University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship

Code: 43
Faculty: All
Applicable study: PhD, MD, DClinPsy, DocFA,EdD or DHSc
Closing date: 1 March, 1 June, 1 September, 1 November
Tenure: Up to 36 months FTE
For: Assistance with study
Number on offer: Varies
Offer rate: Up to 4 times a year
Value: Varies

Description

The Scholarship was established in 1996 and revised in 2023.

The intention of the Scholarship is to encourage and support excellent domestic and international doctoral candidates
who wish to conduct research which aligns with the strategic objectives of Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of
Auckland. Applicants who are applying to enrol in their first doctorate will be assessed for scholarship eligibility and
award at the time of application to the doctoral programme.

Selection process

- The Scholarship is awarded by the University of Auckland Council on the recommendation of the Dean of Graduate
Studies (or nominee)
- The basis of selection will be alignment with the strategic objectives of the University, Faculty, LSRI or URC

Regulations

1. The Scholarship shall be known as the University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship.

2. a) For awardees enrolled in a PhD, MD, DClinPsy or DocFA and awardees enrolled in a DHSc or EdD without a
compulsory part-time component, and provided the awardee continues to meet the requirements of these regulations
including but not limited to eligibility to pay domestic tuition fees for the doctoral programme (see Note II), the
University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship consists of i) a tax-free stipend of up to $33,825 per annum in 2024 (see
Note I), with an annual CPI adjustment to the stipend value, for up to 36 months of full-time equivalent (FTE) doctoral
enrolment, ii) the Student Services Fee and compulsory tuition fees for prescribed study for the doctoral programme
for up to 36 months FTE, iii) the single student Health Insurance compulsory charge (as detailed on the tuition fees
invoice) for the duration of the Scholarship for international students. Part-time awardees will be paid pro-rata for up
to 72 months (see Note IX). b) For awardees enrolled in a DHSc or EdD with a compulsory part-time coursework
component, and provided the awardee continues to meet the requirements of these regulations including but not
limited to eligibility to pay domestic tuition fees for the doctoral programme (see Note II), the University of Auckland
Doctoral Scholarship consists of i) compulsory tuition fees and the Student Services Fee for the 120 point enrolment

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 in the coursework component of the degree and ii) compulsory tuition fees, the Student Services Fee and a tax-free
stipend of up to $33,825 per annum in 2024, with an annual CPI adjustment to the stipend value, for up to 24 months
FTE enrolment in the thesis component of the degree (part-time awardees will be paid pro-rata for up to 48 months
[see Note IX]).
3. Application for a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship must be made as part of the application for the doctoral
programme.
4. To be eligible for scholarship consideration, an application must be consistent with the requirements of Regulations 5
and 6 and the domestic fees eligibility requirement of Regulation 10.
5. Except as permitted under Regulations 7 to 9, applicants can only be considered for the award of a University of
Auckland Doctoral Scholarship prior to receiving their offer (which may be conditional) of admission to the doctoral
programme.
6. The following applicants are not eligible for consideration for a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship: i)
applicants who already have a doctorate; ii) applicants who are not eligible for referral to academic units for
programme admission consideration; iii) applicants denied regulatory admission approvals by the Academic Head
and/or Board of Graduate Studies; iv) applicants who have previously entered payment for a University of Auckland
Doctoral Scholarship; v) applicants who have previously declined an offer of admission and University of Auckland
Doctoral Scholarship and then, prior to the current application, enrolled in a doctorate and entered payment for
another doctoral scholarship. To avoid doubt: In no case does consideration for a University of Auckland Doctoral
Scholarship confirm programme eligibility.
7. Applicants who are approved to transfer from a Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland research masters to a
PhD degree will be considered for this Scholarship (on one occasion only) either during the application round in
which the transfer approval occurs or during the next available application round (See Notes III and VIII). The timing
of scholarship consideration will be determined by the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee).
8. Applicants who are approved to transfer from another doctorate and who do not already hold, and have not
previously held, a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship will be considered for this Scholarship (on one
occasion only) either during the application round in which the transfer approval occurs or during the next available
application round (See Note III). The timing of scholarship consideration will be determined by the Dean of Graduate
Studies (or nominee).
9. An applicant who receives an offer of admission to a doctoral programme conditional upon completion of a bridging
programme as prescribed by the Board of Graduate Studies may be considered for a University of Auckland Doctoral
Scholarship (on one occasion only) either during the application round in which the conditional offer is issued or
during the application round that coincides with satisfaction of the conditions of doctoral admission or during the next
available application round following satisfaction of the conditions of doctoral admission (See Note III). The timing of
scholarship consideration will be determined by the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee).
10. The Scholarship is tenable by domestic and international students who are eligible to pay domestic fees for their
doctoral study (see Note II), and who meet all the requirements of these regulations.
11. a) The Scholarship as prescribed by 2(a) may be awarded for full-time enrolment in the PhD, MD, DClinPsy or
DocFA, or for full-time enrolment in an EdD or DHSc without a compulsory part-time component. The Scholarship as
detailed at Regulation 2(a) may also be awarded (pro-rated) to domestic applicants for whom compassionate and
compelling circumstances make part-time enrolment preferable in programmes without a compulsory part-time
component (See Notes II and IX). b) The Scholarship as prescribed by Regulation 2(b) may be awarded to domestic
applicants for compulsory part-time enrolment in the coursework component of the EdD or DHSc and for full-time
enrolment in the thesis component of the EdD or DHSc. The Scholarship may be held (pro-rata) during part-time
enrolment in the thesis component of the EdD or DHSc only on compassionate and compelling grounds as approved
by the Scholarships Committee (see Notes II and IX).
12. i) The Scholarship will be awarded by the University of Auckland Council on the recommendation of either a) the
Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee) directly; or b) the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee), after advice from
the relevant Selection Committee. ii) The recommendation of the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee) is final and
discretionary after taking into account all factors (including factors external to the particular student concerned). iii)

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 The University of Auckland Council cannot award a scholarship unless the Board of Graduate Studies has first
determined that the applicant may be admitted to a Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland doctoral
programme based on the current programme application. For the avoidance of doubt, the following Regulations 13 to
18 inclusive are expressly subject to this Regulation 12 in its entirety.
13. The Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee) will recommend, for awards, all Māori applicants with a New Zealand
university qualifying programme GPA of 7.0 or above (See Note X).
14. The Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee) will recommend, for awards, all Pacific applicants with a New Zealand
university qualifying programme GPA of 7.0 or above (See Note XI).
15. Where resources allow, a central Selection Committee, comprised of the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee), the
Director of Graduate Studies (or nominee) and the Director of ORSI (or nominee), may consider faculty/LSRI/URC
nominated applicants for awards associated with new strategic opportunities.
16. Where resources allow, the central Selection Committee may also consider faculty/LSRI/URC nominated Māori and
Pacific applicants who do not meet the qualifying programme requirements of Regulation 13 or 14 for awards on the
basis of significant alignment with University strategic objectives.
17. Each faculty and Large Scale Research Institute (LSRI) Selection Committee, comprised of the relevant Associate
Dean/Director (Postgraduate Research) (or nominee), Associate Dean/Director (Research) (or nominee), and Deputy
Dean/Director (or nominee), will consider applicants for awards in accordance with the faculty’s/LSRI’s annual
University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship allocation and their strategic objectives and associated selection criteria
as specified on their respective public websites (See Note XII). The faculty/LSRI Selection Committee will then issue
advice to the Dean of Graduate Studies for consideration. The faculty/LSRI Selection Committee may, at their
discretion, seek information from academic units regarding application alignment with strategic objectives.
18. The Head of each University Research Centre (URC) will convene a selection committee to consider applicants for
awards in accordance with the URC’s annual University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship allocation and their
strategic objectives and associated selection criteria as specified on their respective public websites (See Note XII).
The URC Selection Committee will then issue advice to the Dean of Graduate Studies for consideration. The URC
Selection Committee may, at their discretion, seek information from academic units regarding application alignment
with strategic objectives.
19. Applicants who have been offered a Scholarship must meet all requirements for admission into their intended
programme and all requirements of their Scholarship offer to take up the Scholarship. No payments will be made until
all requirements have been met (See Note XIII).
20. Scholarships must be taken up by one of the dates prescribed in the letter of award, otherwise the Scholarship offer
will be forfeited (See Notes III and XIII).
21. University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarships payments will commence on the initial date of enrolment in the doctoral
programme and will provide support for up to 36 months of full-time study in accordance with Regulation 2 (See Note
XIV). A further six months of scholarship funding, subject to Scholarships Committee approval, may be available to
candidates undertaking a PhD, MD, DClinPsy or DocFA. These durations shall be pro-rated for part-time scholarship
awardees.
22. Holders of the Scholarship may apply to suspend their Scholarship for up to 12 months in total during the tenure of
their award (See Notes XV and XVI).
23. An awardee retains their Scholarship if they receive approval from the Board of Graduate Studies (or delegate) to
change supervisors, topic, or academic unit, or to transfer to another Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland
doctoral programme. Such changes have no impact on the period of tenure of the Scholarship.
24. Excluding any period of compulsory part-time enrolment in the coursework component of the EdD or DHSc, the
amount of additional and paid work a Scholar may undertake either inside or outside the University shall not exceed
750 hours per 12-month period of scholarship tenure (See Note IX).
25. Any additional tuition fee, stipend or top-up scholarship received from any other award or scholarship must be
declared to the Scholarships Office upon receipt of the offer from the awarding body or receipt of the University of
Auckland Doctoral Scholarship offer, whichever is later (See Note XXII).
26. Scholarships Committee will determine if additional tuition fee, living stipend or top-up scholarships may be co-

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 tenured with a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship (See Notes XVII to XIX).
27. If a Scholarship holder is required to undertake an internship as part of their doctoral programme, or chooses to
participate in an approved Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland internship while remaining enrolled in the
doctoral programme, and receives an income from that internship that is equal to or in excess of the stipend of the
University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship, the Scholarship will reduce to fees-only for the period of scholarship
tenure that coincides with the internship.
28. If a Scholarship holder is required to undertake an internship as part of their doctoral programme, or chooses to
participate in an approved Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland internship or industry placement while
remaining enrolled in the doctoral programme, and no income is received from that activity, the University of
Auckland Doctoral Scholarship stipend may continue to be provided for the duration of the activity. If the income
received is less than the stipend value of the University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship for the period of the
internship, Scholarships Committee may agree to pay a partial stipend to bring the total net income to the current
University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship stipend value for the period.
29. A Scholarship may be withdrawn at any stage of offer or tenure if incorrect, false, or misleading information is
provided by the applicant to the University as part of the programme and scholarship application to the University, or
relevant information is withheld. This includes circumstances where the information is unrelated to the assessment in
offering the Scholarship.
30. Payments under the terms of this Scholarship remain tax-free under existing legislation as long as they are used for
the payment of costs associated with an awardee’s programme of study and/or to assist the awardee with living costs
while studying (see Note I). Failure to comply with this regulation will result in the termination of the Scholarship.
31. Appeals are not permitted against any advice, nomination (or absence of nomination), recommendation or decision
issued by the University of Auckland Council or by the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee) or by a duly
constituted Selection Committee or URC regarding the award of a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship.
URCs and Scholarship Selection Committees have discretion in the judgement of the merits of applicants against
strategic objectives and associated selection criteria when providing their advice and/or nominations to the Dean of
Graduate Studies.
32. Notes [I]–[XXIV] below are deemed to be Regulations.

Notes

I. The tax-free status of this Scholarship is under current legislation. The University of Auckland cannot guarantee
this tax-free outcome.
II. International students are not eligible to pay domestic fees for the MD, DClinPsy, DocFA, EdD or DHSc and thus
are not eligible to hold the scholarship for those programmes. To be eligible to pay domestic PhD fees, awardees
who are permanent residents of New Zealand or Australia, or citizens of countries other than New Zealand, may
only be resident outside of New Zealand for a maximum total of twelve months over the period of their enrolment
in their doctoral degree and only for the purposes of conducting research that cannot be conducted at an
equivalent level in New Zealand.
III. Application for programme, scholarship offer, and enrolment dates are as follows in Notes IV to VII, except for the
DClinPsy, DHSc, EdD and doctoral and masters transfer applications. The University reservces the right to
determine an application during a later round if it is not possible to conclude the matter in accordance with the
dates specified in Notes IV to VII. i) Note IV applies to the DClinPsy, and to the DHSc or EdD where a February or
March start date is required by the University, except that enrolment must commence on the date specified by the
University. Note V applies to the DHSc or EdD where a June or July start date is required by the University, except
that enrolment must commence on the date specified by the University. ii) Where an applicant who is approved for
masters or doctoral transfer is to be offered a scholarship, the scholarship offer will be made on the offer date
prescribed at Notes IV to VII for the round in which the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee) has determined
that scholarship consideration will occur. Where the masters/doctoral transfer student has enrolled, in accordance
with the requirements of the Board of Graduate Studies, in advance of the associated “enrolment date” prescribed

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 at Notes IV to VII, scholarship payment will commence on the “enrolment date” prescribed at Notes IV to VII and
will not be backdated to the commencement of doctoral enrolment at the University.
IV. Application Closes: 1 November, Scholarship Offer: on or by 1 February (the following year), Enrolment Date:
Domestic Candidate/ Domestic Qualifying Programme: 1 March or 1 June (in the year of the offer), Enrolment
Date: International Candidate with International Qualifying Programme: 1 March or 1 June or 1 September (in the
year of the offer).
V. Application Closes: 1 March, Scholarship Offer: on or by 1 May (in the year of the application), Enrolment Date:
Domestic Candidate/Domestic Qualifying Programme: 1 June or 1 September (in the year of the offer), Enrolment
Date: International Candidate with International Qualifying Programme: 1 June or 1 September or 1 December (in
the year of the offer).
VI. Application Closes: 1 June, Scholarship Offer: on or by 1 August (in the year of the application), Enrolment Date:
Domestic Candidate/Domestic Qualifying Programme: 1 September or 1 December (in the year of the offer),
Enrolment Date: International Candidate with International Qualifying Programme: 1 September or 1 December (in
the year of the offer) or 1 March (the following year).
VII. Application Closes: 1 September, Scholarship Offer: on or by 1 November (in the year of application), Enrolment
Date: Domestic Candidate/Domestic Qualifying Programme: 1 December (in the year of the offer) or 1 March (the
following year), Enrolment Date: International Candidate with International Qualifying Programme: 1 December (in
the year of application) or 1 March or 1 June (the following year). Where the availability of resources means a
scholarship offer would otherwise have to be deferred until the year following application, the University reserves
the right to limit the enrolment dates to 1 March (the following year) for domestic applicants/applicants with
domestic qualifying programmes and to 1 March or 1 June (the following year) for international
applicants/applicants with international qualifying programmes.
VIII. Where a master’s thesis student is approved to transfer to a PhD and is subsequently awarded a University of
Auckland Doctoral Scholarship, the tenure of the Scholarship will conclude up to 36 months FTE after the start
date of the research component of their master’s degree, with a possible extension of up to six further months
(See Note XVII). Masters transfer candidates do not receive backdated stipend or tuition fees for the period of their
master’s enrolment that is transferred to a PhD enrolment.
IX. Awardees of a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship are normally required to be enrolled on a full-time
basis. Full-time is defined as 40 hours of doctoral work per week for 47 weeks a year. However, domestic
candidates for whom compassionate and compelling circumstances make part-time enrolment preferable may
apply to the Scholarships Committee, through the Scholarships Office, to hold a scholarship on a part-time basis,
pro-rated. Compassionate and compelling circumstances mean circumstances that are generally beyond the
candidate’s control and have an impact on their ability to study full-time. For example: serious illness or injury,
pregnancy or childbirth, care responsibilities for whānau, and traumatic experiences. Part-time is defined as 20
hours per week of doctoral work. Candidates will not be granted permission to hold a University of Auckland
Doctoral Scholarship on a part-time basis if they are undertaking full-time paid employment or substantial part-time
employment. Candidates who hold a scholarship on a part-time basis are subject to the same employment
restrictions as full-time scholarship holders (i.e. 750 hours per 12 month period) and are required to change to full-
time enrolment if their circumstances mean they no longer qualify to hold the scholarship on a part-time basis. The
restrictions and provisions of this note do not apply to compulsory part-time enrolment in the EdD or DHSc. For the
avoidance of doubt: international applicants who are eligible to pay domestic PhD tuition fees but required by their
student visa to study full-time are not eligible to hold the Scholarship part-time.
X. To be deemed a qualifying programme for the purposes of scholarship consideration, an individual programme
must satisfy Regulation 13a and b of the PhD Statute or the equivalent admission regulations for the relevant
named doctorate respectively.
XI. To be deemed a qualifying programme for the purposes of scholarship consideration, an individual programme
must satisfy Regulation 13a and b of the PhD Statute or the equivalent admission regulations for the relevant
named doctorate respectively. Pacific applicants are defined as peoples of indigenous Pacific descent from any of
the following islands: Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, Fiji (iTaukei), Rotuma,

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 Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Palau, Marshall Islands,
Federated States of Micronesia, Wallis and Futuna, Hawaii, French Polynesia, Rapanui (Easter Island), Pitcairn
Islands, Nauru, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands.
XII. Where there is no applicant sufficiently aligned with strategic objectives in a given round, the Faculty/LSRI/URC
reserves the right to not make a recommendation to the Dean of Graduate Studies.
XIII. To take up the scholarship means to commence doctoral enrolment and the tenure of the scholarship.
XIV. Where a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship is held at the time of conclusion of doctoral enrolment or
withdrawal from the doctoral programme or termination of the awardee’s doctoral candidature, tenure of the
Scholarship will terminate, effective on the date determined by the Scholarships Committee.
XV. An additional 12-month parental-leave suspension may be considered where the holder becomes a parent during
their tenure of the Scholarship.
XVI. In exceptional circumstances Scholarships Committee may approve a suspension of this Scholarship beyond the
suspension periods stated in Regulation 22 and Note XV. Applications must be made in writing to Scholarships
Office.
XVII. A University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship may not be held concurrently with any other doctoral scholarship
funded by Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland (including scholarships funded by faculties, LSRIs and
URCs) or with any postgraduate scholarship or grant awarded by the Universities New Zealand Scholarships
Committee, or by a foreign government or agency. As per Note XXII, awardees must notify the Scholarships Office
of any change in their funding status.
XVIII. Where Scholarships Committee approves co-tenure, the combined stipend may not exceed 150% of the University
of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship stipend. For the avoidance of doubt, support that is not for the purposes of living
costs is excluded from this calculation. For example, a grant to cover research costs or professional development
would not have any impact on the University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship stipend.
XIX. The University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship stipend may be reduced in order to meet the requirements of
Note XVIII.
XX. Applicants who have been offered a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship, and decline an offer of
admission, are eligible to be considered for both admission and a scholarship again at a later date provided they
have not enrolled in a doctorate and held some other doctoral scholarship in the interim.
XXI. A candidate who is in receipt of this Scholarship may defer their University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship
funding for up to one year in total during their tenure of the scholarship, while maintaining their enrolment in their
doctoral programme, provided they do not hold some other doctoral scholarship in the interim.
XXII. Awardees are required to comply with the regulations for the Scholarship and must notify the Scholarships Office
of any change in their enrolment, employment, or funding status, or any change to the circumstances on which
part-time tenure of the scholarship was approved. Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland may, in the
event that it is satisfied that an awardee is not complying with these regulations, terminate the Scholarship and
require repayment of the funds received from the date of the breach.
XXIII. If an awardee is overpaid an amount in excess of a full fortnightly disbursement, the University may recover the
overpayment by withholding future award payments at the same rate that the award was overpaid or, if the
awardee is no longer enrolled, the University may recover the overpayment in line with standard debt collection
practices.
XXIV. If an awardee is overpaid an amount in excess of a full fortnightly disbursement after they are no longer eligible for
the Scholarship, the University may recover the overpayment in line with standard debt collection practices.

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