New Zealand scholarships for international students 

Scholarships are an international student's best friend. Learn about scholarships and make your international education affordable.

In this article:

• New Zealand Government scholarships for international students
• Private scholarships for international students
• University scholarships for international students

Scholarships, in the form of financial aids and financial awards, help and support multiple international students who study in New Zealand. 

The amount of money and coverage each scholarship provides can vary. Some of them are fully paid scholarships (including tuition, cost of living, and other educational expenses), and others are partially paid scholarships (awards a fixed amount or covers a part of the overall expense like the tuition fee). 

The funding for such scholarships comes from various parties like the New Zealand government, educational groups, NGOs, and private companies. So, we can generally classify the scholarships as follows:

• New Zealand Government scholarships
• Private scholarships
• University scholarships

New Zealand Government scholarships for international students

The New Zealand government has taken a lot of initiatives to support deserving international students. Several scholarships are available with different eligibility criteria. We've listed the most common ones below:

New Zealand International Doctoral Research Scholarships (NZIDRS)

NZIDRS is a fully paid scholarship offered to eligible meritorious Indian students pursuing their doctorate in New Zealand. This scholarship covers the tuition fee, living expenses (up to NZ$25000 per year) and medical expense coverage (up to NZ$600)

New Zealand Commonwealth Scholarships

New Zealand commonwealth scholarship is another fully paid scholarship offered to the commonwealth countries. If awarded this scholarship, a student will get NZ$491 per week as a living allowance and NZ$ 3,000 as an initial set-up allowance. Alongside this, the complete tuition fee, medical insurance, travel insurance and research costs, if any, are also covered. 

Private scholarships for international students

Apart from government scholarships, many private firms and educational groups also offer multiple scholarships to help and support international students. We’ve listed the most common ones below:

New Zealand Excellence Awards (NZEA)

NZEA is a meritorious scholarship awarded to academically strong students by Education New Zealand (ENZ) and New Zealand universities. From the applicants, 28 students pursuing postgraduate courses are chosen and awarded NZ$5,000 each and 3 students pursuing undergraduate courses are chosen and awarded NZ$10,000 each.

NZ-GRADS New Zealand Global Research Alliance Doctoral Scholarship

The Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions has taken up this initiative to launch NZ-GRADS scholarship and support talented international students who want to pursue a doctoral degree in Agriculture and emission gas. This scholarship covers the tuition fee (up to NZ$10,000 a year), living expenses (up to NZ$28,000 a year), medical insurance (up t0 NZ$500 a year), visa application cost (up to NZ$1,000), travel expenses (up to NZ$6,000) and research expenses (NZ$1,500

SEG Scholarship

Sochi Educational Group (SEG) offers this scholarship to promote the study of Geophysics and Geosciences. All international students pursuing UG, PG and other courses in this field of studies can apply for the SEG scholarship. If awarded, a UG student will receive a sum of either NZ$7,000 or NZ$5,000 based on merit and a student pursuing any other course like a PG will receive a sum of NZ$3,000.

Want to know more about private scholarships or scholarships in general? Book a free virtual consultation session with one of our experienced education advisors. 

University scholarships for international students

Many universities in New Zealand offer scholarships to their international students. In order to acquire a university scholarship, you need to check to see if you satisfy the eligibility criteria and apply as early as possible. You can even choose to submit your scholarship application alongside your university application. 

Note: Like university application deadlines, scholarship applications also have deadlines. Keep that in mind to apply well before the deadline to be considered for the scholarship.