Auckland's most well known University. Established late 19th century (1883), which by New Zealand Standards makes it rather old. 26,000 students doing everything from a B.Sc in computer science through to Bachelor of Fine Arts. It is modelled on the traditional British style of universities. Degrees there typically last three years for a straight bachelors.
Physcially consists of a handful of campuses. "City" (in Auckland's CBD), "Tamaki" (middle of nowhere), "Medicine" which is next to and joined with Auckland Hospital, and a handful of other hangers on.
Logically, at the top you have the Chancellor. Then the senate and top level executive type people. (The Vice Chancellor is also at the top somewhere. He's the dude that runs the real day-to-day. The Chancellor dishes out the degrees.)
Below that lot, you have several faculties. They include Science, Arts, Commerce, Engineering, Fine Arts, and Medicine. Then it gets messy. You have professors and lecturers that belong to either departments or schools. Departments in turn either belong to departments, or to schools, or to faculties. Schools then belong to either another school (I think) or a faculty. (Thus, we have the Auckland School Of Business, which contains the Accounting Department. The Department Of Computer Science used to belong to the School Of Mathematical And Information Sciences, but now just belongs to the Faculty Of Science). I once had to do a UML diagram on this for a software engineering assignment, so that’s why I describe it as such.
Things on the city, or main campus include:
- The Clocktower, integrated into the Old Arts Building
- The Quad
- Shadows--on campus pub. And a dark and dingy place it is too.
- AUSA The Auckland University Student's Association. Opinions on this body vary remarkably.
The Old Barracks Wall. (Example in why having a stone wall in the middle of a thoroughfare is generally bad. Even if legend holds that the rectangular hole cut into it was done purely to prove that it was possible.) Except that it’s apparently now boarded up to make way for Library improvements
- 95BFM Studio. Somewhere, never did find it..
A.U. students are a fairly well behaved bunch. Mischief mainly occurs around capping season. Notable pranks include painting pedestrian crossings on symond's street. Something the council should do. That, and hanging a picnic table halfway up the maths and physics building.
cf: Auckland University Of Technology (a different place altogether, although physically next door to the city campus), The University of Waikato, The University Of Otago and other universities in New Zealand
website: http://www.auckland.ac.nz/