Prizes and scholarships
There are a range of scholarships and prizes to support undergraduate Optometry students.
Some awards which are specifically for undergraduate optometry students are highlighted below. For full details of these and other general scholarships and awards, please visit Find a scholarship.
New Zealand Association of Optometrists (NZAO) Undergraduate Awards
From 1992 undergraduate scholarships known as the New Zealand Association of Optometrists Undergraduate Awards have been awarded annually to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Optometry (BOptom) programme and ordinarily resident in New Zealand. There is no need to apply.
New Zealand College of Optometrists (NZCO) Prize
This Prize is awarded annually to the full-time student(s) achieving the highest marks for their project presentation.
He Rau Aroha Scholarships
The University offers two He Rau Aroha scholarships to Māori and Pacific Island students (NZ citizens or permanent residents) enrolled in the Bachelor of Optometry through MAPAS. The awards are made based on academic merit, leadership qualities and financial needs.
Dean's Medal
The Dean's Medal is awarded annually where there is a graduand of the BOptom programme who has made an outstanding contribution to the academic development of the faculty during their time as a student.
First in Course Awards
These awards recognise the student(s) whose academic performance identifies them as having achieved the highest final mark in a particular taught course for an undergraduate or postgraduate degree or diploma.
Excellence in Clinical Optometry Prize
This Prize recognises and rewards the student who achieves the highest GPA across three clinical courses in Part V of the Bachelor of Optometry.
Raymond Harry Hawkins Prize in Undergraduate Optometry Research
This prize is awarded to the student producing the best research project each year.
Senior Scholar Award
This Award recognises the graduating students who obtained the highest marks in their undergraduate programme.
Summer Research Scholarships
New Zealand Optometric Vision Research Foundation (NZOVRF) Summer Scholarship
The Foundation is a charitable trust with the objective of supporting research, and thereby graduate students, in Optometry and Visual Science.
Faculty Summer Research Scholarships
These scholarships provide an opportunity for students to experience a 10-week period of research during their undergraduate study.
School of Optometry and Vision Science Research Scholarships
The school may offer a limited number of 5 or 10-week Summer Research Scholarships to applicants who are not successful in receiving any of the above funding; no further application is required. These are awarded depending on suitability of the chosen research subject and funding available and may not be offered every year.
Further information
For further information, you can fill out this form to contact the Scholarships Office. More scholarships can be found on the Find a Scholarship webpage.