens. Christchurch has beautiful Gothic Revival architecture houses that are a result of the English history of this city. The major industry in this city is Agriculture, and it is a great location for students who are interested in plants/farming. It is also a “gateway city” for exploring the continent of Antarctica, which attracts a lot of foreign tourists. However, despite being such a large city, Christchurch maintains a small-town feel and is very welcoming towards new students. Christchurch Is home to the University of Canterbury, which ranks at 211th in the world, and is also the second oldest university in the country for higher education. It is the only other city from New Zealand that is listed in the QS Best Student Cities Ranking and comes in at a ranking of 65th in the world.

3. Wellington:

The capital city of New Zealand is a great center for economic and social activities. It is also home to the world famous Te Papa Museum, filled with cultural artifacts. Wellington is famous for the large number of cafes that fill the streets and provide a rich variety of coffee tastes for your palate, and can be considered the coffee capital of the country. In terms of study opportunities, this city is more renowned for its creative arts programs, with both its major universities, Victoria University and Massey University, offering globally well-reputed courses in these fields. However, if creative arts is not your calling, you can still choose Wellington as it offers some great courses on politics/diplomacy as well.

4. Dunedin:

Home to a large variety of unique wildlife species like albatross, sea-lions and yellow-eyed penguins, this city attracts a large number of wildlife students and fans alike. In 2014, the UNESCO designated this city as a Creative City of Literature for its massive literary heritage, and literary events that occur throughout the year. This also means that there is a good number of literary businesses in this city which create great opportunities for students who wish to study and pursue literature. However, besides literature, the city is also a great choice for students who want to pursue technological streams with the famous Otago Polytechnic university offering some great courses in this field. Another world-famous university that is located in Dunedin is the University of Otago, which offers stunning student residences, some of which are reserved specifically for international students.

5. Hamilton:

Known for its stunning botanical gardens and booming nightlife scene, Hamilton is the fourth largest city in New Zealand. This results in the city giving you a big city feel with a relatively lower amount of traffic and pollution, and also being comparatively cheap to live in. It is also popular for its sporting activities which include rugby, cycling, rowing and motorsports which occur at the Waikato stadium. With beautiful beaches and relaxing mud-pools that are easily reachable, the city of Hamilton truly offers something for all types of students. From an academic point of view, the University of Waikato has the most international student programs in this city, and also offers scholarship for international students. This university specializes in marine science courses and is famous for its buddy system that assigns a guide to each foreigner to help them adjust to life in Hamilton.