Victoria University of Wellington

The Victoria University of Wellington (Māori: Te Herenga Waka; also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic") is a public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by an act of the New Zealand Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand.

The university is well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, and offers a broad range of other courses. Entry to all courses at first year is open, and entry to second year in some programmes (e.g. law, criminology, creative writing, architecture, engineering) is restricted.

Victoria had the highest average research grade in the New Zealand Government's Performance Based Research Fund exercise in both 2012 and 2018, having been ranked 4th in 2006 and 3rd in 2003. Victoria has been ranked 215th in the World's Top 500 universities by the QS World University Rankings (2020).

Victoria University of Wellington (originally known as Victoria University College) was founded in 1897, named after Queen Victoria, on the 60th anniversary of her coronation. The original name was Victoria University College, but on the dissolution of the University of New Zealand in 1961 Victoria or "Vic" became the Victoria University of Wellington, conferring its own degrees.

In 1868, the colonial government of New Zealand passed the University Endowment Act of 1868, which established scholarship programs for study in the home islands of Great Britain, in addition to setting aside a land endowment in the burgeoning colony itself. The following year, with wealth generated from the Otago gold rush in addition to a strong foundation of the Scottish Enlightenment, the provincial government of Otago proceeded to lay the groundwork to establish the University of Otago. This was followed by the creation of Canterbury College, associated with the newly formed University of New Zealand.

In 1878, a royal commission was appointed to review the state of higher education in the country. It recommended the establishment of a federal system of four university colleges, established in Auckland and Wellington, in addition to the integration of the University of Otago and Canterbury College. The colonial government moved to provide sites, statutory grants and land endowments. This was somewhat delayed after the state of recession caused by the collapse of the City of Glasgow Bank in the same year, leading to a contraction in credit from Great Britain, and specifically London, the centre of global finance at the time. Nevertheless, in 1882, parliament passed the Auckland University College Act in 1882.

The growth of the population of Wellington, and the gradual improvement of the economy in the late 1880s were key factors in the final establishment of the college. A prominent advocate of creation was Robert Stout, Premier of New Zealand and later Chief Justice, as well as a member of the university senate. In June 1886, as Minister of Education, Stout signalled the governments intent of introducing a bill to establish a centre for higher learning in Wellington. Being the centre of the colonial government, Stout cited the opportunity for the college to be able to particularly specialise in law, political science, and history.

Stout further suggested that the staff of the New Zealand Colonial Museum could provide services in the fields of geology and natural history. This was indicated in the Wellington University College Bill of 1887, which meant the effective annexation of the museum. Colonial Museum director James Hector voiced considerable opposition to this bill. After a lengthy debate in parliament, this bill was promptly defeated.