Christchurch

QS Best Student Cities ranking: 65th

Ranked 65th in this year’s QS Best Student Cities ranking, Christchurch is New Zealand’s second-highest entry (behind Auckland). The largest city on New Zealand’s South Island, Christchurch is known as ‘the Garden City’ – a testament to its beautiful, award-winning parks and gardens. Located on the east coast, close to the Southern Alps, it’s also traditionally known as the most English of New Zealand’s cities. There’s no shortage of things to do in Christchurch and the surrounding area, including skiing, bungee jumping, whitewater rafting, mountain biking, wind surfing, whale watching and more.

Though a number of earthquakes have hit the city in recent years, Christchurch has been experiencing rapid growth, with the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan aiming to ensure it is a safe, enjoyable and accessible city.

The two top universities in Christchurch are both within the top 400 in the world – University of Canterbury, ranked joint 227th in the world (fourth in New Zealand), and Lincoln University, ranked joint 356th in the world.

Would Christchurch get your vote? Tell us why.

Internationally ranked universities in Christchurch

More about Christchurch

To find out how each of the above categories is calculated, view the methodology.