New Zealand International Scholarships 2023-2024

The is New Zealand International Scholarships offers full tertiary scholarships for eligible international students to study fulltime at a New Zealand education institution or a Pacific university.

The New Zealand Government offers full tertiary scholarships for eligible international students to study full-time at a New Zealand education institution or a Pacific university.

We suggest you research how your proposed field of study would relate to one of these subjects to help you complete your scholarship application form. On the application form, you need to describe:

Research study subject for New Zealand International Scholarships

how your preferred courses relate to one of our recommended study subjects (Note: These are called sectors on the form.)
describe the skills and knowledge you want to gain from your preferred courses
describe how these skills and knowledge are important to your country’s development.

Applicants who apply to study courses outside of these recommended subjects may be considered if they can provide compelling evidence of the developmental relevance to their home country. Please note that applications that do not strongly align with our recommended subjects are highly unlikely to be considered.

Research-approved education institutions and their course catalogs

Applicants should carefully research each approved education institution and their course catalog.

You should research:

an educational institution that suits your academic and personal needs
a qualification at the level of study available for your country
a qualification that progresses on from your highest qualification

Fields of study of the scholarship program:

Undergraduate and Postgraduate Degrees in preferred fields of study that are most relevant to the development needs of your country (i.e. renewable energy, agriculture development, disaster risk management, private sector development, public sector development). Find out the preferred subjects for your country.

Target group:

The scholarships are open to citizens of selected countries in the Pacific, Africa, Asia, Latin America, Caribbean as well as Commonwealth countries. Please see the complete list of eligible countries.

Scholarship value/inclusions:

The scholarships include full tuition fees, a living allowance (NZ$491 per week), an establishment allowance (NZ$3000), medical insurance when you are in New Zealand, travel to and from your own country and New Zealand at the start and end of your scholarship, travel insurance, travel home during your scholarship (one or two trips home are allowed, depending on the length of your scholarship), and help with research and thesis costs for many postgraduate students.

Student Eligible for New Zealand International Scholarships

Age Requirements

To apply for a full New Zealand Scholarship, you must be 18 years old or older when you start your scholarship. This means if you are 17 years of age when you apply, you must have your 18^th birthday before you start your scholarship in semester one. Exception for Samoa: Scholars from Samoa can be 17 years of age when they commence their scholarship.

There is no upper age limit for applicants. This means if you are 18 and over, you can apply. However, applicants who are under 40 years of age are preferred for New Zealand Scholarships for university or tertiary students.

Student Visa Requirements

Student visa requirements and application form for New Zealand (external link)

Academic Requirements

As part of the New Zealand Scholarships application process, you need to choose your preferred education institution and preferred courses. Scholarship applicants don’t need to apply for admission to their preferred education institution and courses but they need to check that they are likely to meet the minimum academic requirements and the minimum level of English required for their courses.

Course entry requirements are set by your chosen education institution so you must check the minimum entry requirements on their website before you apply for a New Zealand Scholarship.

English Requirements

Each university or educational institution sets the minimum level of English you need for your preferred courses, so check their website.

Generally, to study for a postgraduate qualification, you must have at least:

• an overall IELTS score of 6.5 and no band less than 6.0
• a TOEFL score of 90 on the internet-based test with a writing score of 21
• an overall PTE Academic score of 58 with no communicative skills score less than 50
• a Cambridge Academic English (advanced) overall score of 176 with no bands less than 169.

Generally, to study for an undergraduate qualification, you must have at least:

• an overall IELTS score of 6.0 and no band less than 5.5
• a TOEFL score of 80 on the internet-based test with a writing score of 21
• an overall PTE Academic score of 50, with no communication skills score less than 42
• a Cambridge Academic English (advanced) overall score of 169 with no bands less than 162.

Contribution to their Country’s Development

Scholars are expected to contribute to their country’s social or economic development for two years after completing their scholarship study. The purpose of a New Zealand Scholarship is to fund the training of citizens from developing countries, so they can positively impact on their country’s development by sharing new skills and knowledge gained from their study. That is why scholars are expected to return home after their scholarship for at least two years to contribute to the social and economic development of their own country.

Work Experience Requirements

When assessing scholarship applications, applicants who want to study courses that align strongly with their current work experience and applicants who will continue working in their current job sector after they finish their scholarship are preferred.

Application instructions:

New Zealand Tertiary scholarships will only be available to applicants from the Pacific in 2022.

The New Zealand Scholarship application process differs depending on which country or region you are from. You can apply between the application opening and closing dates for your country as found on this page. Most countries have a closing date of 28 February 2020 or 27 March 2020 (for Commonwealth Countries), except Kiribati (20 March) and Samoa (TBC).

It is important to visit the country-specific pages and the official website (link found below) to access the online application form and for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.

Official Scholarship Website: https://www.nzscholarships.govt.nz/en/new-zealand-scholarships-for-international-tertiary-students/

Other Important Scholarships

Check and apply for other Scholarships on our website.

We trust that we were able to give you all the information you required regarding this scholarship. Please leave any questions you may have in the space provided below.