Enrolments are at 18,018 equivalent full-time students, compared to 17,549 at the same point in 2024.
This is an increase of 469 equivalent full-time students, making it the first year since 2021 in which Otago has recorded overall enrolment growth.
It is also the first year since 2019 in which the university has secured growth in both international and domestic enrolments and puts the university ahead of the 2025 budget forecast for 2% growth.
Vice-chancellor Grant Robertson is pleased with the results.
"In what are financially challenging times for many, the university has worked hard for this result, and it is heartening to see.
"This is positive news, not only for 2025, but also beyond that, as the pipeline impact of a return to first-year growth will benefit us into the future."
In terms of first-year enrolments, domestic enrolments are up 6.6% and, within that group, school leavers are up 7.7 %.
First-year international students are up 26.6 %.
"Internationally, Otago is experiencing significant growth out of Kuwait, Canada, Vietnam and China, and solid growth also from South Africa, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan.
"The United States, though, remains the largest source of new international enrolments thanks to the study abroad programme."
The university typically receives a further enrolment boost of about 1000 equivalent full-time students at the start of semester two.
The final rate of enrolment growth for the year will be determined then.
Infometrics chief economist Brad Olsen said Otago University should be "cautiously optimistic" about its position, but would need to push for more growth in the next few years, particularly as unemployment fluctuated.
"The tertiary education system is still in such a great level of flux at the moment but ... Otago's got some strong offerings, particularly in the health sciences space.
"I expect that [Otago University] would want to capitalise more on that.
"But increasingly, you do see that people are thinking a lot wider about their opportunities — of course, the cost of living pressures and similar have hit."
Over the past three years, Otago University has responded to lower-than-budgeted enrollment and revenue by launching a host of restructuring initiatives, which has resulted in hundreds of job losses.
Universities New Zealand spokeswoman Dr Therese Lloyd said it did not know if the numbers of students enrolling at universities this year had been impacted by economic conditions or government policies.
"Historically, economic upturns and downturns have only had a small impact on enrolments, reflecting the fact that university tends to be a long-term plan for people rather than something they choose at short notice.
"By contrast, vocational education and training, such as is provided through the polytechnic sector, has historically seen much larger increases in enrolments when unemployment is high, and big drops when there is very little unemployment."
