School-leaver and first-year scholarships
If you are a new student here at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, you may be eligible for a scholarship - regardless of your background or where you live.
It’s an exciting time! You’re finishing school this year or next, looking ahead and thinking about where to from here. Or you may be enrolled in a university preparation programme, eager to take the next step.
If university study is a possibility, did you know that you could be eligible for a scholarship? This can help you financially, while you adjust to a whole new exciting phase in your life.
Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland offers several hundred scholarships every year to new students embarking on undergraduate study. These scholarships can support you to achieve amazing things in your work and communities.
As well as the scholarships funded centrally by the University, individual faculties and generous donors also provide a wide range of scholarships for new undergraduate students.
School-leaver scholarships
University of Auckland Top Achiever Scholarship
Rewards exceptional academic performance combined with outstanding sporting, artistic,
cultural and/or leadership achievements.
University of Auckland Māori Academic Excellence Scholarship
Recognises exceptional academic success from Māori tauira who have either engaged in Te Ao Māori, their community, the arts or played a leadership role in sports or cultural contexts.
University of Auckland Pacific Academic Excellence Scholarship
Recognises students with Pacific heritage, who have excellent academic records and active participation in community, cultural and other activities.
University of Auckland Academic Potential Scholarship - School Leavers
Supports students demonstrating academic achievement (taking into account a number of factors that can impact on an individual's ability to participate fully at university).
University of Auckland Waka Moana Scholarship
To recognise Māori tauira potential who have strong engagement in either Te Ao Māori, their community, the arts or played an exceptional leadership role in sports or cultural contexts, as well as demonstrating academic ability.
University of Auckland Vaka Moana Scholarship
To recognise indigenous Pacific students who have strong engagement with their school and community, or the arts, or played an exceptional leadership role in sports or cultural contexts, as well as demonstrating academic ability.
Applications for 2025 are opening soon.
Taking a gap year?
If you are taking a gap year next year, you need to apply while you are still in your final year of secondary study or kura, and your application will be considered along with next year’s applications. If you don’t apply this year, you won’t be able to apply for the above scholarships next year, but you will still be eligible for other scholarships and awards for the first year of study.
Accommodation
As part of your application you also need to apply for accommodation at the University of Auckland. We will only be able to consider your application for a scholarship if you have applied for both the scholarship and for accommodation.
Endorsements and verifications
If you complete all your sections of the application by the closing date but your endorser is yet to complete their section(s), don’t worry! Endorsers get one extra week after the closing date to endorse your application. Once they do this, we will submit your application for you.
University of Auckland Kōkiri Raumati Scholarship
Offers accommodation to students from outside the Auckland area or with significant travel times within the Auckland area, who have left secondary school in the previous two years and who are attending Summer Start, Tōia ki Waipapa or UniBound before starting their degree in Semester One.
University of Auckland International School Leaver Scholarship
Supports international students from New Zealand secondary schools who are enrolling in the first year of an undergraduate degree at the University of Auckland.
Applications for 2025 open in December 2024.
University of Auckland 140th Anniversary Scholarships
This year marks the 140th Anniversary of Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.
To commemorate this important milestone, two new scholarships are being awarded.
The University of Auckland 140th Anniversary Academic Scholarship recognises excellent academic achievement for secondary school or kura students who applied for one or more of the following Scholarships: the University of Auckland Top Achiever Scholarship, the University of Auckland Māori Academic Excellence Scholarship, the University of Auckland Pacific Academic Excellence Scholarship, or the University of Auckland Academic Potential Scholarship - School Leavers.
The University of Auckland 140th Anniversary Kupenga Rau Māori and Pacific Scholarship provides financial support to academically-able Māori and Pacific students attending university for the first time who who applied for one or more of the following Scholarships: the University of Auckland Top Achiever Scholarship, the University of Auckland Māori Academic Excellence Scholarship, the University of Auckland Waka Moana Scholarship, the University of Auckland Vaka Moana Scholarship, the University of Auckland Pacific Academic Excellence Scholarship, or the University of Auckland Academic Potential Scholarship - School Leavers.
Living the student experience
Guaranteed accommodation in a hall of residence will be offered to students who are awarded one of our new scholarships — even if you currently live in Auckland. This is an awesome benefit, as it means you can afford to live in the central city, in a safe location, with student services on hand and the opportunity to build lasting friendships and develop your interests with like-minded students.
As part of your accommodation you get free membership to the University Recreation facilities on the City Campus, including access to a wide range of group fitness classes, weights and cardio equipment.
What’s more, living in University accommodation provides an environment that is conducive to your continued academic achievement, which is why if you’d like to continue living in University accommodation beyond your first year, we will also guarantee that for you.
Academic achievement
Academic achievement is a critical factor in these scholarships, and we have minimum rank scores in place for each of them to help you determine if you are eligible to apply. Please read the details of the scholarship you are interested in to find out more, because each is different.
Just as we have done in the past, the University will continue to base its school-leaver scholarship decisions on academic achievement in Year 12, before Year 13 results are available. So your grades in Year 12 are a very important factor when we consider you and other applicants. If you’re an IB student, we will ask your school for your predicted grade.
If you are a university student on a pathway programme that leads to entry to an undergraduate degree, your results in the first semester will be used to assess you for a University of Auckland Academic Potential Scholarship.
Your continued academic success is important to us, so if you are awarded a University of Auckland scholarship, you will be required to maintain a specified grade point average.
If you're thinking of applying
These scholarships are valuable and there is a lot of competition for them. This means we receive many more applications for scholarships than we are able to award. So simply being in the position where you are thinking of applying signals to us that you’re a great student with a bright future ahead of you.
If you think you’ve got what it takes to go on to win one of these prestigious awards, we’d love you to apply.
As well as your academic prowess, we will also consider your achievements in other areas and take into account your personal circumstances as well, so you can be sure that it’s a level playing field for students across New Zealand.
It’s extremely important that the information you provide in your application is true and accurate, and we will ask your school and other referees to check it.
Other school-leaver scholarships
As well as the above named scholarships, we have additional scholarships to support students in their first year of study. Check out the Related links boxes for scholarships for all faculties as well as ones for the faculties you are planning to study in.