School of Graduate Studies

We aim to provide an outstanding experience for all doctoral candidates at the University of Auckland.

About the School of Graduate Studies (SGS)

Te Kura Akoranga Tohu Paerua | School of Graduate Studies (SGS) is the central service division responsible for managing and enhancing doctoral research programmes at the University of Auckland.
 
We are a dedicated team of more than 20 people from all over the world who facilitate support and services for doctoral candidates and supervisors. Our Doctoral Candidature Advisors and Doctoral Exams Team (lead by Siobhān Daly, Doctoral Candidate Manager) and Doctoral Experience Team (led by Dr Heidi Collins, Doctoral Experience Manager), work hard to ensure that you have the possible experience at the University.
 
Most of the work we do is behind the scenes. We work closely with faculties and service divisions to connect you with services around the University, we run doctoral exams, and we co-ordinate a diverse doctoral training and development programme that will benefit you during your doctorate and beyond.
 
We stay in touch with the University of Auckland doctoral community by sending newsletters to doctoral candidates twice a month (Doctoral News) and supervisors once a month (Supervisor News). 

About the Graduate Research Committee (GRC)

The Graduate Research Committee (GRC) is responsible for the governance of doctoral policies. It is chaired by Professor JR Rowland, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global and Graduate Research, and includes, amongst others, Professor Vivien Kirk, Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Graduate Research, and the Associate Deans/Directors Postgraduate Research from all faculties and LSRIs.

You can learn more about who sits on this committee by visiting the GRC web page.

Who to contact if you have a query

Query type Who to contact
Academic queries Your supervisor
General queries Explore the doctoral web pages
Search on AskAuckland
Visit a Student Hub
Email doctoraladvice@auckland.ac.nz
IT queries Basic IT queries: Student IT Hub
Basic software: Download here
Specialised software: Download here
Complex IT queries: IT Service Portal for Staff
Niche software: IT Service Portal for Staff
International queries International Student Support team
Administrative queries Group Services Administrators in your Faculty/LSRI
Research queries

Doctoral Research Coordinators:

Arts and Education
aeddoctoral@auckland.ac.nz (Vallerie Villarosa)

Auckland Bioengineering Institute
bioeng-pgoffice@auckland.ac.nz

Business and Economics
phd-bus@auckland.ac.nz (Babita Sharma)

Engineering and Design
foed-phd@auckland.ac.nz (Omar Fahmy)

Law
j.tolmie@auckland.ac.nz (Julia Tolmie)

Liggins Institute
fmhs_phd@auckland.ac.nz (Brandon Chew)

Medical and Health Sciences
fmhs_phd@auckland.ac.nz (Brandon Chew)

Science
sciencephd@auckland.ac.nz (Faustina Aba Koomson)

Doctoral complaints and disputes

If you are a doctoral candidate and wish to make a formal complaint to the University, there are a number of avenues to follow, depending on the nature of your complaint:

Query type Who to contact
Academic disputes and complaints (including regarding examination outcomes and termination appeals) See Academic Disputes and Complaints
Supervision complaints Contact the relevant Head of Department in your Faculty / Institute
University of Auckland complaints (regarding service) See Provide feedback or submit a service complaint
School of Graduate Studies complaints (regarding advice) We recommend you first contact the SGS advisory staff member involved. If you are not satisfied with the resolution or wish to raise this further, please email Professor JR Rowland, Pro Vice-Chancellor Global and Graduate Studies.
Support and assistance The Auckland University Students’ Association (AUSA) can assist you with raising complaints.

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