44 PhD programmes offered by the university

Understanding the past provides a compass that helps you navigate the present and shape the future. Regardless of geographic area or time period, studying history provides an unrivalled basis for making sense of an increasingly complex and unstable world. We offer a History degree at the University of Otago. 

The Centre for Bioengineering and Nanomedicine at the University of Otago performs cutting‑edge research.

At University of Otago’s leading Gender Studies programme, we’ll surprise you. You’ll be introduced to different perspectives on things you’ve always taken for granted, while you explore television, film, social media, public debate, photography, subculture and fashion as well as scholarly reading.

Dental Technology at University of Otago is the technical side of dentistry in which dental technicians make appliances to improve a patient’s appearance, speech or ability to chew.

Linguistics is the scientific and systematic study of language. Language is probably unique to human experience, and so it has interested people throughout history. You’ve probably thought about it, too. We offer a Linguistics degree at the University of Otago.

The Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree is primarily for University of Otago medical graduates who have completed published original research in any branch of medical science. 

Immunology is taught within the Department of Microbiology at University of Otago. It is concerned with the study of how individuals protect themselves against infectious organisms, i.e. immunity and correcting abberant immune responses. 

At the University of Otago Music programme we cover a unique combination of classical music, contemporary rock music, music production and world music. 

There is no limit to the issues to which philosophers apply their reason: from knowledge (Are scientific claims certain?), to language (What is meaning?), from ethical and social problems (How should we run the country?), to metaphysical issues (Is the future less real than the past?). We offer a phd degree in Philosophy at the University of Otago. 

Social Anthropology at University of Otago explores the cultural grounding of social life. By studying people who are ‘not like us’ – from whichever group of people it is that ‘we’ as researchers might belong – anthropologists learn about the surprising differences in everyday living around the world.

Management at University of Otago is focused on leadership, communications, employment relations, human resource management, organisational behaviour, entrepreneurship, international management, strategy and innovation, operations management and organisational theory.

The Doctor of Clinical Dentistry (DClinDent) degree at University of Otago provides graduate training in nine disciplines in dentistry. 

If you’ve ever wondered how living things work, where they get their energy from, how they make the components they need or what it is that your genes do, then Biochemistry at University of Otago is for you.

The University of Otago is the only New Zealand university to offer an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience.

Surveyors work in a range of land, property and construction related areas. Using modern technology such as GPS and laser instruments surveyors precisely measure land, building, and features in the environment for mapping, development and spatial analysis. We offer Surveying Measurement at University of Otago.

At University of Otago, we use Mathematics for practical things like organising the arrival of materials on a building site in order to reduce storage; encrypting and decrypting internet messages; modelling blood flow through a damaged heart; and predicting the break-up of ice floes.

University of Otago’s Faculty of Law has been providing world-class legal education for almost 150 years. Our academics will help you develop skills for a career that can drive social change in your chosen profession and in the world.

While studying Marketing at University of Otago, we also consider the consequences of consumption from social, ethical and environmental perspectives.

The School of Pharmacy at University of Otago has a comprehensive postgraduate programme, including pharmacy professional programmes up to master’s level. The School also offers research qualifications such as a master’s and PhD.

Tourism at University of Otago goes beyond conventional thinking and explores all aspects of the industry.