The National University of Samoa, which is ranked in 1st place on the list of best universities in Samoa, is Samoa's sole national university. It is co-educational and offers certificate, diploma, and undergraduate degree programs, as well as technical and vocational training. It was established by an act of parliament in 1984. In 2010, over 2,000 students were enrolled, with an estimated 300 staff. It provides a diverse range of programs such as arts, business and entrepreneurship, education, science, nursing, engineering, and maritime training. The Centre for Samoan Studies, which was created at the university to educate Samoan language and culture, offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as the world's first Master of Samoan Studies degree.

An Act of Parliament founded the National University of Samoa in 1984. Its first-degree program, the Bachelor of Education, was introduced in 1987. The Bachelor of Arts degree was created a year later. The first alumni from both programs received their diplomas in 1990. Soon after, the faculties of commerce and science were founded. The Samoan Health Department's School of Nursing was combined into the university as the Faculty of Nursing in 1993, and the Western Samoa Teacher's College was amalgamated as the Faculty of Education in 1997.

The Institute of Samoan Studies was founded in 1999, and its name was changed to the Centre for Samoan Studies in 2005. Samoa Polytechnic became the Institute of Technology after merging with the university in 2006. The University joined with Samoa Polytechnic in 2006, and its governing legislation was modified to become the National University of Samoa Act 2006.

The institution is managed by a council, which is chaired by the provost. The Pro-Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific, a member of the University Senate, staff and student representatives, up to six members nominated by the O le Ao o le Malo, and up to four more members co-opted by the council comprise the council. Council members serve for one to three years and may be reappointed for a total of three mandates. The chancellor is the council's titular head, appointed by the O le Ao o le Malo for a five-year tenure. The vice-chancellor, who is appointed by the council, is the university's main executive.

Location: Apia, Samoa

Website: www.nus.edu.ws

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNationalUniversityofSamoa/

Oceania University of Medicine (OUM) is a Samoan-chartered medical school run by the Government of Samoa and e-Medical Education, LLC, a Florida-based firm. This university ranks 2nd on our list of best universities in Samoa. Preclinical and clinical phases comprise the OUM program. Prior to beginning clinical rotations, OUM students must pass the USMLE Step 1 or an international equivalent. The preclinical phase is delivered through distance learning, while the clinical phase is delivered in clinical settings in regional teaching hospitals. The medical school was formed in 2002 by philanthropist Taffy Gould, a group of Australian doctors, and others to address a hole in the South Pacific: a shortage of medical experts.

Because of the remote location of Samoa and the surrounding islands, and online curriculum with local physician mentors evolved. Aspiring physicians in other places faced comparable challenges in earning a medical degree due to geographical isolation and/or personal obligations. Soon after, OUM began to get applications from people all around the world.

Oceania University of Medicine (OUM) functions as an autonomous statutory corporation in cooperation with the Samoan government, represented by the prime minister, under a charter executed by the Government of Independent Samoa (previously Western Samoa). Its jurisdiction stems from the Oceania University of Medicine Act, which was passed by Samoa's Legislative Assembly in January 2002. As part of the arrangement, OUM is operated by e-Medical Education, LLC, a worldwide software and health science education corporation. The institution, which is located on the grounds of the National Hospital Complex in Apia, officially opened in March 2002 with seven students.

Professor Don Wilbur, the acting Dean, returned to the United States less than a month after the school opened, leaving only one academic staff member in Samoa. In October 2002, five university students claimed that they were not receiving the education for which they had paid. An Australian Labor MP slammed the university's Australian branch in 2005 for providing "worthless" degrees. The Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities granted the university accreditation in 2009. Accreditation was first given in 2010 and was reaffirmed in 2011. Without the knowledge of the university council, Vice-Chancellor Professor Surindar Cheema and the majority of the staff were fired in March 2011 by the university's American owner.

The Samoan government began talks in September 2012 about taking over the university and combining it with the National University of Samoa. The Samoan government began completely supporting the university in January 2013. The university was nationalized in 2014 and handed to the NUS, where it became the School of Medicine. Overseas students are still graduating from the university. The university relocated to new teaching facilities at the Tupua Tamasese Motootua Hospita in 2019.

Location: Apia, Samoa
Website: www.oum.edu.ws
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OceaniaMed/

The University of the South Pacific (USP), which ranks 3rd on our list of best universities in Samoa, is a public research university with campuses in a dozen Oceanian countries. The institution was founded in 1968 and is owned by the governments of 12 Pacific island countries: the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. With over 30,000 students in 2017, USP is an international center for teaching and research on Pacific culture and environment. The main campus of the university is in Suva, Fiji, with satellite campuses in each member country.

Colin Aikman was the university's first Vice-Chancellor when it opened on February 5, 1968. Initially, instruction was restricted to introductory courses, which were equivalent to the New Zealand School Certificate and University Entrance. Degree programs began in 1969, with multidisciplinary courses offered by a school of natural resources, a school of education, and a school of social and economic development. On December 2, 1971, the first graduation ceremony was held, with 49 students earning degrees, diplomas, and certificates.

The university began creating regional extension centers in the 1970s to provide continuing education, correspondence, and extramural courses. It also began to argue for Pacific regionalism and to take on a distinct "Pacific flavor," with Vice-Chancellor James Maraj saying that the institution should become "really a university of the Pacific peoples." It created the Institute of Pacific Studies in 1976, led by Professor Ron Crocombe, to increase students' understanding of Pacific identity and the region. Over the next two decades, the institute published over 2000 Pacific authors' work. Every USP undergraduate program still includes a foundation course in Pacific studies.

The government of Western Samoa leased the South Pacific Regional College of Tropical Agriculture in Alafua to the university in 1977 in order to construct an agricultural school. It is now the Alafua campus of the university. It established the Emalus Campus in Vanuatu in 1989, which has housed the university's law school and the Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute since 1996.

Location: Apia, Samoa
Website: www.usp.ac.fj
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USPSamoaCampus/