Lincoln University is a public university in New Zealand that was formed in 1990 when Lincoln College, Canterbury was made independent of the University of Canterbury. Founded in 1878, it is the oldest agricultural teaching institution in the Southern Hemisphere. It remains the smallest university in New Zealand and one of the eight public universities. The campus is situated on 50 ha of land located about 15 km (9 mi) outside the city of Christchurch, in Lincoln, Canterbury.

The University of Canterbury is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbury College, the first constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is New Zealand's second-oldest university, after the University of Otago, which was founded four years earlier, in 1869.