StudyDesk Scholarships
About the scholarships
Victoria University of Wellington — Te Herenga Waka — in Wellington, New Zealand, offers international scholarships at every level, and the system changed in 2025: the VUW Undergraduate International Scholarship and the VUW Postgraduate International Scholarship were established in August 2025, replacing and combining several previous awards including the Tongarewa International Scholarship, the Latin American Academic Achievement Scholarship, the International Alumni Fees Waiver and the New Zealand International School-Leaver Grant. Tongarewa itself was stopped from 2026 — any page still listing its awards as current is out of date.
The two new awards are refreshingly simple: the Undergraduate International Scholarship is NZ$15,000 off first-year tuition for new international students starting a bachelor’s, and the Postgraduate International Scholarship is NZ$10,000 off fees for a master’s or postgraduate diploma. Both are automatic — there is no separate application; if you are eligible, Victoria tells you in your offer letter, and the scholarship is applied directly to your tuition fees. The research award is the Wellington Doctoral Scholarship: a NZ$32,000 annual stipend plus domestic tuition fees for up to three years, with about 110 scholarships a year across three rounds (1 March, 1 July, 1 November). The next round closes on 1 November 2026.
Eligibility
- Be an international student paying full international fees (not a citizen of New Zealand or Australia).
- Be new to Victoria University of Wellington and entering your first year of a bachelor’s (UG award) or starting a master’s or postgraduate diploma (PG award).
- Hold a conditional or unconditional Offer of Place for the programme.
- For the Wellington Doctoral Scholarship: be a domestic or international graduate of any university, normally holding a bachelor’s or master’s degree with academic distinction equal to First Class Honours from a New Zealand university, with strong research potential. People who already hold a doctorate cannot apply.
- Show a strong academic record — doctoral awards are based on academic merit.
Benefits
- VUW Undergraduate International Scholarship: NZ$15,000 toward tuition, for one year (first enrolment only).
- VUW Postgraduate International Scholarship: NZ$10,000 toward tuition, for a master’s or postgraduate diploma.
- Wellington Doctoral Scholarship: NZ$32,000 a year stipend plus domestic tuition fees, for up to 3 years; about 110 awards a year.
- Not a VUW award: the Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships are a separate New Zealand government award (tuition + living + travel + insurance) for students from eligible partner countries.
- Not current: the Tongarewa International Scholarship (NZ$10,000 / NZ$5,000 awards) was stopped from 2026.
Documents to prepare
- None separate for the UG/PG International Scholarships — they are assessed from your application for study.
- For admission: academic transcripts and degree certificates, and an Offer of Place (conditional or unconditional).
- For the Wellington Doctoral Scholarship: a personal statement (max 500 words) covering study goals, motivation and leadership experience, plus references and evidence of research output (thesis, publications) where available.
- All doctoral documents, including references, must arrive by 4:30 pm NZ time on the closing date — late documents are not accepted.
How to apply
- Apply for admission to Victoria University of Wellington for your bachelor’s, master’s, postgraduate diploma or PhD.
- For the UG/PG International Scholarships: do nothing extra — if you are eligible, the scholarship appears in your offer letter and is credited to your tuition fees.
- For the Wellington Doctoral Scholarship: apply for PhD admission first, then submit the separate scholarship application with references before 4:30 pm NZ time on 1 November 2026.
- For Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships: apply separately through the New Zealand government scheme for your country — not through VUW.
FAQs
The Wellington Doctoral Scholarship closes 1 November 2026 (next round; then 1 March and 1 July 2027). The UG and PG International Scholarships have no separate deadline — they close when applications for your course close.
No. There is no separate form: if you are eligible, Victoria tells you in your offer letter. The Wellington Doctoral Scholarship is the exception — it needs a separate application after your PhD admission application.
NZ$15,000 toward tuition for one year, for new international students entering their first year of a bachelor’s. The postgraduate award is NZ$10,000.
NZ$32,000 a year plus domestic tuition fees, for up to three years. About 110 scholarships are offered each year across three rounds.
No. Victoria stopped offering the Tongarewa International Scholarship from 2026. Its replacement is the VUW Undergraduate/Postgraduate International Scholarship. Pages still listing Tongarewa awards as current are out of date.
No. Manaaki is a separate New Zealand government award (fully funded: tuition, living, travel and insurance) for students from eligible partner countries. Apply through the government scheme, not through VUW.
Verified 27 Oct 2026: yasassri.me, "New Zealand Scholarships 2027: Deadlines Sri Lankans Can't Miss" (updated 13 days ago) — VUW Undergraduate International Scholarship $15,000 off first-year fees for new international students starting a bachelor's; VUW Postgraduate International Scholarship $10,000 off fees for a master's or postgraduate diploma; automatic — "you don't apply separately... Victoria tells you in your offer letter. There's no extra deadline. It closes when applications for your course close"; "You might see the old Tongarewa Scholarship on other websites. Victoria stopped offering it from 2026"; thecareernews.org (reproducing VUW's own scholarship finder) — VUW Undergraduate International Scholarship NZ$15,000, deadline 1 September (Trimester 1 start); VUW Postgraduate International Scholarship, partial tuition support, 1 September; Wellington Doctoral Scholarship NZ$30,500/year + full tuition up to 3 years, rounds 1 March, 1 July, 1 November; established August 2025, replacing Tongarewa, Latin American Academic Achievement Scholarship, International Alumni Fees Waiver and NZ International School-Leaver Grant; careerglobalconnect.com, 27 Sep 2026 — Wellington Doctoral Scholarship $32,000/year + domestic tuition fees, up to 3 years, ~110/year, rounds 1 March, 1 July, 1 November; scholarshipsguider.com — same figures ($32,000/year, ~110/year, 4:30 pm NZ time closing, First Class Honours equivalent, next round 1 Nov 2026); myschoolscholarships.org — VUW International Scholarships valued at $15,000, deadline 31 December 2026, requires Offer of Place, new students only; Bright Scholarship (queue URL) — corroboration. CONFLICTS: (1) the doctoral stipend is $32,000/year on the two most recent sources; thecareernews says $30,500 and one Tongarewa-era page says $27,500 — the article uses $32,000. (2) the PG award is $10,000 (yasassri, recent) vs $15,000 (myschoolscholarships) — the article uses UG $15,000 / PG $10,000. (3) the UG/PG deadline is 1 September for Trimester 1 (thecareernews) vs 31 December 2026 (myschoolscholarships) — the article states no separate deadline and flags both. (4) the "10 awards of NZ$10,000 + 9 awards of NZ$5,000" figures on engineersjob.in are the discontinued Tongarewa scheme — not used as current. The official wgtn.ac.nz scholarship pages could not be opened by text fetch in this check — no wgtn.ac.nz URL is cited that was not verified here.
