Key statistics

The University of Auckland is New Zealand’s largest research organisation with more than 13,000 staff and postgraduate students involved in fundamental and applied research. It generates around $230 million in annual research revenue. In the New Zealand government’s assessment of research output and quality, the Performance Based Research Fund (PBRF), we are the top performer in all three PBRF component areas: Research Quality Evaluation, Research Degree Completions and External Research Income.

In the most recent (2018) evaluation, the University of Auckland:

Had 33% of the top rated researchers in the whole country.
Gained 31% of the funding based on research degree completions and 33% of the funding based on external research income.
Gained 30% of the funding overall, thereby confirming its position as the nation’s premier research institution.

More on the University of Auckland's Research.

Gender and graduation rates

Graduation rates are calculated at five years out from the year where the cohort began studying. For example, in 2026 we look at students who started their programmes in 2021.
Different programmes have different base lengths, and in most cases, students are not required to take a full schedule of courses in any given semester, or to limit themselves to only courses that count towards their programme.
We report here the percentage of students who completed their programme within five years of starting. It is important to note that a student not meeting this particular cut-off does not necessarily mean that they never finished (or never will finish) their programme.
Completion rates for male and female students are similar at all levels and for all starting years shown below, ranging from a 3.1% advantage for male students at the Postgraduate level who started in 2020, to a 2.9% advantage for female students at the Doctoral level who started in 2019.
Cohorts with fewer than 50 students are not shown.

5-Year completion rates by gender and programme level enrolment strat from 2017 to 2021

Gender distribution of students by programme level, 2017–2021

Starting Year	Programme Level	Female %	Male %	Diverse %
2017	Doctorate	61%	59%	n/a
2017	Postgraduate	78%	81%	n/a
2017	Undergraduate	56%	54%	n/a
2018	Doctorate	61%	62%	n/a
2018	Postgraduate	79%	81%	n/a
2018	Undergraduate	56%	54%	n/a
2019	Doctorate	56%	53%	n/a
2019	Postgraduate	78%	81%	n/a
2019	Undergraduate	57%	57%	52%
2020	Doctorate	57%	59%	n/a
2020	Postgraduate	78%	81%	n/a
2020	Undergraduate	56%	54%	44%
2021	Doctorate	54%	57%	n/a
2021	Postgraduate	76%	76%	n/a
2021	Undergraduate	53%	51%	50%

Acceptance and enrolment by gender

Applications are tabulated by the number of unique applicants at a given level, and in a given year. For example, if someone made five applications at an undergraduate level in 2025, received three offers, and enrolled in one programme, they would only be counted as one applicant, one offer, and one enrolment.
Women made up a majority of applicants at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level, while in most years, men made up a slightly larger percentage of doctoral applications.
Because the doctoral pool is the smallest of the three, women applying to the University outnumbered men overall (in 2025, 43,252 women vs. 35,770 men).
Applications submitted by women were more likely in all years and at all levels to result in an offer being made.
At an undergraduate level, women who received offers were slightly less likely (by 3 - 7%) than men to take up enrolment, but were more likely to do so at a postgraduate level (by 6 - 13%), and at a doctoral level (by 3 - 17%).
Differences in conversion and enrolment rates for women and men are minor, and do not reflect a systemic issue for either group.

Academic Year/Programme Level	Women Applicants	Women Application to Offer	Women Offer to Enrolment	Men Applicants	Men Application Offer	Men Offer to Enrolment	Diverse and Not Stated Applicants	Diverse and Not Stated Application to Offer	Diverse and Not Stated Offer to Enrolment
2021 Doctorate	1,579	28%	64%	2,107	21%	47%
2021 Postgraduate	14,499	74%	40%	11,099	63%	27%	87	74%	45%
2021 Undergraduate	17,747	76%	49%	13,123	72%	52%	258	73%	65%
2022 Doctorate	1,268	31%	57%	1,579	21%	51%
2022 Postgraduate	12,731	73%	41%	9,348	64%	30%	101	69%	41%
2022 Undergraduate	16,705	74%	45%	12,222	71%	52%	281	76%	54%
2023 Doctorate	1,806	32%	56%	1,922	22%	49%
2023 Postgraduate	15,261	69%	37%	12,624	56%	27%	137	68%	45%
2023 Undergraduate	17,057	69%	43%	13,447	65%	48%	316	68%	48%
2024 Doctorate	1,898	29%	58%	1,830	27%	54%
2024 Postgraduate	19,022	69%	32%	15,680	57%	23%	149	70%	42%
2024 Undergraduate	18,937	68%	42%	15,433	62%	48%	328	67%	52%
2025 Doctorate	2,098	29%	61%	2,196	24%	53%
2025 Postgraduate	19,974	70%	31%	16,446	60%	25%	163	68%	49%
2025 Undergraduate	21,182	68%	42%	17,128	62%	47%	310	72%	53%

Staff and student statistics

University statistics on staff and student numbers, qualification completions, and international students for 2013-2024 are available below. Key facts and figures about staff and students are published in the University's Annual Report.