Program Reviews

I started at Otago as a study abroad student from USA in 2023 and loved it so much that I transferred to a full degree! This is seriously the best decision I ever made. I have made the best friends here and I am so thankful for this opportunity! I met New Zealand friends straight away and became best friends with my Kiwi host in Uniflats! Living in uniflats really made my study abroad experience because it connected me with so many people. It is such a unique feature that not many other universities offer. Through uniflats, I immediately made friends with like 15 other abroad students and we hung out all semester! It was awesome meeting people from all over the world, one of my best friends was from Hungry! It's been so amazing getting to experience other cultures, it's truly eye-opening. There are so many activities to do that are so close to the University! The beach is 15 minutes away, there are so many hiking trails, and tons of clubs you can join! There's a snow sports club that goes on trips every weekend to ski and snowboard and you can decide which ones you want to attend! The transportation is SO easy. You can get to so many places using the intercity buses and it's very comfortable and affordable. I've used it like 5 times already to go to Queenstown and Christchurch! It's so crazy beautiful here, you have to come!

I’m so pleased to have such an opportunity coming here. Everything here is amazing and seems like quite different experience for me!

The university of Otago is so big, students with multi-background gathered here, campus here is beautiful, Gothic architecture looks cool.
I visited the building for the business school and enjoy the extraordinary view on the 9th floor.

We had two guides helping us know the campus ,that’s pretty nice and thank them for their kindly help.

By the way, my homestay here is amazing, they are so so so nice, and it’s my great honor to meet them!!!!!!!

Thank for the great chance and I have fantastic time here. I will always keep the memories here!!!!!

I’m sure I’ll come back again soon!
Thank you all the way.
:)

i m here for a two-week exchange programme from ShangHai. This is my first time visiting Dunedin. My home stay family is very considerate.They drop me off and pick me up everyday and also cook for me Chinese food.I spent 5 days working in a lab to help them build a frame of a two-wheel car.The professor and student here are really nice to me,very patient.The life here is quite different from the life in ShangHai. Most of the people in ShangHai live under high pressure but the people here in Dunedin seems to be more relax in their daily life.The scenery here is amazing as well and i think Dunedin is one of the most beautiful city in the world.The habor,Baldwin street,St Clair Beach all impressed me a lot. I would strongly recommend this programme to my friends when i go back to China.

We are very lucky to have the opportunity to spend two weeks in the beautiful Dunedin and visit the University of Otago.This program offered us excellent condition so that we can fully experience the local customs and sceneries.Although it is cold winter in Dunedin now,but we still feel extremely warm because of the warm hospitality of the local people.Also we spent time participating in professional activities and that is good for our career planning.
Walking in the beautiful campus of the University of Otago,we can see the hardware facility is really good so that students at here can pour full attention into acadamic.And after taking few classes in the university ,the friendly and enthusiastic atmosphere also impressed me a lot,no matter to visitors or study.Everyone is patient to guide us.
All in all,we were able to exchange the cultures with our friends in New Zealand and make contributions to the friendship of our two countries.

I'm a junior student of Fudan University who lives in Shanghai, China. This year I was luckily chosen to be one of the 12 winners of the Dunedin Mayor Scholarship, so I have an opportunity to go abroad to Dunedin and have an internship at the International Office of University of Otago.
On the first day, we visited on campus and the scenery was very beautiful. The University of Otago has a very long history. On the campus, majestic and exquisite ancient buildings can be seen everywhere.
Then I went to the international office of the University of Otago to have an internship. The colleagues there were very friendly and carefully taught me how to work. I have a good communication with them. The internship there is very pleasant and I do learn a lot from that.

The University of Otago has an excellent research reputation, International recognition with its amazing campus.
Otago Business Schools is accredited with two international agencies – EQUIS and AACSB – this is a reassurance to of the quality of education available from the Business School, a degree from UO, is an incredibly valuable qualification.
It is located in Dunedin, only ten minuted walking from the city centre, the people here are friendly and enjoy helping international students.

I highly recommend this program and would do it all over again. I believe it was the perfect length of three weeks, where you could get away during the summer, not miss any schooling, and travel the world. New Zealand is one of the most beautiful places in the world to go and I already want to go back. The people and staff are amazing there, very helpful, and I felt very safe everywhere I went and at all times. I recommend traveling when you can on the weekends and road tripping with the friends that you will meet there and friendships that will last a lifetime. The course if great, including lots of field trips and diving into the culture there. One of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. Also 100% recommend sky diving and the canyon swing and snowboarding.

I completed the GEOG 285- Landscaping and Geography course and it exceeded all of my expectations! This three week program was the perfect mix of exploring, scenery, learning, and exhilaration. There is a great balance between school and fun and the field trips are remarkable. There is also enough time during weekends to go on personal trips. This class offers the opportunity of a lifetime and I loved every second of it. I had the chance to truly experience learning abroad and I met many cool people throughout the endeavor. The University of Otago is a beautiful campus with incredible staff who are friendly and welcoming. I highly recommend this program and would do it again in a heartbeat!

The University of Otago is amazing. The professors are super chill and really want you to learn. My professors were actually some of the nicest people I have ever met. Their passion for their subjects is contagious. I took Bioethics 301, Psychology of Language, and History of Christianity. All highly recommended. The students are also super welcoming and super fun! There is never a shortage of things to do in Dunedin, day or night. Really try to get to know the Kiwis because they are awesome people.
The country of New Zealand is unbelievable. If I had to guess what Heaven is like, it'd probably look something like New Zealand. Actually though. Sometimes I would look out the car window and would not feel like I was actually on Earth. It's crazy how many beautiful and varied places there are within such a small country. This makes it much easier to get out and explore tons of places. I've fell in love with the country and its people so much that I have thought about moving to NZ after graduation, at least for a period of time.
P.S. Do the Copland Track! It was one of my favorite hikes that a lot of people in my program never got around to doing. There's also natural hot pools when you get to the hut after the first day. Pretty neat.

I am originally from the United States and decided to go abroad to New Zealand. I chose Otago out of all the schools because the location and the courses. Otago was perfect for abroad because the academics weren't so hard that I spent my whole time in my room, but also challenged me in ways that my American university hadn't. I took a Maori class which was SO FUN and got to experience attending a bigger university. It has a reputation to be the biggest party school in NZ but I think that between Otago and Victoria (in Wellington) they are about equal. The housing was chilly but was actually really perfect. I got to live with international students and experience the best of NZ. I had a class, though, where the teacher was really aware and open about my "Americanness".. She would continually call me out/ask me to speak about how I felt about America... and to make things worse, I was over there right before the Trump/Clinton election... So she would crack jokes and say inappropriate things about the USA and my heritage.. So I went to the international office and they helped me switch classes really easily. It was hard but it was a really good experience to have under my belt (I mean.. we go abroad to experience new things including stigmas against us.. right?) Overall, Otago was a perfect fit for me (and if I could just transfer there permanently, trust me I would).. but my advice is go to Otago if you want to explore NZ and learn lots about Kiwis.. but don't go if you want a highly academic experience.