Study Abroad at the University of Auckland, NZ

Had a great time at this university. I enjoyed the courses I took whilst here (I am a chemistry major). New Zealand is a beautiful country so there are many opportunities to travel and explore the wonderful scenery. Accommodation is expensive, and so are general living costs such as food shopping. They have a society for you to meet other exchange students, but it is just as good to join other clubs where you will meet other full time students as well as other internationals.

Beautiful country, a great school with friendly people! It has been the best experience I've ever had. For me, the best part is the education system, from which I finally found the enjoyment of study and figure out what I really want to do and need to do in the future. I really learn a lot from the courses and definitely it would be helpful in my future career.

Highly recommend this program :)

Great school and everything but lacking the night life and accommodation is crazy expensive but hey, I chose Auckland for the scenery (the south island) and travelling - not for the university I was going to attend! SASS group was not as good as I expected. The study abroad student society didn't organize much events but it's run by students not by the school so it was still good. I think the university itself should involve its exchange students more in the university life.

While I had a difficulties with my home university figuring out what I needed to arrange for my exchange, I was filled with relief when I received my first email from the University of Auckland. Everything was so clearly explained, step-by-step, reminders for deadlines, etc., their services for international students are great! I also really loved the attention they paid to student mental health throughout the semester. My master courses were very interesting and challenging, with small classes and approachable teachers. There are unique courses like pacific health that you can't do anywhere else in the world! I stayed at one of the University halls, which was nice because almost everyone else was also an international student & there are often activities, but it was very expensive. I would also recommend signing up for some student organisations like the climbing club and study abroad society. It is nice that the city campus is very close to the city centre and there are a lots of places with great (international) food. There are many places nearby that you can visit, we tried to get out of Auckland almost every weekend (and the south island is even more amazing <3<3). The weather in summer is great (and in winter pretty good as well in my opinion) and the nature in New Zealand is crazy beautiful. I did lots of hiking with international friends. New Zealand is a country I normally wouldn't travel to because it's so far away, so combining it with my studies was the perfect experience!

I have stayed for several months in different countries over the years, and New Zealand is so far my favorite place. The university is amazing; I had great teachers who followed up everything, the teachers even changed my assignments to make the best possible learning outcomes for me since I was from another country, great support from the university in general, and tons of activities to do and clubs/sports to join. I have had a really good time here, and I would absolutely recommend the university.

Auckland in itself is a great place to study. As a city, I don’t think Auckland is the best place to visit as a tourist, but I absolutely loved to live here. The rest of New Zealand is amazing, with a huge variety to offer in activities, beaches, hikes, etc. Someone said at the beginning of the semester “New Zealand has a lot to offer, but don’t forget that you are also here to study”. A few times, I have been frustrated that I chose to study, because I could literally use all these months just to travel through the country. All in all, I’ve had the best time here in New Zealand, and I’m frustrated about the fact that I’m leaving in a few weeks.

I knew as soon as I got off the plane that this year was going to be an experience and what a year it has been! The University itself is right in the heart of the city and always brimming with life. My accommodation, although expensive, was nice and the staff really friendly. The Study Abroad team always makes sure you are up to date with current events and is always on hand if you need any help.
My time here has flown by and I wouldn't change any of it for the world. Without sounding too cliché this year was definitely a life-changing experience. Would definitely recommend studying abroad and especially the University of Auckland for anybody looking for an amazing new experience.

I never liked the idea of going to a "city" university, and although Tulane is in New Orleans it still has a defined small campus atmosphere and I love it. Moving to University of Auckland for a semester made me nervous knowing that it was a much larger university (as far as student population) located right in central Auckland, but I have really enjoyed exploring the city and campus because it is so green everywhere, easy to get around by walking or taking the bus, and my study abroad program hosts a lot of events that have helped make this place feel like home. I love that I can take the bus to Mt Eden to watch the sunset, or to the beach to relax, or walk through the Domain to escape the city-feel. My classes, even though they are large lectures, are engaging and I love how connected I feel to all of my lecturers here despite the large number of students. It is also different not having regularly graded homework assignments like in the States, so having only a few larger heavily weighted assignments was definitely a slightly stressful adjustment. Coming to Auckland for study abroad allowed me to experience a new place and culture as well as getting to explore the beauty of New Zealand, and I have learned to appreciate all of the differences between places that I have been able to live throughout my life.

The country of New Zealand is absolutely beautiful and Auckland was a great place to spend a semester. The school was safe, quiet and fun. The only complaint I have are that the student visas we got were a nightmare. Over two months, hours of phone calls and finally the night before our flight, the visa arrived. We were told that our our funds weren’t sufficienct, our banking details weren’t good enough and we didn’t provide enough information. Except, in the end, we were fine. It may have just been the customer service representative, but we were seriously considering not going because of the inhospitable nature of the people we dealt with.

When we arrived in in NZ, we were pleasantly surprised at how polite the customs agents and people in general were. And overall, our trip was an amazing adventure that we will treasure for the rest of our lives.