Rankings and reputation
Our University stands proudly on the world stage as a provider of future-focused, international education and an active player in global research. Our rankings reflect these strengths.
QS World University Rankings 2025
Placed 235th in the world and the #1 University in New Zealand for Research (measured by citations per faculty member).
QS Rankings by Subject 2024
16 subjects and subject areas ranked by QS, 11 in the top 350 globally:
- Accounting & Finance (201-250)
- Agriculture & Forestry (301-350)
- Economics & Econometrics (301-350)
- Education (201-250)
- English Language & Literature (301-330)
- Geography (201-230)
- Law (251-300)
- Philosophy (201-210)
- Psychology (301-330)
- Sociology (251-300)
- Sports-related Subjects (51-100)
QS Sustainability Ranking 2024
Ranked 99th in the world, with a 27th place in Environmental Education and 36th place in Environmental Impact.
Find out more about our QS Rankings.
QS Annual Survey
QS uses an annual survey to assess institutions’ academic and employer reputation:
If you employ our graduates and would like to take part in this annual survey, complete the form.
QS Global Employer Reputation Survey
If you are an academic in a university anywhere in the world, or if you have knowledge of academic research in your area of expertise, and would like to take part in the survey, complete the form.
QS Global Academic Reputation Survey
THE Impact Rankings 2024
We are ranked in the 101-200 band globally.
The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings score institutions against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The ranking reflects the University of Waikato’s commitment to using the power of our research and our people to make a significant, positive contribution on both a local and global scale.
We are proud to be ranked in the Top 100 Globally against 5 SDGs:
- SDG5 Gender Equality: =86th
- SDG6 Clean Water and Sanitation: 72nd
- SDG8 Decent Work and Economic Growth: =42nd
- SDG15 Life on Land: =63rd
- SDG16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: =35th
Learn more about our commitment to sustainability.
THE World University Rankings 2025
We are ranked in the 401-500 band globally.
THE Rankings by Subject 2024
Five subjects ranked by THE in the top 300 globally:
- Business and Economics (151-175)
- Education (251-300)
- Life Sciences (251-300)
- Psychology (251-300)
- Social Sciences (176-200)
Find out more about our THE World University and Subject Rankings
International student satisfaction
The 2023 International Student Barometer surveyed over 117,000 international students studying all over the world.
90% of the students surveyed who studied at the University of Waikato were very satisfied or satisfied with their experience. Our satisfaction rates are higher than the comparable benchmarks for the international universities and the six New Zealand universities that took part.
Waikato Management School: Triple Crown status
Waikato Management School is a member of an elite group of business schools worldwide that have earned 'Triple Crown' status – an international acknowledgement of excellence in business education. We are accredited to AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA – only 1% of the world's business schools have met the strict standards of all three accreditation bodies.
Internationally accredited MBA
In 2022, Waikato Management School received re-accreditation for its MBA programme from AMBA for five years, the maximum length of accreditation available.
Engineering New Zealand accredited
At Waikato, our eligible engineering programmes are fully accredited by Engineering New Zealand. This means that our Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) students benefit from a qualification that is benchmarked to international standards and recognised internationally.
iSchools member
Our School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences is the first New Zealand member of the international group of iSchools – a partnership of the world's leading information schools. Membership reflects the international standing of our research into the relationships between information, people and technology; ranging from cyber-security and data mining to graphic design.
