Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa (Māori) | |||||||
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Former name |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motto | |||||||
Motto in English | Let knowledge flourish | ||||||
| Type | Publicresearch university | ||||||
| Established | 17 January 1927; 98 years ago (1927-01-17)[3] | ||||||
| Accreditation | NZQA | ||||||
| Budget | NZ$564million (2022)[4] | ||||||
| Chancellor | Alistair Davis[5] | ||||||
| Vice-Chancellor | Prof DrJan Thomas[5] | ||||||
Academic staff | 1,300 (2022)[6] | ||||||
Administrative staff | 1,792 (2022)[6] | ||||||
Total staff | 3,092 (2022)[4] | ||||||
| Students | 27,533 (2022)[4] | ||||||
| Location | , New Zealand 40°23′05″S175°37′00″E / 40.3848°S 175.6166°E /-40.3848; 175.6166 | ||||||
| Campus | Urban andregional | ||||||
| Colours | Massey triple colours | ||||||
Sporting affiliations | National Tertiary Championships | ||||||
| Mascot | Fergus the Ram[7] | ||||||
| Website | massey.ac.nz | ||||||
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Massey University (Māori:Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is apublicresearch university inNew Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses inAuckland,Palmerston North, andWellington, as well as a branch campus in Singapore which was opened in 2024.[9]
Massey is home to New Zealand’s only veterinary school which is ranked 19th in the world and first in Australasia and Asia.[10] It also specialises in animal science and agriculture, aviation, and creative arts.
Massey has been delivering distance learning for over 60 years.[11]
Data fromUniversities New Zealand shows that in 2024 the university had approximately 26,505 students enrolled, making it the country's second-largest university.[12][13] Research is undertaken on all three campuses and people from over 130 countries study at the university.[14]
According to the university's annual report, in 2024, around 16.2% of equivalent full-time students were based at the Auckland campus, 17.7% at the Manawatū (Palmerston North) campus, and 13.3% at the Wellington campus. Distance learning accounted for 47.7% of the student body, while the remaining 5.1% studied at other locations.[15]
Vice-ChancellorJan Thomas announced her resignation in April 2025, giving a year’s notice period to allow for the recruitment of her successor.[16]
The idea of establishing an agricultural college in New Zealand’sNorth Island gained momentum as early as 1879, championed by figures likeSir George Grey, and late by Inspector-GeneralGeorge Hogben.[17] In 1912, newly elected Prime MinisterWilliam Ferguson Massey made the project his priority, leading to the formation of agriculture chairs atVictoria University College (Wellington, 1923) andAuckland University College (1924). In 1926, both institutions transferred their agricultural schools under the New Zealand Agricultural College Act to form the New Zealand Agricultural College. Shortly thereafter, the decision was made to establish the college at the Batchelar property near Palmerston North.[18][19][20]
The first College Council meeting took place in Wellington on 1 February 1927. In September 1927 the Massey Agricultural College Act was passed, renaming the collegeMassey Agricultural College[21] after former New ZealandPrime MinisterWilliam Fergusson Massey, who died in 1925 and had been vigorous in land reform efforts. The college opened on its doors to students on 2 March 1928, under the leadership ofPrincipalGeoffrey Peren and Vice-PrincipalWilliam Riddet. Initial enrolment featured eight students on Day One, swelling to 85 by the end of the first year, and 175 in the second.[22][23]
On 20 March 1928 the college was officially opened byMinister of AgricultureOswald Hawken.[24] The college emphasised practical farming alongside scientific study, pioneering research in dairy, irrigation, and animal breeding on its own farmlands. Despite hardship during theGreat Depression andWorld War II, it expanded student accommodation, established the students’ association (featuring the ram’s head symbol in 1930), and welcomed its first female diploma student, Enid Hills,[25] in 1932, and in 1938 its first female undergraduate degree student, Paddy Thorpe.[26][27][28]
Post-war growth set the stage for university status. In 1961, after the dissolution of theUniversity of New Zealand, the agricultural college became Massey College and allied temporarily withVictoria University of Wellington (VUW) until full autonomy could be gained.[29]
The establishment in 1960 of the Palmerston North University College (PNUC), a branch of Victoria University of Wellington (VUW), provided university-level education in the humanities and social sciences in Palmerston North, and also introduceddistance education. On 1 January 1963, PNUC and Massey College merged to become Massey University College of Manawatu.[30] The Massey University Act of 1963 officially established Massey University of Manawatu on 1 January1964, granting it full autonomy and university status, including the power to confer degrees. The current name, Massey University, was adopted in 1966.[31][24]
Under foundingVice-ChancellorSir Alan Stewart (1964–82), the university grew rapidly. In its first year it enrolled approximately 1,877 students (about equal internal and extramural), and by 1992 the total roll had grown to nearly 24,700 across nine faculties.[32] Key earlyfaculties included agriculture, veterinary science (unique among NZ universities), technology, science, humanities, social sciences, business, education, and maths/information science.[33]
The 1990s saw Massey University expanding and become a tri-city university and expand its academic programmes:
In the late 1990s, the university's nine faculties were rationalised into five colleges: Business, Creative Arts, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Sciences. In 2013, the College of Education was merged into the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and a new College of Health was established.[35] The goals of the establishment of the College of Health are to promote health and wellbeing, disease and injury prevention and protect people and communities from environmental risks to health.[36]
In April 2024, Massey University signed an agreement with the private Singaporean education providerPSB Academy to provide various media, design and management courses as part of plans to establish a campus inSingapore. ChancellorJan Thomas said this was part of Massey University's plans to diversify its income and enrol 5,000 offshore students by 2026.[37] The campus opened its first intake in November 2024.[38]
Massey University organises its teaching and research through five discipline-based colleges, while a stand-alone School of Aviation reports directly to the senior leadership team.[39]
TheCollege of Creative Arts (Toi Rauwhārangi) is centred on the Wellington campus and brings together the National Academy of Screen Arts, Whiti o Rehua School of Art, Te Rewa o Puanga School of Music and Screen Arts, and Ngā Pae Māhutonga Wellington School of Design.[39]
TheCollege of Health (Te Kura Hauora Tangata) unites the School of Health Sciences, the School of Nursing, the School of Social Work, and the School of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition, reflecting the university’s broad focus on population and individual wellbeing.[39]
TheCollege of Humanities and Social Sciences (Te Kura Pūkenga Tangata) hosts the Institute of Education (Te Kura o Te Mātauranga), the School of Humanities, Media and Creative Communication, the School of People, Environment and Planning, the School of Psychology (Te Kura Hinengaro Tangata), and Te Pūtahi-a-Toi – School of Māori Knowledge, making it Massey’s largest and most diverse college.[39]
The science and technology disciplines are grouped in theCollege of Sciences (Te Wāhanga Pūtaiao), which includes the School of Agriculture and Environment, the School of Built Environment, the School of Food Technology and Natural Sciences, the School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, and School of Veterinary Science.[39]
Business, economics and executive education are provided by theMassey Business School (Te Kura Whai Pakihi). It comprises the School of Accountancy, Economics and Finance (Te Kura Huinga Tahua), the School of Management and Marketing, and the Professional and Executive Development unit.[39]
Outside the college structure, theSchool of Aviation (Te Kura Rererangi) delivers New Zealand’s only university-based professional pilot training and aviation management programmes.[39]
Massey University has campuses in Palmerston North in the Manawatū, in Wellington (in the suburb of Mt Cook) and on Auckland's North Shore in Albany. In addition, Massey offers most of its degrees extramurally within New Zealand and internationally. Research is undertaken on all three campuses. In November 2024, Massey University began offering several programs at the SingaporeanPSB Academy as part of plans to establish aninternational branch campus in Singapore.[38]
Since 1993 the Ōtehā campus in Auckland has grown rapidly in a fast developing part of Auckland'sNorth Shore City. Science and Business are the two largest colleges on the campus, with the College of Science housing the New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study solely on the campus. Around 4,809 students are enrolled at Albany.[40] This campus has grown since then and an on-campus accommodation facility opened in semester one 2015.[41] On the Albany campus, a large golden chicken wing sculpture commemorates the site's history as a chicken farm.[42]
On 1 July 2025 the New Zealand Police opened a branch of the Royal New Zealand Police College on the Massey campus. This facility is being used for recruit training as well as senior courses.[43]
Massey University was first established at the Turitea campus in Palmerston North, and hosts around 3000 students annually.[44]
The Turitea site houses the main administrative units of Massey University as well as the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the College of Sciences, the College of Health and Massey Business School. It is also home to the only Veterinary School in New Zealand. Massey University acquired a smaller second campus in Palmerston North inHokowhitu when it merged with the Palmerston North College of Education in 1996, which was combined with the existing Faculty of Education to form Massey University's College of Education. In 2013 the Institute of Education was formed as part of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. The Hokowhitu Campus was later sold in 2016 after the institute was relocated to the Turitea campus.[45]
Wharerata is a historic colonial home built in 1901 and surrounded by formal gardens and mature trees. It housed the staff social club until the late 1990s, and is now used as a cafe, function centre and wedding venue.[46]
In 2019,Heritage New Zealand listed student hostel, Colombo Hall as a category 2 historic place. It was built in 1964.[47]
In February 2023 the university announced that it would be building two solar farms on the Palmerston North campus, with a peak output of 7.87MW.[48]
The Pukeahu campus in Wellington campus was created through the merger with Wellington Polytechnic that was approved by theNew Zealand Government and took place in 1999.[49] The history of Wellington Polytechnic goes back to 1886 when the Wellington School of Design was established, it had a name change in 1891 to Wellington Technical School and in 1963 it was divided into Wellington Polytechnic andWellington High School.[50]
The Pukeahu campus primarily specialises in Design (College of Creative Arts), Nursing and Communication and Journalism. It has over 2,500 students.[40]
Extramural study first began in 1960 and Massey University is New Zealand's largest and pre-eminent provider ofdistance education.[51] Massey is known for its flexible learning and innovative delivery options and this tradition continues in the use of blended and online learning.
In the mid-2010s, the university embarked on a major project to further digitise its distance delivery and in 2015 adoptedMoodle (branded as Stream) as its new Learning Management System (LMS).[52][53]
The Massey University Library was first established at Massey Agricultural College in 1930 when the first librarian, Erica Baillie, was appointed at the college. The library of the Palmerston North University College became part of the Massey College Library after the merger of the two institutions in 1963. With the expansion of the university to other locations, site libraries were established. These include the Auckland campus library in 1993, the Hokowhitu site library in 1996 (since closed) with the merger with Palmerston North College of Education, and Wellington campus library in 1999 with the merger with Wellington Polytechnic. For a time in the 2000s, a site library was also operated at Ruawharo in Napier.[54]
Like the university, the library has grown exponentially since the 1960s. It caters for both on-campus and distance students. Māori materials are well represented in the library collections. Among the collections with Māori material are the Ngā Kupu Ora collection, Māori Land Court Minute Books and the Bagnall collection. Heritage collections administered by the library include the Library Special Collections and theMassey University Archives.[55]
In April 2024, Chancellor Jan Thomas and Prime MinisterChristopher Luxon confirmed that Massey University would partner with Singapore'sPSB Academy as part of plans to establish an international branch campus.[37] The Singapore campus opened in November 2024, offering a bachelor ininformation science, a bachelor of business of analytics.[56]
The governing body of Massey Agricultural College, and Massey College, was the Council (known as the Board of Governors, between 1938 and 1952). Massey University is governed by theUniversity Council.[57] The council oversees the management and control of the university's affairs, concerns and property.[58]
The following table lists those who have held the position of Chair of the Board of Governors of the college and later Chancellor of the university, being the ceremonial head of the institution.
| Name | Portrait | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chair of the Board of Governors | |||
| 1 | George Fowlds | .jpg) | 1927–1934 |
| 2 | William Perry |  | 1934–1935 |
| 3 | Thomas Hunter |  | 1936–1938[59] |
| 4 | Arthur Morton |  | 1938–1942 |
| 5 | Grey Campbell |  | 1943 |
| 6 | Alan Candy | .jpg) | 1944–1946 |
| 7 | Gus Mansford |  | 1947 |
| 8 | Walter Dyer |  | 1947–1959 |
| 9 | Ned Holt | .jpg) | 1960–1962[60] |
| Chancellor | |||
| 1 | Jack Andrews | .jpg) | 1963–1966 |
| 2 | Blair Tennent |  | 1967–1970 |
| 3 | Les Gandar |  | 1970–1975 |
| 4 | Arthur Ward | .jpg) | 1976–1980 |
| 5 | Lindsay Wallace | .jpg) | 1981–1984 |
| 6 | Doug Easton | .jpg) | 1985–1990 |
| 7 | Hugh Williams | .jpg) | 1991–1997 |
| 8 | Morva Croxson | .jpg) | 1998–2002 |
| 9 | Nigel Gould |  | 2003–2008 |
| 10 | Russ Ballard | .jpg) | 2009–2013[61] |
| 11 | Chris Kelly |  | 2013–2016[62] |
| 12 | Michael Ahie | .jpg) | 2016–2024 |
| 13 | Alistair Davis | .jpg) | 2024–present[63] |
The following table lists those who have held the position of principal of the college and later vice-chancellor of the university, being the chief executive officer of the institution.
| Name | Portrait | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Principal | |||
| 1 | Geoffrey Peren | .jpg) | 1927–1958[64] |
| 1 | Alan Stewart | .jpg) | 1959–1963[65] |
| Vice-chancellor | |||
| 1 | Alan Stewart | .jpg) | 1964–1983[66] |
| 2 | Neil Waters | .jpg) | 1983–1995[67] |
| 3 | James McWha | .jpg) | 1995–2002[68] |
| 4 | Judith Kinnear |  | 2003–2008[69] |
| 5 | Steve Maharey |  | 2008–2016[70] |
| 6 | Jan Thomas | .jpg) | 2017–present[71] |
| 7 | Pierre Venter | 2026 (appointed)[72] | |
 |
|
From 2024 Annual Report:[74]
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| Global – Overall | |
| ARWU World[76] | 801-900 (2025) |
| CWTS World[77] | 677[a] (2024) |
| QS World[78] | =230 (2026) |
| QS Employability[79] | 251–300 (2022) |
| THE World[80] | 501–600 (2026) |
| USNWR Global[81] | =660 (25/26) |
| National – Overall | |
| ARWU National[82] | 6 (2025) |
| CWTS National[83] | 3[a] (2024) |
| QS National[84] | 3 (2026) |
| THE National[85] | 5–7 (2026) |
| USNWR National[86] | 6 (25/26) |
In the 2026Quacquarelli SymondsWorld University Rankings (published 2025), the university attained a tied position of #230 (3rd nationally).[87]
In theTimes Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 (published 2025), the university attained a position of #501–600 (tied 5–7th nationally).[88]
In the 2025Academic Ranking of World Universities, the university attained a position of #801-900 (tied 6th nationally).[89]
In the 2025–2026U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities, the university attained a tied position of #660 (6th nationally).[90]
In theCWTS Leiden Ranking 2024,[a] the university attained a position of #677 (3rd nationally).[91]
Te Tire Ahu Pae (TTAP) is the single students' association at Massey University's four campuses in Pāmamao – Distance, Ōtehā – Auckland, Manawatū – Palmerston North and Pukeahu – Wellington. In the new structure, there are a total of 31 student reps on the Te Tira Ahu Pae Student Executive.[92]
Te Tire Ahu Pae provides both representation and student services to Massey University students.
The services TTAP delivers include:
Notable faculty, past or present, include:
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Massey University have recognised the contribution of many national and international notable people with honorary doctorates since 1964. Among them, there isPeng Liyuan, thefirst lady of the currentChinese leaderXi Jinping.
Since the 2010s, Massey University has been involved in a number of public controversies and institutional challenges that have attracted national attention and prompted debate around governance, academic freedom, and financial sustainability.
In December 2010 Massey announced that the Wellington campus would close its School of Engineering and Advanced Technology the next month. Students were offered places at either the Albany or Manawatū campuses with compensation, but those who could not make the move and chose to undertake their degree elsewhere were given no compensation, and only a few papers were able to be cross-credited.[99]
In December 2016, the Chancellor of the university, Chris Kelly, caused outrage by making several comments in a rural newspaper regarding the gender of those in the veterinarian profession. While outlining changes that were being made to the structure of the university's veterinarian and agricultural degrees, Kelly said that more women passed the first year of the veterinarian degree "because women mature earlier than men, work hard and pass. Whereas men find out about booze and all sorts of crazy things during their first year... That’s fine, but the problem is one woman graduate is equivalent to two-fifths of a full-time equivalent vet throughout her life because she gets married and has a family, which is normal."[100] These remarks caused widespread outrage,[101] with Kelly's apology via Twitter and Facebook doing little to calm the situation.[102] Kelly resigned as Chancellor on 14 December 2016, and was replaced promptly by then Pro Chancellor Michael Ahie.[103]
In August 2018Don Brash, a formerLeader of the Opposition, was due to speak at the university following an invitation of the Massey University Politics Society. Citing security concerns,Jan Thomas, the Vice Chancellor of Massey University, cancelled the booking the student society had made to use university facilities.[104] Thomas was widely criticised[105][106] and calls were made for her resignation.[107] The Prime Minister of New ZealandJacinda Ardern described canceling the event as an overreaction.[108] A review by Massey University's Council subsequently cleared Thomas of wrongdoing, with Chancellor Michael Ahie stating that the Council supported and had full confidence in Professor Thomas.[109] Massey University's Māori staff association Te Matawhānui publicly spoke out in support of Thomas, particularly due to her leadership of Massey as aTreaty of Waitangi-led university.[109]
Since 2020, Massey University has been using anartificial intelligence remote exam monitoring tool called Remote Proctor Now (RPNow).[110]
In 2023, Massey controversially proposed opening a campus inSingapore, aiming to have 5,000 students based offshore by 2026. The university’s plans to expand overseas while cutting jobs at home angered staff and students[111] at a time when significant cost cutting was taking place underVice Chancellor Jan Thomas. The university reported a loss estimated at $50 million[112] as of October 2023, which had previously been reported as $33 million in September 2023 and at $14.2 million deficit in July 2023.[113] Cuts, including reducing staff numbers in the schools of Natural Sciences and Food and Advanced Technology by around 60 per cent, were described as 'brutal'[114] withRadio New Zealand reporting fears the plan puts the university into a death spiral.[115]
On 14 December 2023, Massey University confirmed that it would lay off over 60 jobs at its College of Sciences as part of a restructure.[116] On 18 December, Massey confirmed that it was planning to sell or lease NZ$151 million worth of property on its three campuses to address its financial problems. The affected properties include nine buildings at the Albany campus including lecture halls and a recreation centre, four buildings in Wellington, and nine in Manawatū including two student villages and farmland. Under the proposed sale, the university would sell of much of its Albany campus except the new science building.[117]
In October 2024 Massey University announced it would no longer be funding their students' association- Te Tira Ahu Pae for 2025.
After receiving backlash from the student body who said the move would "set an alarming precedent for the future of independent student unionism in New Zealand"[118] the university agreed to renew their contracts with the association.
Heagney 13 Nov 2024 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).
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