The University of Canterbury is New Zealand's second oldest university. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbury College, the first constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Its original campus was in the Christchurch Central City, but in 1961 it began moving out of its original neo-gothic buildings, which were re-purposed as the Christchurch Arts Centre. The move was completed on 1 May 1975 and the university now operates its main campus in the Christchurch suburb of Ilam.
Canterbury offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in more than 70 subjects. Some 12,000 students are enrolled and, each year, more than 3000 students graduate. UC is proud of the great diversity that has always existed at the University and of how UC graduates have excelled in a multitude of areas through a wide range of achievements. Notable staff and alumni include: Ernest Rutherford (Nobel Prize winner in Physics), Clive Granger (Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences), Robert Grubbs (Nobel Memorial Prize in Chemistry), Bill Rowling (politician, former Prime Minister of New Zealand), John Key (politician, former Prime Minister of New Zealand), to name a few.
