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🎓 Top Research Universities in New Zealand

Universities and colleges in New Zealand ranked by the total citations their research has received (OpenAlex).

📅 2026📏 citations38 entries🇳🇿 See all of this country’s rankings →
Every dot is one entry, placed by its value (citations, logarithmic scale); the vertical bar marks each row’s median.
1
University of Auckland139,688 papers
10,272,593
2
Auckland University of Technology29,782 papers
8,135,013
3
University of Otago90,763 papers
6,881,289
4
Massey University53,153 papers
2,876,410
5
University of Canterbury52,150 papers
2,615,938
6
Victoria University of Wellington60,734 papers
1,984,032
7
University of Waikato30,439 papers
1,428,272
8
Lincoln University13,186 papers
763,502
9
Unitec Institute of Technology3,373 papers
63,300
10
Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology299 papers
25,761
11
Eastern Institute of Technology1,243 papers
23,242
12
Waikato Institute of Technology1,085 papers
19,837
13
Manukau Institute of Technology655 papers
17,530
14
Otago Polytechnic1,154 papers
17,125
15
Ara Institute of Canterbury824 papers
16,879
16
New Zealand College of Chiropractic294 papers
9,854
17
Open Polytechnic674 papers
7,174
18
Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology361 papers
6,562
19
Te Pūkenga529 papers
5,953
20
Universal College of Learning189 papers
5,496
21
Waiariki Institute of Technology97 papers
4,409
22
Auckland Institute of Studies153 papers
3,848
23
Wellington Institute of Technology328 papers
3,796
24
Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners117 papers
2,702
25
Southern Institute of Technology189 papers
2,025
26
Institute of the Pacific United142 papers
1,787
27
Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi119 papers
1,635
28
Te Rito Maioha Early Childhood New Zealand87 papers
892
29
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa162 papers
712
30
Media Design School173 papers
575
31
Laidlaw College132 papers
486
32
Waikato-Tainui College for Research and Development10 papers
273
33
Chelsea Primary School17 papers
230
34
Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design66 papers
218
35
Carey Baptist College80 papers
130
36
Good Shepherd College22 papers
90
37
Mt Albert Primary School6 papers
50
38
Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School7 papers
6

Highlights

Within New Zealand, University of Auckland ranks first in 2026 with 10,272,593, followed by Auckland University of Technology (8,135,013) and University of Otago (6,881,289).

Across 38 entries, values run from 10,272,593 (University of Auckland) to 6 (Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School), with a median of 5,725.

Source: OpenAlex, citations received by each institution's papers, 2026. Unit: citations.

Source: OpenAlex, citations received by each institution's papers · CC0 1.0 (OpenAlex) · fetched Oct 13, 2026 — Counts every citation to papers by authors affiliated with the institution, so large and old universities score high. It measures research impact, not teaching quality.