The New Zealand Government offers commonwealth scholarship for the
students of participating developing commonwealth countries. The
scholarship is offered for master and PhD studies at New Zealand
universities. The scholarships will cover tuition and enrolment fees and
provide an establishment allowance, a basic stipend, approved
scholarship-related travel, some course-related costs, and medical and
travel insurance. To apply for these scholarships applicants must submit
application to their nominating agency.
Study Subject(s): Scholarships
will be awarded in agreed priority study sectors to meet countries’ or
regions’ human resources development needs and training priorities, as
set by the New Zealand Government and nominating agencies. The priority
study sectors are: leadership and governance, economics, public sector
governance and reform, environmental studies, education, health,
agriculture and fisheries, biosecurity and food safety, infrastructure
and utility and human rights and gender
Course Level: Applications can be for either Master’s or PhD level study in New Zealand.
Scholarship Provider: New Zealand Government
Scholarship can be taken at: New Zealand
Eligibility: To be eligible to be considered for a Commonwealth Scholarship an applicant must:
a. have citizenship of a participating developing Commonwealth country;
permanent residents of a participating country are not eligible to
apply;
b. be residing in their country of citizenship, preferably for at least two years prior to application;
c. not have citizenship or permanent residence status of New Zealand or
Australia, or another developed country, except where their country
does not issue passports and they hold a New Zealand passport (i.e. the
Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau);
d. not be married or engaged to be
married to a person who holds, or who is eligible to hold, citizenship
or permanent residence status of New Zealand, Australia or another
developed country, except where their country does not issue passports
and they hold a New Zealand passport (i.e. the Cook Islands, Niue or
Tokelau);
e. be applying to commence a new qualification and not be seeking funding for one already commenced at PhD or Masters level;
f. satisfy the admission requirements of the New Zealand university at
which the qualification is to be undertaken, including English language
criteria;
g. have been working in their country of citizenship, preferably for at least two years prior to application;
h. hold a first degree of upper second class Honours (or above); or a
second class degree and a relevant postgraduate qualification, which
will normally be a Master’s degree;
i. be available to commence
their academic studies in New Zealand at the start of the New Zealand
academic year in February 2014;
j. have already secured admission
to their preferred New Zealand university; evidence of admission (eg. a
letter of offer) is required with the application form; a conditional
letter of offer from a New Zealand university is sufficient to allow an
application to be accepted;
k. have a planned programme start date
(in the letter of offer) at the start of the New Zealand Academic year
in February 2014; offers for a planned start date for Semester 2, 2014
cannot be accepted.
Scholarship Open for International Students: The students of participating developing Commonwealth country can apply for this scholarship.
Scholarship Description: The 2013-2014 Commonwealth Scholarship for students from developing countries to study in New 
Zealand
is now open for applications. The Commonwealth Scholarship and
Fellowship Plan (CSFP) is an international programme under which member
governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other
Commonwealth countries. The CSFP was established at the first
Commonwealth education conference in 1959 and is reviewed by education
ministers at their triennial meetings – the only scholarship scheme in
the world to receive such high-level recognition. The CSFP was set up to
provide a framework through which any Commonwealth government could
offer scholarships or career development opportunities to citizens of
other Commonwealth countries.
What does it cover? The New
Zealand Commonwealth Scholarships scheme funds tuition and enrolment
fees, an establishment allowance, a basic stipend, approved
scholarship-related travel, some course-related costs, and medical and
travel insurance. Each Scholarship provides:
a. Travel:
International, and New Zealand domestic, air travel at the start and end
of the scholarship for awardees, and reimbursement of awardees’ visa
costs. In addition, a reunion travel entitlement may be available to
awardees who have left dependants in their home country.
b. Tuition Fees and other compulsory institutional course costs.
c. Postgraduate research and thesis allowance: An allowance of
NZ$1,500, and a return economy airfare to awardees’ home country for
overseas fieldwork, if research component is 50% or greater.
d. Medical and Travel Insurance
e. Establishment allowance: NZ$3,000 paid on arrival in New Zealand to
meet text book costs and to assist with other set up costs in New
Zealand. At the beginning of each additional study year NZ$1,000 will be
paid to cover the full year.
f. Living Allowance: The annual rate
of NZ$21,580 (NZ$415 per week) is paid fortnightly and is a contribution
to living costs for day-to-day expenses, including accommodation (rent
or board), food costs, utility expenses (telephone, electricity etc.),
transport, personal items, and course-related costs (stationery, field
trips, workshops etc.).
Selection Criteria: Complete and
eligible applications will be assessed and reviewed by a selection
committee in Wellington, New Zealand. Members of this committee will be
representatives from the New Zealand Aid Programme at MFAT and
representatives from the Scholarships Committee of Universities NZ. The
nominations submitted to Universities NZ will be considered by the
selection committee according to the following selection criteria:
-academic merit of the candidate.
-the quality of the research proposal.
-the likely impact of the work on the development of the candidate’s home country.
How to Apply:
The application form is available from the applicant’s Nominating
Agency. Each applicant must submit to their Nominating Agency one (1)
original application form and all requested attachments. In addition to
the application form the following documents are required:
a. Certified copy of applicant’s birth certificate (in English);
b. Certified copy of official evidence of any name change for applicant (in English);
c. Certified copy of the personal pages of applicant’s passport;
d. Certified copy of the academic transcript for all tertiary
qualifications held by the applicant and the grading schedule for each
qualification (in English);
e. Certified copy of the completion or
graduation certificate for each tertiary qualification that the
applicant has completed (in English);
f. If the applicant is
employed, a current job description confirming their position and
outlining their responsibilities and duties;
g. A current (dated) curriculum vitae – a brief history of the applicant’s education, work experiences and skills;
h. Three (3) references (no more than 24 months old) on official
letterhead, supporting the scholarship application to study in New
Zealand, and relevant to their proposed study programme or research
topic. References should be provided from the applicant’s current
employer, a former lecturer or academic supervisor (in an area of study
relevant to the application) and, where possible, a relevant government
or community based organization;
Note: Applications with less than three references will be disadvantaged;
i. An letter of offer from the New Zealand University at which the
applicant wishes to study (see Section 8 of the application form);
j. A 500 word statement describing the specific skills and knowledge the
applicant wishes to gain from the proposed study and how this will
contribute to the applicant’s current and/or future job (see Section 9
of the application form);
k. A 500 word statement describing how the
applicant’s proposed area of study will enable them to contribute to
the social or economic development of their home country (see Section 9
of the application form);
l. A 500 word statement outlining the proposed research topic.
From the applications received each Nominating Agency will identify up
to two applications to nominate to Universities NZ. Universities NZ will
receive the nominated applications from the Nominating Agencies. These
applications will be subject to a final check for eligibility and
completeness. Any nominated applications that are found to be ineligible
or incomplete will be rejected. Only those nominees whose
recommendation by Universities NZ is endorsed by the New Zealand Aid
Programme will be offered a scholarship.
Scholarship Application Deadline:
Each Nominating Agency will set their own country deadline for the
receipt of applications. Nominating Agencies are aware that their
nominations must be received by Universities NZ in Wellington, New
Zealand no later than 31st July 2013.
For
the purpose of encouraging postgraduate research at Victoria, the
University offers scholarships to students about to commence a
full-time, research-focussed Master’s degree. Over thirty scholarships
shall be offered, consisting of a $15,000 stipend, plus domestic fees.
International students, other than those from Australia will be liable
to pay the difference between the full international student fee and the
domestic fee.
