Lincoln University began life in 1878 as a School of Agriculture. From 1896 to 1961 it served students under the name "Canterbury Agricultural College", and offered qualifications of the University of New Zealand until that institution's demise. From 1961 to 1990, it was known as Lincoln College, a part of the University of Canterbury, until achieving autonomy in 1990 as Lincoln University.[2] It is considered the oldest agricultural teaching institution in the Southern Hemisphere. It remains the smallest university in New Zealand. The NZ Tertiary Education Commission's first Performance Based Research Fund ranking exercise in 2003 – equivalent to the UK's RAE – ranked the quality of Lincoln University's research at sixth place. It also received highest percentage increase in research funding.
Academic units
Agriculture and Life Sciences Division: animal science, farm management, horticultural management, Computational Modelling, food and wine science.
Bio-Protection and Ecology Division: entomology; plant pathology and crop protection; ecology, conservation and wildlife management; evolution, molecular genetics and biodiversity.
Commerce Division: accounting, business management, economics, finance, marketing and property studies.
Environment, Society and Design Division: environmental design, resource planning, transport studies, landscape architecture, Māori and indigenous planning and development, recreation management, social sciences, tourism, communication and exercise science.
