Faculty of Arts and Education selection criteria for UoA doctoral scholarships

The faculty has a limited number of scholarships available each year. If you wish to be considered for these scholarships, this is done as part of the application for admission to the doctoral programme. In selecting scholarship recipients, the Faculty of Arts and Education will be informed by the objectives set out in Taumata Teitei | Vision 2030 and Strategic Plan 2028, including the desire to:

• Nurture, recruit, and retain outstanding research talent
• Support excellent and innovative research and the creation of high-quality research outputs
• Grow Māori and Pacific candidates and research topics
• Develop/strengthen relationships with Māori and Pacific communities
• Support equity, diversity, and inclusivity among candidates and research topics
• Align with the four interdependent priorities of sustainability, health and well-being, justice, and ethical innovation and technology

Students may also consider their research in relation to the following specific priorities:

• Encourage and develop interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research
• Engage local communities
• Research centred on the wider Pacific region
  
• Work towards sustainability and the University’s sustainability goals
• Advocate for social justice (including disability, race, gender, sexuality, migration, climate change)
• Innovative methodologies
• Indigeneity

In attending to these priorities, the Faculty of Arts and Education Selection Committee will assess all applications received against the following criteria:

1. Applicant's track record and potential to succeed. This will be assessed by considering the applicant’s success in previous academic studies, research experience, any relevant professional or other experience (e.g. volunteer work, community engagement), the applicant’s skill set (relevant to the proposed project) and the potential for the applicant to contribute to knowledge in the discipline.
   
   
2. Quality and viability of the proposed project. This will be assessed by considering the significance of the proposed research, its viability given the resources of the University of Auckland, its alignment with the research interests of the academic staff of the University of Auckland, and appropriateness of the proposed supervision team.
   
   The faculty may consider factors that are external to the applicant, such as the supervision capacity of the proposed supervision team and/or the strategic priorities of the faculty and its academic units.

A separate application for a scholarship is not required, other than by indicating in the application that the applicant wishes to be considered for a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship. All applicants must complete an application for admission to the doctoral programme using the Faculty of Arts and Education's template for the Statement of Research Intent.

Scholarship applicants must contact proposed supervisors well in advance of the closing date for applications, since supervisor endorsement of the proposed project is required before an application will be considered by the Faculty of Arts and Education for a scholarship. Applicants may approach the doctoral adviser for the disciplinary area about finding appropriate supervisors. (Please note each doctoral adviser is listed at the bottom of each disciplinary adviser page).

There are four rounds per year. The closing dates are: 

• 1 November 2025
• 1 March 2026
  
• 1 June 2026
  
• 1 September 2026

Because of complications associated with possible delays in visa processing times, international applicants who have not previously held an NZ Student Visa are strongly advised to apply in rounds 1 and 2 with closing dates of 1 November and 1 March each year.

International applicants who have not previously held a NZ Student Visa and who apply to rounds 3 or 4 (closing dates 1 June and 1 September) will be considered for admission, but their chances for scholarship success may be significantly reduced. 

Note: The faculty also allocates a limited number of scholarships, which serve as fee waivers (no stipend), every year. This is done as part of the application for admission to the doctoral programme. A separate application for a faculty scholarship is not required. By indicating in the application that the applicant wishes to be considered for a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship, candidates will also be considered for a faculty scholarship. 

Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information we have supplied is correct and up to date. However, the University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship regulations take precedence over all other materials. 

You are strongly advised to read the scholarship regulations for complete information to ensure you meet the eligibility criteria for scholarship consideration and that you understand the implications of any regulations, awarding value and selection criteria.