University of Otago: Rankings

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EduRank

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The University of Otago ranked 2nd in New Zealand, 306th in the global 2026 rating, and scored in the TOP 100 across 12 research topics. The University of Otago ranking is based on 3 factors: research output (EduRank's index has 81,644 academic publications and 2,776,404 citations attributed to the university), non-academic reputation, and the impact of 370 notable alumni.

Ranking Category
#306 of 14,131 In the World
#12 of 59 In Oceania
#2 of 8 In New Zealand
#18 of 1,021 For Occupational Safety and Health
#41 of 1,070 For Bioethics/Medical Ethics
#74 of 5,278 For Public Health
#516 of 8,074 For Alumni Impact
#425 of 14,131 For Non-academic Prominence
Top100 For 9 other topics

Jump to topical rankings below

Acceptance rate and other statistics

Biology rankings

The University of Otago ranked 2nd for Biology in New Zealand and 277th in the World with 51,521 publications made and 1,948,829 citations received. Main research topics: Genetics, Biochemistry, Paleontology, Neuroscience, Immunology.

Biology ranking Location
#2 of 8 In New Zealand
#10 of 54 In Oceania
#277 of 6,841 In the World

University of Otago
Biology Publications & Citations

Year Biology publications Biology citations
1993 393 4644
1994 399 4964
1995 431 6164
1996 496 6514
1997 515 6949
1998 578 8039
1999 611 8889
2000 672 10508
2001 648 11984
2002 692 14036
2003 826 16949
2004 794 18097
2005 977 20837
2006 955 24739
2007 1078 28634
2008 1188 32394
2009 1416 37940
2010 1498 44183
2011 1655 49990
2012 1742 57251
2013 1810 65248
2014 2049 74428
2015 2074 80126
2016 2083 85469
2017 2203 91245
2018 2310 98621
2019 2418 111277
2020 2858 139598
2021 2742 156660
2022 2531 154013
2023 2410 153134
2024 2007 144796
2025 1573 127186

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of Otago in various areas of Biology.

Biology subfield New Zealand ranking Oceania ranking World rank
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 1 4 41
Zoology 1 9 98
Wildlife and Fisheries Management & Conservation 2 13 116
Animal Science 2 9 160
Nutrition and Food Science 3 7 177
Neuroscience 2 7 183
Paleontology 2 11 189
Microbiology 1 8 190
Entomology 1 7 192
Pharmacology 2 7 200
Evolutionary Biology 2 11 229
Bioinformatics and Computational biology 2 10 262
Botany 2 11 262
Biotechnology 2 9 283
Genetics 2 10 289
Biochemistry 2 10 305
Virology 1 9 319
Immunology 2 10 336
Biophysics 2 10 344
Oncology and Cancer research 2 9 374
Toxicology 1 10 403
Agricultural Science 4 24 411
Molecular Biology 2 10 439
Forestry 5 25 456
Horticulture 4 18 490
Astrobiology 5 19 563
Nanotechnology 2 22 894

Medicine rankings

The University of Otago ranked 2nd for Medicine in New Zealand and 204th in the World with 48,591 publications made and 1,855,409 citations received. Main research topics: Pathology, Psychiatry, Public Health, Surgery, Nursing.

Medicine ranking Location
#2 of 8 In New Zealand
#9 of 54 In Oceania
#204 of 6,793 In the World

University of Otago
Medicine Publications & Citations

Year Medicine publications Medicine citations
1993 325 3737
1994 341 3956
1995 358 4762
1996 366 5266
1997 416 5565
1998 451 6335
1999 463 7071
2000 554 8360
2001 508 9365
2002 555 11209
2003 686 13582
2004 698 14708
2005 839 17164
2006 831 20369
2007 946 23536
2008 1157 27678
2009 1339 32509
2010 1463 38406
2011 1650 43673
2012 1756 50548
2013 1806 58618
2014 1912 67224
2015 2024 73942
2016 1944 79061
2017 2183 85142
2018 2289 91350
2019 2489 102398
2020 2902 130263
2021 2732 145830
2022 2566 144022
2023 2401 142686
2024 2031 133529
2025 1769 118458

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of Otago in various areas of Medicine.

Medicine subfield New Zealand ranking Oceania ranking World rank
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 1 4 41
Public Health 1 7 74
Dentistry 1 5 76
Paramedicine and Emergency medicine 1 6 78
Epidemiology 2 8 95
Orthodontics 1 5 102
Gerontology 1 7 107
Occupational Therapy 3 11 110
Physical Therapy 1 8 117
Sports / Exercise science 3 15 117
Sports Medicine 3 11 120
Clinical Psychology 1 7 128
Health Science 2 11 132
Nursing 2 13 134
Pediatrics 2 9 138
Audiology 2 9 138
Respiratory Therapy 2 8 141
Healthcare Management (MHA) 2 15 152
Family medicine 2 9 155
Psychiatry 2 8 161
Critical Care Nursing 2 9 166
Social Work 3 21 180
Pathology 2 9 197
Pharmacology 2 7 200
Urology 2 10 228
Anatomy and Physiology 2 9 231
Biomedical Engineering 2 10 232
Anesthesiology 2 9 236
Surgery 2 9 265
Cardiology 2 9 287
Medical Physics 2 12 295
Virology 1 9 319
Optometry 2 13 320
Radiology and Nuclear medicine 2 9 328
Dermatology 1 7 328
Immunology 2 10 336
Ophthalmology 2 13 351
Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB-GYN) 2 9 368
Sonography and Ultrasound 2 8 372
Oncology and Cancer research 2 9 374
Pharmacy 2 10 384
Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2 9 395
Toxicology 1 10 403
Veterinary 2 13 410
Forensic Science 4 30 489
Neurosurgery 2 10 549
Radiation Therapy 2 12 555
Plastic Surgery 2 18 797
Cosmetology 2 19 856

Liberal Arts & Social Sciences rankings

The University of Otago ranked 2nd for Liberal Arts & Social Sciences in New Zealand and 240th in the World with 40,726 publications made and 1,315,242 citations received. Main research topics: Political Science, Sociology, Law, Philosophy, History.

Liberal Arts & Social Sciences ranking Location
#2 of 8 In New Zealand
#14 of 54 In Oceania
#240 of 7,088 In the World

University of Otago
Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Publications & Citations

Year Liberal Arts & Social Sciences publications Liberal Arts & Social Sciences citations
1993 270 1851
1994 273 2072
1995 301 2525
1996 335 3029
1997 378 3073
1998 335 3422
1999 439 4161
2000 448 5027
2001 465 6016
2002 527 7210
2003 571 9135
2004 565 9730
2005 703 11968
2006 754 14579
2007 827 16748
2008 1001 20027
2009 1131 24350
2010 1175 27882
2011 1371 31574
2012 1465 36355
2013 1450 42790
2014 1687 48409
2015 1723 53389
2016 1776 56787
2017 1954 61307
2018 1975 65602
2019 2073 76265
2020 2398 93449
2021 2335 104898
2022 2119 102893
2023 2074 104439
2024 1615 93061
2025 1207 81077

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of Otago in various areas of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences.

Environmental Science rankings

The University of Otago ranked 2nd for Environmental Science in New Zealand and 241st in the World with 33,751 publications made and 1,154,491 citations received. Main research topics: Geology, Geography and Cartography, Ecology, Paleontology, Oceanography.

Environmental Science ranking Location
#2 of 8 In New Zealand
#12 of 54 In Oceania
#241 of 6,888 In the World

University of Otago
Environmental Science Publications & Citations

Year Environmental Science publications Environmental Science citations
1993 225 2086
1994 230 2416
1995 265 2828
1996 328 3101
1997 359 3242
1998 348 3842
1999 386 4438
2000 443 5558
2001 464 6602
2002 509 7744
2003 556 9430
2004 519 10231
2005 669 11792
2006 677 14662
2007 732 16797
2008 811 19007
2009 920 23100
2010 990 26335
2011 1109 29855
2012 1144 34336
2013 1167 39452
2014 1340 44982
2015 1321 48593
2016 1347 51133
2017 1451 55447
2018 1498 58907
2019 1593 68419
2020 1853 83644
2021 1861 95871
2022 1783 92355
2023 1669 92887
2024 1295 86389
2025 917 76753

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of Otago in various areas of Environmental Science.

Environmental Science subfield New Zealand ranking Oceania ranking World rank
Wildlife and Fisheries Management & Conservation 2 13 116
Petrology and Geochemistry 2 14 163
Earth science and Geophysics 2 13 182
Paleontology 2 11 189
Oceanography 2 13 204
Ecology 2 14 210
Geology 2 14 239
Geography and Cartography 2 14 270
Mining Engineering 2 20 299
Meteorology and Atmospheric Science 2 14 346
Environmental Management 3 24 388
Agricultural Science 4 24 411
Environmental Chemistry 1 17 440
Urban and Regional planning 6 25 447
Forestry 5 25 456
Geotechnical Engineering 3 25 577
Environmental Engineering 4 27 674

Chemistry rankings

The University of Otago ranked 2nd for Chemistry in New Zealand and 370th in the World with 33,532 publications made and 1,332,233 citations received. Main research topics: Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry, Materials Science, Nutrition and Food Science, Petrology and Geochemistry.

Chemistry ranking Location
#2 of 8 In New Zealand
#10 of 52 In Oceania
#370 of 6,561 In the World

University of Otago
Chemistry Publications & Citations

Year Chemistry publications Chemistry citations
1993 262 3323
1994 288 3520
1995 306 4388
1996 347 4529
1997 360 4809
1998 393 5735
1999 389 6277
2000 456 7329
2001 426 8306
2002 463 9525
2003 534 11257
2004 538 12193
2005 687 13915
2006 615 16224
2007 762 19290
2008 780 21539
2009 915 25182
2010 936 28934
2011 1097 32975
2012 1147 37632
2013 1143 42784
2014 1325 49078
2015 1361 52222
2016 1351 56066
2017 1410 59841
2018 1485 65529
2019 1536 72866
2020 1780 89520
2021 1733 102664
2022 1632 100953
2023 1496 100118
2024 1202 94607
2025 926 83101

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of Otago in various areas of Chemistry.

Chemistry subfield New Zealand ranking Oceania ranking World rank
Petrology and Geochemistry 2 14 163
Nutrition and Food Science 3 7 177
Biochemistry 2 10 305
Pharmacy 2 10 384
Environmental Chemistry 1 17 440
Organic Chemistry 2 12 470
Inorganic Chemistry 2 13 484
Materials Science 2 18 579
Polymer science and Plastics engineering 2 15 635
Biochemical Engineering 4 25 674
Computational Chemistry 4 21 774
Physical chemistry 4 21 788
Radiochemistry 2 14 789
Chemical Engineering 3 22 820
Nanotechnology 2 22 894

Computer Science rankings

The University of Otago ranked 2nd for Computer Science in New Zealand and 339th in the World with 27,757 publications made and 1,028,007 citations received. Main research topics: Neuroscience, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Bioinformatics and Computational biology, Cognitive Science.

Computer Science ranking Location
#2 of 8 In New Zealand
#15 of 53 In Oceania
#339 of 6,855 In the World

University of Otago
Computer Science Publications & Citations

Year Computer Science publications Computer Science citations
1993 201 2069
1994 214 2079
1995 218 2810
1996 260 2980
1997 250 3120
1998 253 3497
1999 297 3891
2000 328 4615
2001 329 5221
2002 402 6492
2003 457 7852
2004 423 8231
2005 520 9915
2006 491 11512
2007 575 13702
2008 696 15992
2009 735 18718
2010 797 22005
2011 941 25111
2012 990 28446
2013 994 32593
2014 1130 37038
2015 1113 40235
2016 1100 42826
2017 1267 45861
2018 1318 50540
2019 1400 57832
2020 1631 72644
2021 1533 82209
2022 1391 81281
2023 1286 82899
2024 1062 76068
2025 797 66287

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of Otago in various areas of Computer Science.

Psychology rankings

The University of Otago ranked 2nd for Psychology in New Zealand and 174th in the World with 25,914 publications made and 1,009,735 citations received. Main research topics: Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Social Psychology, Child Psychology, Clinical Psychology.

Psychology ranking Location
#2 of 8 In New Zealand
#9 of 53 In Oceania
#174 of 6,663 In the World

University of Otago
Psychology Publications & Citations

Year Psychology publications Psychology citations
1993 179 2218
1994 180 2197
1995 178 2814
1996 204 3184
1997 194 3262
1998 216 3646
1999 248 3967
2000 259 4564
2001 265 5080
2002 283 6256
2003 372 7783
2004 356 8131
2005 442 9861
2006 437 11451
2007 474 13189
2008 650 15739
2009 738 18710
2010 808 21977
2011 850 24735
2012 904 28302
2013 954 32914
2014 1033 37184
2015 1099 41110
2016 1122 43205
2017 1290 46583
2018 1340 50586
2019 1396 57277
2020 1619 73916
2021 1502 80005
2022 1408 78849
2023 1279 78911
2024 1113 73733
2025 904 63536

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of Otago in various areas of Psychology.

Psychology subfield New Zealand ranking Oceania ranking World rank
Occupational Therapy 3 11 110
Clinical Psychology 1 7 128
Child Psychology 1 10 132
Sexology 2 11 137
Psychiatry 2 8 161
Social Work 3 21 180
Social Psychology 2 13 183
Neuroscience 2 7 183
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution 3 20 185
Education Majors 5 27 232
Cognitive Science 2 13 245
Special Education 2 20 255
Organizational / Business / IO Psychology 5 31 430

Engineering rankings

The University of Otago ranked 2nd for Engineering in New Zealand and 503rd in the World with 25,119 publications made and 859,052 citations received. Main research topics: Materials Science, Optical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering.

Engineering ranking Location
#2 of 8 In New Zealand
#19 of 52 In Oceania
#503 of 6,795 In the World

University of Otago
Engineering Publications & Citations

Year Engineering publications Engineering citations
1993 165 1650
1994 197 1751
1995 211 2413
1996 239 2393
1997 250 2581
1998 281 2947
1999 287 3326
2000 313 4137
2001 324 4701
2002 369 5476
2003 444 6535
2004 451 7329
2005 545 8604
2006 512 10463
2007 565 12104
2008 607 13875
2009 697 16087
2010 755 18971
2011 862 21686
2012 841 25202
2013 853 28608
2014 970 32499
2015 997 34626
2016 1014 37377
2017 1129 40110
2018 1170 43439
2019 1183 49424
2020 1348 59935
2021 1302 69078
2022 1212 67472
2023 1183 68633
2024 864 63539
2025 644 56264

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of Otago in various areas of Engineering.

Physics rankings

The University of Otago ranked 2nd for Physics in New Zealand and 519th in the World with 23,510 publications made and 791,466 citations received. Main research topics: Quantum and Particle physics, Materials Science, Optical Engineering, Astrophysics and Astronomy, Acoustical Engineering.

Physics ranking Location
#2 of 8 In New Zealand
#19 of 52 In Oceania
#519 of 6,729 In the World

University of Otago
Physics Publications & Citations

Year Physics publications Physics citations
1993 161 1653
1994 184 1835
1995 206 2427
1996 237 2463
1997 236 2561
1998 261 2861
1999 288 3255
2000 295 3877
2001 281 4427
2002 344 5100
2003 371 6005
2004 403 6821
2005 495 8069
2006 463 9476
2007 549 11346
2008 585 13088
2009 677 14915
2010 701 17428
2011 846 20195
2012 810 23062
2013 797 26438
2014 936 29767
2015 931 31860
2016 950 34155
2017 1012 36201
2018 1036 39169
2019 1065 43621
2020 1197 52933
2021 1161 60370
2022 1103 58208
2023 1085 59756
2024 788 55827
2025 618 49360

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of Otago in various areas of Physics.

Physics subfield New Zealand ranking Oceania ranking World rank
Medical Physics 2 12 295
Biophysics 2 10 344
Astrophysics and Astronomy 3 15 415
Acoustical Engineering 3 19 477
Optical Engineering 2 17 545
Astrobiology 5 19 563
Materials Science 2 18 579
Atomic and Molecular physics 3 15 591
Quantum and Particle physics 3 21 612
Nuclear Physics 2 16 641
Condensed Matter Physics 3 17 670
Applied/Engineering Physics 3 22 685
Theoretical Physics 4 20 696
Nanotechnology 2 22 894

Mathematics rankings

The University of Otago ranked 2nd for Mathematics in New Zealand and 272nd in the World with 14,513 publications made and 618,688 citations received. Main research topics: Statistics, Math Teachers, Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, Applied Mathematics, Blockchain and Cryptography.

Mathematics ranking Location
#2 of 8 In New Zealand
#13 of 52 In Oceania
#272 of 6,434 In the World

University of Otago
Mathematics Publications & Citations

Year Mathematics publications Mathematics citations
1993 69 577
1994 67 711
1995 85 801
1996 107 887
1997 86 1003
1998 108 1147
1999 115 1267
2000 130 1613
2001 150 1869
2002 200 2393
2003 205 2699
2004 230 3083
2005 249 4131
2006 269 4745
2007 307 5627
2008 363 6920
2009 410 8179
2010 431 9670
2011 536 11228
2012 566 12986
2013 540 15541
2014 587 17929
2015 572 19948
2016 613 21274
2017 810 23120
2018 734 25209
2019 815 29613
2020 942 37190
2021 875 42533
2022 858 41905
2023 788 42598
2024 534 32612
2025 428 27620

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of Otago in various areas of Mathematics.

Mathematics subfield New Zealand ranking Oceania ranking World rank
Math Teachers 4 20 208
Statistics 2 12 253
Econometrics and Mathematical Economics 2 13 279
Actuarial Science 4 19 365
Operations Research 3 22 604
Applied Mathematics 2 16 651
Blockchain and Cryptography 3 27 910

Business rankings

The University of Otago ranked 2nd for Business in New Zealand and 274th in the World with 11,791 publications made and 371,926 citations received. Main research topics: Management, Marketing, Finance, Advertising, Accounting.

Business ranking Location
#2 of 8 In New Zealand
#20 of 52 In Oceania
#274 of 6,366 In the World

University of Otago
Business Publications & Citations

Year Business publications Business citations
1993 87 362
1994 76 359
1995 78 524
1996 94 606
1997 101 628
1998 99 745
1999 126 872
2000 120 1098
2001 160 1320
2002 190 1678
2003 178 2203
2004 228 2466
2005 244 2932
2006 273 3706
2007 260 4370
2008 323 5448
2009 330 6499
2010 400 7877
2011 405 8670
2012 465 10077
2013 442 11821
2014 489 13054
2015 495 14135
2016 504 14745
2017 611 16140
2018 580 17093
2019 617 19999
2020 722 24854
2021 679 28648
2022 632 28052
2023 629 29647
2024 371 24747
2025 269 21028

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of Otago in various areas of Business.

Economics rankings

The University of Otago ranked 2nd for Economics in New Zealand and 222nd in the World with 10,297 publications made and 321,818 citations received. Main research topics: Development Studies, Finance, Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, Political Economy, International Trade.

Economics ranking Location
#2 of 8 In New Zealand
#17 of 53 In Oceania
#222 of 6,188 In the World

University of Otago
Economics Publications & Citations

Year Economics publications Economics citations
1993 60 275
1994 51 309
1995 64 418
1996 72 399
1997 63 491
1998 57 518
1999 81 649
2000 82 878
2001 104 956
2002 124 1105
2003 132 1519
2004 163 1695
2005 172 2033
2006 199 2597
2007 217 2949
2008 247 3835
2009 278 4840
2010 314 5623
2011 364 6599
2012 369 7769
2013 383 9290
2014 391 10793
2015 415 11842
2016 475 12824
2017 523 13854
2018 562 14889
2019 541 17713
2020 674 22187
2021 712 25684
2022 604 25236
2023 653 26623
2024 418 21142
2025 325 18118

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of Otago in various areas of Economics.

Economics subfield New Zealand ranking Oceania ranking World rank
Development Studies 2 20 185
Political Economy 3 13 207
International Relations and Diplomacy 4 13 225
International Trade 3 13 259
Agricultural Economics 4 18 267
International Economics 1 11 273
Econometrics and Mathematical Economics 2 13 279
Investment Banking and Stock trading 5 21 323
Actuarial Science 4 19 365
Finance 4 22 402
Environmental Economics 3 23 425

Art & Design rankings

The University of Otago ranked 3rd for Art & Design in New Zealand and 244th in the World with 6,993 publications made and 159,795 citations received. Main research topics: Fashion Design, Literature, Aesthetics, Art History, Creative Writing.

Please note that our approach to subject rankings is based on scientific outputs and heavily biased on art-related topics towards institutions with computer science research profiles.

Art & Design ranking Location
#3 of 8 In New Zealand
#20 of 52 In Oceania
#244 of 6,010 In the World

University of Otago
Art & Design Publications & Citations

Year Art & Design publications Art & Design citations
1993 54 250
1994 52 273
1995 51 376
1996 59 413
1997 94 430
1998 68 497
1999 92 560
2000 81 692
2001 90 791
2002 117 1026
2003 100 1248
2004 111 1337
2005 137 1635
2006 165 1952
2007 149 2279
2008 182 2756
2009 190 3232
2010 200 3723
2011 256 4102
2012 246 4963
2013 260 5689
2014 310 6359
2015 302 6951
2016 321 7521
2017 316 7774
2018 353 8527
2019 340 10123
2020 382 12460
2021 362 13791
2022 317 13372
2023 313 14019
2024 219 12933
2025 162 11227

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of Otago in various areas of Art & Design.

Art & Design subfield New Zealand ranking Oceania ranking World rank
Creative Writing 4 18 156
Aesthetics 2 12 170
Art History 3 11 196
Literature 3 19 215
Entertainment Industry Business 3 19 235
Performing arts 3 19 259
Fashion Design 3 19 262
Photography 4 22 306
Landscape Architecture 5 19 308
Game Design and Development 5 24 308
Music 3 19 311
Cinematography 4 27 317
Singing and Vocal Performance 3 18 333
Illustration and Concept Art 1 14 351
Interior Design 5 20 373
Painting and Drawing 2 17 489
Sculpture 2 17 489
Computer Graphics 4 18 493
Multimedia 7 33 527
Animation 3 18 531
Graphic Design 7 31 593
Architecture 5 26 642
UX/UI Desgin 6 27 659