Otago Polytechnic is a small fashion school located in the deep south of New Zealand in the university town Dunedin, where 22 percent of the population is made up of students. The school aims to overcome its geographical isolation, encouraging international exchanges to Europe, Asia and the Americas for 2nd and 3rd year students. The school also aims to bring international experience and exposure to the city—iD Dunedin Fashion week has attracted industry figures such as Stefan Siegel from Not Just A Label, Stephen Jones, and Lutz Huelle. The school is extremely small, with a student cohort made up of roughly 50 students, 85 percent of which are female and nearly 95 percent are from New Zealand. According to our student survey, the school’s main areas for improvement are its business and marketing courses, career services and global reach. However, over 90 percent of students in our survey were satisfied with the school’s resources and campus and its teaching of technical skills. The school is currently in the early stages of planning for a new purpose-designed building that will encourage a higher lever of cross-discipline collaboration.
47th
Undergraduate, Fashion Ranking 2016
Full-time fashion students
55
International students
7%
Student : Teacher ratio
13:1
Tuition: Domestic/intl
$5k/$15k
Acceptance rate
74%
Graduation Rate
70%
Courses Offered
Undergraduate:
Bachelor of Design (Fashion)
Student & Alumni Comments
"Otago Polytechnic offered a broad range of knowledge regarding many different avenues of design - Fashion, Communication, Product and Interior design, with the main focus being on fashion. I feel it was beneficial having gained knowledge of the other three design fields and to understand the links between them."
"I think that Otago Polytechnic succeeds in teaching students a diverse set of skills; this is probably its best distinction, in that students graduate with a broad understanding of the industry. An Honours year is now an option for post-graduate study which encourages students to hone in on particular skills that they are interested in after gaining a broader understanding."
"It gave me what I needed at the time, but I was disappointed to have to do my own learning around sustainability."
"Amazing lecturers and practical experience. I would have appreciated more time spent setting us up for the New Zealand and Australian fashion industry."
"A great community environment and heavy focus on tailoring techniques and construction which I've found most valuable in starting my own business straight after my degree. I think there is less focus on global fashion trends and I actually think that works in our favour. I don't think it's because they neglect that aspect, it's just that New Zealand is so far removed from the major fashion centres so we tend to focus on our own style."
Full Undergraduate, Fashion Ranking
The Business of Fashion's global fashion school rankings aim to provide an objective assessment of the top undergraduate and graduate fashion programmes around the world.