New Zealand Commonwealth Scholarship 2020 for International Students

The New Zealand Commonwealth Scholarship 2020-2021 will open from February 3rd, 2020 to March 27th, 2020. The programme aims to support the economic, social and political development of eligible commonwealth countries by training their human resource to acquire necessary knowledge and skills.

The scholarship is open for eligible candidates willing to undertake postgraduate study or conduct research in New Zealand. Candidates can apply for Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, Master’s Degree and PhD programmes.

The scholarship programme is funded by the New Zealand Aid Programme and managed through the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Program Details

• Host Institution: Universities (Auckland University of Technology, Lincoln University, Massey University, University of Auckland, University of Canterbury, University of Otago, University of Waikato, Victoria University of Wellington); Institutes of technology (Southern Institute of Technology, Unitec Institute of Technology, Wintec – Waikato Institute of Technology); Eligible Pacific citizens can choose to study at a Pacific university (University of South Pacific, Fiji National University, University of Papua New Guinea, Pacific Adventist University).
• Field of Study: Subject of study available on this page.
• Number of awards: Not Specified.
• Duration: Postgraduate Certificate (6 months), Postgraduate Diploma (1 year), Master’s Degree (1-2 years), PhD (up to 3.5 years).
• Target group: Open to citizens of the following countries: Africa (Botswana, Cameroon, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia); Caribbean (Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines); Asia (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia); Pacific (Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu).

New Zealand Commonwealth Scholarship Benefits

Selected applicants for the New Zealand Government Commonwealth Scholarship will have the following Benefits:

• full tuition fees
• living allowance of NZ$ 491 per week;
• an establishment allowance of NZ$ 3000. This is to help with set-up costs in New Zealand;
• medical insurance when you are in New Zealand;
• travel to and from your home country at the start and end of the scholarship;
• travel insurance;
• travel home during your scholarship ( one or two trips home, will be allowed depending on the scholarship length);
• help with research and thesis costs for many postgraduate students.

New Zealand Commonwealth Scholarship Eligibility

To apply for the New Zealand Government Commonwealth Scholarship, applicants must meet following criteria.

• Age requirements:
  • applicants must be 18 years old or older when the scholarship starts. This means you can apply at 17 years old but you must have 18 years old before you start your scholarship in semester one. Exception for Samoa applicants who can start at 17 years of age.
  • There is no upper age limit for applicants. However, the programme do prefer applicants who are under 40 years old.
• Immigration and visa requirements: applicants must meet the student visa requirements. If a scholarship recipient does not get a student visa, the scholarship will be withdrawn.
• Check if you meet academic entry requirements and English language requirements at your target university
• Applicants do not need to provide English language test scores when applying. You will only need a test score if you’re short listed
• Scholarship holders are expected to return to their home country at the end of their studies for a minimum period of two years in order to contribute to the social or economic development of their country.
• the application form contains a questionnaire that will check things such as:
  • Which country you hold citizenship in
  • How long you have been living in your home country
  • How much work experience you have
  • Whether your country is eligible for the scholarships

You may also be eligible for the:

1. Turkish Government Scholarship;
2. Chinese Government Scholarship At Nanjing University;
3. Islamic Development Bank Scholarship.

New Zealand Commonwealth Scholarship Application instructions

Eligible candidates who would like to apply for the New Zealand Commonwealth Scholarship must follow steps below:

1. Contact the nominating agency in their country to request a paper application form. Contact details provided by each nominating agency can be found here (PDF).
2. Post or deliver your completed application form back to the nominating agency in your country before the deadline.
3. Nominating agency in each country will then select two applicants as nominated candidates and send their applications to MFAT by May 1st, 2020 for consideration.

The application deadline is March 27th, 2020. For more detail on the New Zealand Commonwealth Scholarship, please visit the official page. To be the first to see latest opportunities, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.