Doctoral scholarships

AUT Doctoral Scholarships 2023

Auckland University of Technology offers Doctoral Scholarships in order to attract highly achieving doctoral research students to AUT and to encourage and stimulate doctoral studies in areas that enhance the University's research capability. The University awards scholarships to high achieving candidates applying to an approved doctoral programme at AUT.

Applicants must have gained admission into the doctoral programme before applying for a scholarship.

AUT has two categories of Doctoral Scholarships for study from 2023.

AUT uses a number of criteria when assessing scholarship applicants.

AUT calculation of GPA and ranking of scholarship applicants

1. Vice-Chancellor’s Doctoral Scholarships

Applications will be accepted under this category at any stage during the year apart from between 1 December to 15 January.

An applicant applying under the Vice-Chancellor's category must be applying as a new doctoral candidate and meet the conditions below. Applications will be considered at the time of acceptance into the doctoral programme only.

a) New doctoral applicants with a GPA of 8.0 or above in their most recent qualifying programme will be considered on a case-by-case basis for a scholarship provided the qualifying programme was completed at a New Zealand tertiary institution.

b) New Māori and domestic Pacific doctoral applicants with a GPA of 7.5 or above, from their most recent qualifying programme will be considered on a case-by-case basis for a scholarship provided the qualifying programme was completed at a New Zealand tertiary institution. Applicants applying under 1b) must be citizens or permanent residents of New Zealand.

Note: the GPA for these scholarship will be calculated using the AUT method outlined in the document available from the link above.

The following additional conditions apply under Vice-Chancellor's Doctoral Scholarships:

• Applicants must have an unconditional Offer of Place in the doctoral programme.
• Applicants must enrol into the doctoral programme within three months of the offer of scholarship.

2. AUT Doctoral Scholarships

There are three closing dates in 2023 – 1 March, 15 July and 1 November.

AUT Doctoral Scholarships are open to all applicants including those from countries other than New Zealand who meet the admission requirements below. Applicants for these rounds will also be considered for Faculty/School funded doctoral fees or doctoral stipend awards if these alternative scholarships are funded by their faculty.

Frequently asked questions

• What is the value of the scholarships?
• Why does AUT offer doctoral scholarships?
• Who can apply for AUT doctoral scholarships?
• How do I apply for this scholarship?
• Application form and supporting documents
• Who do I contact for further information?

What is the value of the scholarship?

Each Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship in 2023 consists of an annual stipend of NZ$30,000 plus tuition fees and student services levy for up to three years. AUT Doctoral Scholarships normally consist of the following:

• Tuition fees (at the domestic rate) plus the compulsory student services fee; and
• An annual stipend of NZ$30,000 per annum for 2023 awards.

However, applicants for the AUT Doctoral Scholarship will also be considered for one of the following faculty or school funded options:

• A Full Fee Scholarship
• Full fees plus an annual stipend equivalent to at least $20,000 or the minimum living cost criteria for Immigration NZ student visa, whichever is the highest.

If a recipient is already enrolled in their PhD the three-year tenure will be adjusted by deducting the number of months between first enrolment date and scholarship closing date plus a three-month grace period.

Why does AUT offer Doctoral Scholarships?

Our PhD students are at the heart of our research culture. In order to attract and to recognise highly achieving research students AUT provides doctoral scholarships.

Postgraduate study areas
Research at AUT

Who can apply for AUT Doctoral Scholarships?

All recipients of an AUT Doctoral Scholarship will normally have the equivalent of first-class honours.

Applicants must meet the admission criteria for a doctoral programme, for example a relevant master’s degree or a bachelor's (honours) degree with first or second class (first division) honours and have completed the application for admission process as outlined below.

International applicants must meet the English language proficiency requirements.

Consideration will be given to all applicants' research experience and publication record and previous study should include evidence of research methodology papers and an independent research project, including the writing of a report on that research.  Preference will be given to new applicants to the PhD programme.

Eligibility criteria for doctoral programmes

How do I apply for this scholarship?

• If you have not already applied for admission into the PhD programme at AUT you must complete both steps of the combined application process outlined below.
• If you are an existing PhD student or already have an offer of place go directly to step 2.

1) Apply for admission into the PhD programme at AUT

The holding of this scholarship is conditional on acceptance into the AUT doctoral programme. Applicants who have not completed the process of applying for admission into the PhD programme are not eligible to apply. As the admissions process may take up to two months to complete it is essential that applicants allow at least two months prior to applying for this scholarship.

For information on how to commence your application for admission to the PhD programme contact the Graduate Research School doctoral.and.mphil.admissions@aut.ac.nz

2) Apply for an AUT Doctoral Scholarship

It is strongly advised that you complete an application for admission prior to applying for the scholarship. Application for the scholarship will be through the AUT scholarship application portal (CommunityForce).

• Download the Scholarship Regulations from the links below and familiarise yourself with the eligibility criteria and the conditions of acceptance.
• Apply through the Online Scholarships Application portal available from the link below.
• You will be asked to upload a two-page statement outlining your proposed research. Please note this must be a maximum of 1,000 words only (plus references). A longer document will not be accepted.
• You will also be asked to upload a brief CV (maximum three A4 pages)
• You will be asked to provide details of your two academic referees and request via the portal them to submit a confidential report directly to the online portal by the closing date.
• If your proposed AUT primary supervisor or Head of School is not one of your referees, you will be asked to provide a letter or evidence of AUT faculty support. If your supervisor is also a referee they need to provide only one statement covering both purposes. Your application will not be provided to the panel unless you can demonstrate that the AUT faculty support your application.
• Submit your completed application to the Scholarships Office via the online portal. It is essential you submit your application once you have completed all the required sections; this can be done before your referees have submitted their reports.

Application form and supporting documents

• AUT online application portal. Applicants will be asked to register and select which AUT scholarship(s) they wish to apply for
• AUT Doctoral Scholarship Regulations
• Thesis proposal - a template will be available within the application portal or you can upload the proposal document