StudyDesk Scholarships
About the scholarships
Lincoln University, in Lincoln, Canterbury — near Christchurch — is New Zealand’s specialist land-based university, founded in 1878, with strengths in agriculture, environment, business and science. For international students it offers five merit awards for 2027, and the structure is simple: they are all tuition-fee credits, paid into your Lincoln tuition-fees account once your enrolment is confirmed. The amounts run from NZ$2,500 for pathway study to NZ$15,000 for a taught Master’s with an A average.
That is useful money, but it is a discount, not a grant: the balance of your tuition is still yours to pay, and no living costs, airfare or accommodation are covered. The awards are also deliberately easy to enter — the Taught Master’s Merit Scholarship is automatic (no separate form; Lincoln assesses you when you apply for admission), and the other four are assessed on your admission application and scholarship form. The two dates to hold are 1 December 2026 for your Semester 1 study application if you are applying from outside New Zealand, and 31 January 2027 for the scholarship forms.
Eligibility
- Be a new international student who has not previously studied in an academic programme at Lincoln University.
- Meet the academic and English language requirements for admission to your chosen programme.
- Meet all immigration requirements to study in New Zealand.
- Not hold any other scholarship at the time of application.
- School Leavers Scholarship: be a school leaver from a New Zealand high school or an overseas high school, entering first-year Bachelor’s study.
- Taught Master’s Merit Scholarship: enrol in a full taught Master’s programme, with at least a B average in the final year of a Bachelor’s degree (an A average qualifies for the NZ$15,000 tier on selected programmes).
Benefits
- International Pathway Merit Scholarship: NZ$2,500 — Pathway Certificate (Foundation) or First Year Pathway Diploma.
- International Undergraduate Scholarship: NZ$3,000 — undergraduate programmes.
- Undergraduate Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship: NZ$5,000 — Bachelor’s programmes, for two consecutive semesters.
- International School Leavers Scholarship: NZ$10,000 — first-year Bachelor’s programmes.
- Taught Master’s Merit Scholarship: NZ$10,000 (B average) or NZ$15,000 (A average, selected programmes) — full taught Master’s programmes.
- English for Further Study Award: a tuition-fee rebate (capped at up to 12 weeks of EAP fees) for students who complete at least 12 weeks of English for Academic Purposes and enrol in their next programme.
- Note that all awards are tuition-fee credits, not cash, and no living costs or airfare are covered.
Documents to prepare
- Your Lincoln University admission application through the MyLinc portal.
- Academic transcripts and certificates.
- English language proficiency test scores (IELTS / TOEFL) or a medium-of-instruction certificate where accepted.
- A CV.
- A personal statement.
- Two letters of recommendation.
- A passport copy.
- Note that this document list is the typical set reported by aggregators — the official Lincoln pages list the scholarship form and the admission requirements, not a single universal document list, so check your programme’s page.
How to apply
- Apply for admission to Lincoln University through the MyLinc online portal — offshore students must apply by 1 December 2026 for Semester 1, 2027.
- For the Taught Master’s Merit Scholarship, do nothing extra — it is automatic; Lincoln assesses and offers it to qualifying international students.
- For the other four awards, submit the scholarship form by 31 January 2027 (Semester 1) or 30 June 2027 (Semester 2).
- For the International Undergraduate Scholarship, make sure your application is received before the semester commencement date.
- Confirm your enrolment — the award is credited to your Lincoln tuition-fees account once enrolment is confirmed.
FAQs
Scholarship forms are due 31 January 2027 for Semester 1 and 30 June 2027 for Semester 2. Your study application as an offshore student is due 1 December 2026 for Semester 1. The Summer School closing date (31 October 2026) has passed.
No. They are partial tuition-fee credits of NZ$2,500 to NZ$15,000, paid into your Lincoln tuition-fees account. No living costs, airfare or accommodation are covered, and the remaining tuition can still be large.
No. It is automatic — Lincoln assesses and offers it to qualifying international students enrolling in a full taught Master’s programme. You need at least a B average in the final year of your Bachelor’s degree (A average for the NZ$15,000 tier on selected programmes).
NZ$10,000 for a B average in the final year of a Bachelor’s degree, or NZ$15,000 for an A average on selected programmes.
New international students who have not previously studied at Lincoln University, who meet the academic and English requirements for their programme and the immigration requirements to study in New Zealand, and who hold no other scholarship.
No. The Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships are a separate New Zealand government award that Lincoln highlights as a flagship route. They are not Lincoln University awards and are not covered in this article.
Verified 26 Oct 2026: lincoln.ac.nz/study/scholarships/international-scholarships/ (official Lincoln University international scholarships page, opened and read) — five flagship awards (Pathway Merit NZ$2,500; International Undergraduate NZ$3,000; Undergraduate Vice-Chancellor's NZ$5,000; School Leavers NZ$10,000; Taught Master's Merit automatic, no separate form) and the English for Further Study Award; lincoln.ac.nz individual scholarship pages — Taught Master's Merit NZ$15,000 (A average, selected programmes) / NZ$10,000 (B average), GPA of at least a B average required; Pathway Merit NZ$2,500, closing dates 31 January (Semester 1), 30 June (Semester 2), 31 October (Summer School); International Undergraduate NZ$3,000, applications before semester commencement; School Leavers NZ$10,000; Vice-Chancellor's NZ$5,000; StudyAbroadWithArbaz, ScholarHunter, CollegeDunia — corroboration, including the 1 December 2026 study-application deadline and 31 January 2027 scholarship-form deadline. CORRECTION: the "fully funded" label is wrong — all five awards are tuition-fee credits only. NOT USED: one aggregator's "NZD 2,500 to NZD 32,000 per annum + full tuition coverage" (mixes Lincoln awards with other funding); the NZ$7,000 taught-master's tier on one aggregator (official tiers are NZ$10,000/NZ$15,000); one aggregator's garbled deadline table ("Semester 2, 2026: 31 May 2027"). The Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships are a separate government award and are not covered here. The document list is the typical aggregator set — the official pages list the scholarship form and admission requirements, not a single universal list.
