From the beginning, it was envisaged that Māori studies should be a key feature of the new university, and the Centre for Māori Studies and Research was set up in the School of Social Sciences in 1972. A separate School of Māori and Pacific Development was formally established in 1996. In 1999, the original Schools of Humanities and Social Sciences were merged to form the School (later Faculty) of Arts and Social Sciences. In 2010, the tertiary partnership was widened to include Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.