Aokautere , North Island , New Zealand
Total Students
National Ranking
Our tertiary institute was conceptualized in 1987, when Hiroshi Ohashi, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, then and today, and other experts in the educational field across the Pacific-Rim nations assembled and discussed ‘an ideal model for an innovative approach to tertiary education in the 21st century.
Dr. Kay Andersen, former Executive Director of WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges, USA) was appointed as Director and supported Ohashi to lead the discussion. Dr. Anderson's expertise in tertiary education and governmental approval procedures made a significant contribution to the project.
Professor Emeritus Herbert Passin, from Columbia University, also joined the project. His inexhaustible knowledge of tertiary education and the societies of the USA and Japan propelled the promotion of the project.
The discussion continued over a year and a half, delivering a new grand scheme for establishing a tertiary education system with a consortium of campuses in Pacific-Rim nations, where credits would be transferrable and students could obtain a degree at any campus when all credits required for graduation were complete.
Our tertiary institute - known for 25 years until 2015 as IPC (International Pacific College) - was established as the first campus of the scheme in 1990, the year of the 150th anniversary of the establishment of New Zealand. Criteria for this establishment as envisaged by Chairman Ohashi included:
Our institute, the first campus of the grand scheme, satisfied these three requirements and has successfully supported students coming from many corners of the world with their studies as international students living in New Zealand and away from their home countries, as well as domestic students. Today, students from some two dozen countries live and study on our campus in Palmerston North while we have cooperative links with many tertiary institutions and secondary schools throughout Asia.
The second campus of the scheme opened in 2007 in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The International Pacific University, whose philosophy is to combine pedagogy, teacher education, and physical education, has become a leading university in the Chugoku region in Japan in the few years since its establishment.
Meanwhile, our institution, as the first campus in the scheme, has redeveloped its undergraduate degree like the Bachelor of Contemporary International Studies (BCIS) with a strong emphasis on International Business as well as its other majors (International Relations, Japanese Studies, Language (TESOL) Studies, and Environmental Studies). The Japanese government recently approved the second campus, IPU Japan, to launch its new Bachelor of Contemporary Business Management in April 2016. These developments will enable the exchange of students and faculty between the two campuses, which was the vision stated at the outset of the grand scheme.
Reflecting on the scheme with its proposed wide reach, an application was lodged with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) to change our trading name. The application was approved and we initiated the rebranding process in September 2015. Today we are known as the Institute of Pacific United New Zealand, in short, IPU New Zealand. This name is more clearly indicative of the extent of our reach and linkages from New Zealand across the Pacific and into Asia.
Preparations are underway for the establishment of the third international campus as further development of the original grand scheme. As the first campus and the central hub of the scheme, IPU New Zealand will continue developing itself as a unique tertiary institute in the Pacific-Rim nations, with its strong focus on Asia.
THE Ranking::
N/A
QS Ranking::
N/A
Type of Accommodation::
On Campus
Annual Cost of living:
20000 NZD / year
Average Annual UG Fee:
19000 NZD
Average Annual PG Fee:
19000 NZD
Application Fee:
N/A