Info for New Candidates
A warm welcome to our doctoral community! This page contains everything you need to know as you set off on your doctoral adventure at the University of Auckland, joining more than 3,000 talented candidates from all over the world in pursuit of excellence and impact.
Two key steps to start you off
1. Doctoral Induction
You should attend the central Doctoral Induction within the first two months of enrolling as a doctoral candidate. We recommend you book as soon as possible.
If you are an international candidate, you may also like to consider attending the University's optional International Orientation.
2. Log into Wahapū
Wahapū is a comprehensive digital system for managing doctoral candidature. It is used by doctoral candidates, supervisors, academic heads, and all other parties involved in managing doctoral processes.
All staff and new PhD candidates on the current PhD Statute are given automatic access, normally within the first few days of candidature, and you can log on using single sign-on.
Note: Candidates studying towards a Named Doctorate (DClinPsy, DHSc, DMedSc, DocFA, EdD) do not have access to Wahapū.
Practical advice for new candidates
- Enrolling: Mahrukh to supply some wording
- Scholarships: If you have been offered a scholarship, you need to inform a scholarship administrator that you have started your doctoral programme as soon as you enrol so that they can activate payments. If you have a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship, you can contact the University's Scholarships Office.
- Supervisors: Let your supervisors know that you are ready to start. If you haven't already, make an appointment for your first supervision meeting with them as soon as possible after enrolment.
- Campus card: You can collect your campus card from the University's Student Hubs on City Campus or Grafton Campus. This ID card will allow you access to buildings and services. The Student Hubs can also help you with many of your other queries.
- Doctoral Research Coordinator: Find out who your faculty/LSRI's Doctoral Research Coordinator is by asking your supervisors or checking our key doctoral contacts and links page for their email address.
- Resources: You can speak to your Doctoral Research Coordinator about arranging resources such as your desk, laptop, printing, and office keys. It's also a good idea to familiarise yourself with the Doctoral Candidates - Resources Policy, which provides details of additional resources available to you.
- Email address: Learn more about setting up your student email address so you don't miss out on important information. You may need VPN if you're connecting from off-campus. If you have queries, contact the Student IT Hub.
- Campus maps: If you're new to Auckland, the University's campus maps are very helpful.
- Doctoral Induction: Book your compulsory central Doctoral Induction as soon as possible.
- IT queries: For basic IT queries, you can contact the Student IT Hub, and for more complex IT questions, you can raise a ticket via the Staff Service Centre's IT Portal. Note: Depending on when you join the doctoral programme, there may be a delay of a few weeks before you gain access to certain resources such as the Staff Intranet and the Doctoral News e-newsletter.
- Health Services: Find out about enrolling with University Health and Counselling for comprehensive community healthcare, with information for domestic and international candidates.
- Meet new people: Explore ways to make friends at the University of Auckland on our Doctoral Communities web page, and if you're feeling overwhelmed, visit our Doctoral Wellbeing web page for advice.
- Accommodation: If you're looking for a place to stay, visit the University's accommodation web page to find out more.
- Public transport: If you're planning to take the bus, train or ferry in Auckland, you can buy an Auckland Transport Hop Card which is valid for all modes of public transport (AT Hop Card).
- Parking: If you have a car and will be driving to campus, you may like to explore the staff parking options that are also available to doctoral candidates. There are also options for bike and scooter parking.
- International students: The University's International Office offers support for international students, including international orientation, practical advice, and more. You can also visit the visa information web page or contact the team at int-questions@auckland.ac.nz.
- English support: If English is not your first language, you can find support options on the English language support and Academic English Hub web pages.
- Confirmation Milestones: Attending a Doctoral Induction is one of the first milestones you must complete in the first year of your doctorate, in order to be confirmed into the programme. Learn more about the other milestones on our Confirmation Milestones web page.
- Confirmation support: You should aim to complete the online PhD Confirmation of Candidature Canvas Course within the first two months of enrolling. This, together with the Doctoral Induction, will provide you with the knowledge and tools you need for a successful provisional year. To learn more about Confirmation, you can also attend the Preparing for your Confirmation Review workshop after about six months.
- Understand your enrolment: Your enrolment lasts for 12 months from your start date. You can view your fees at Student Services Online. If you're an international student, make sure you know how the domestic fee policy works.
- Policies: Visit our Doctoral Policies web page to explore key doctoral policies. You'll also find a link to the University's Policy Hub.
- PReSS: Postgraduate Research Student Support (PReSS) funding is provided by the University to assist with the provision of financial support for doctoral research that is not funded by other sources. Learn more about PReSS Accounts so you can start planning how best to spend your budget.
- ResearchHub: Explore the comprehensive online ResearchHub to find services, resources and people to accelerate your research.
- ResearchSpace: It's hard to write a thesis if you've never read one, so we recommend exploring ResearchSpace (the University's digital thesis repository) and having a look through a few doctoral theses from your field of study.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Wahapū?
- Where can I get help or support with Wahapū?
- How do doctoral candidates record research outputs in Wahapū?
- How do I record doctoral supervision meetings in Wahapū?
- How do doctoral candidates keep track of training and development in Wahapū?
- As a candidate, how do I update my details in Wahapū?
- What are doctoral Milestones, and how do I manage them?
- What is the process for the doctoral confirmation review?
- How do I set up my Discovery Profile?
- How do I get a Turnitin login as a doctoral candidate?
- How do I notify the University that I plan to undertake research as part of my Institutional Framework Agreement?
- What is the Continuation review process?
- Why am I not enrolled in the current doctoral year even though I am a returning doctoral candidate?
- Can I make changes to my doctoral candidature?
- How do I change to full-time or part-time study as a doctoral candidate?
- Can I edit or change the title of my doctoral thesis?
- What happens if my doctoral subject changes?
- How do I apply to undertake research away from campus?
- As a doctoral candidate, can I change my coursework enrolment myself?
- What is the doctoral intervention process?
- What should doctoral candidates do if they have supervision issues or concerns?
- How do I apply for a suspension to my doctoral enrolment?
- How do I withdraw from my doctoral programme?
- What are Termination of Candidature proceedings?
- How do doctoral candidates transfer their programme to another university from the University of Auckland?
