The 2013-2014 Commonwealth Scholarship for students from developing countries to study in New Zealand is now open for applications. The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) is an international programme under which member governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries.
The CSFP was established at the first Commonwealth education conference in 1959 and is reviewed by education ministers at their triennial meetings – the only scholarship scheme in the world to receive such high-level recognition.
New Zealand offers Commonwealth Scholarships for Master's and PhD study.
Commonwealth Scholarships awardees can only study at these New Zealand universities: Auckland University of Technology, Lincoln University, Massey University, University of Auckland, University of Canterbury, University of Otago, Victoria University of Wellington and University of Waikato.
The application form is available from the applicant's Nominating Agency. The form has been updated for use for applications in 2013.
Applicants must complete the application form for the New Zealand Commonwealth Scholarships for tenure from 2014. Applications on any other application form will not be considered. The list of Nominating Agency will be found in this link
List of Nominating Agency. Eligibility Criteria To be eligible to be considered for a Commonwealth Scholarship an applicant must:
a. have citizenship of a participating developing Commonwealth country; permanent residents of a participating country are not eligible to apply;
b. be residing in their country of citizenship, preferably for at least two years prior to application;
c. not have citizenship or permanent residence status of New Zealand or Australia, or another developed country , except where their country does not issue passports and they hold a New Zealand passport (i.e. the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau);
d. not be married or engaged to be married to a person who holds, or who is eligible to hold, citizenship or permanent residence status of New Zealand, Australia or another developed country, except where their country does not issue passports and they hold a New Zealand passport (i.e. the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau);
e. be applying to commence a new qualification and not be seeking funding for one already commenced at PhD or Masters level;
f. satisfy the admission requirements of the New Zealand university at which the qualification is to be undertaken, including English language criteria;
g. have been working in their country of citizenship, preferably for at least two years prior to application;
h. hold a first degree of upper second class Honours (or above); or a second class degree and a relevant postgraduate qualification, which will normally be a Master's degree;
i. be available to commence their academic studies in New Zealand at the start of the New Zealand academic year in February 2014;
j. have already secured admission to their preferred New Zealand university; evidence of admission (eg. a letter of offer) is required with the application form; a conditional letter of offer from a New Zealand university is sufficient to allow an application to be accepted;
k. have a planned programme start date (in the letter of offer) at the start of the New Zealand Academic year in February 2014; offers for a planned start date for Semester 2, 2014 cannot be accepted.
Applicants cannot:a. be studying full time at post-secondary level;
b. be transferring from another tertiary scholarship (either in New Zealand or in another country) to a Commonwealth Scholarship;
c. hold, or have held, a New Zealand Government or Australian Government scholarship in the 24 months preceding the scholarship start date;
d. have been terminated from a New Zealand or Australian Government scholarship previously.
Application Procedure Each applicant must submit to their Nominating Agency one (1) original application form and all requested attachments.
Please note that the Nominating Agency must receive complete applications containing all of the information stated below. Applications that are incomplete and do not contain all documentation stated below will not be assessed.
The application declaration in Section 11 must be signed by the applicant. In addition to the application form the following documents are required:
a. Certified copy of applicant's birth certificate (in English);
b. Certified copy of official evidence of any name change for applicant (in English);
c. Certified copy of the personal pages of applicant's passport;
d. Certified copy of the academic transcript for all tertiary qualifications held by the applicant and the grading schedule for each qualification (in English);
e. Certified copy of the completion or graduation certificate for each tertiary qualification that the applicant has completed (in English);
f. If the applicant is employed, a current job description confirming their position and outlining their responsibilities and duties;
g. A current (dated) curriculum vitae - a brief history of the applicant's education, work experiences and skills;
h. Three (3) references (no more than 24 months old) on official letterhead, supporting the scholarship application to study in New Zealand, and relevant to their proposed study programme or research topic. References should be provided from the applicant's current employer, a former lecturer or academic supervisor (in an area of study relevant to the application) and, where possible, a relevant government or community based organisation; Note: Applications with less than three references will be disadvantaged;
i. An letter of offer from the New Zealand University at which the applicant wishes to study (see Section 8 of the application form);
j. A 500 word statement describing the specific skills and knowledge the applicant wishes to gain from the proposed study and how this will contribute to the applicant's current and/or future job (see Section 9 of the application form);
k. A 500 word statement describing how the applicant's proposed area of study will enable them to contribute to the social or economic development of their home country (see Section 9 of the application form);
l. A 500 word statement outlining the proposed research topic (see Section 9 of the application form).
Selection CriteriaThe nominations submitted to Universities NZ will be considered by the selection committee according to the following selection criteria:
- academic merit of the candidate.
- the quality of the research proposal.
- the likely impact of the work on the development of the candidate's home country.
The assessment schedule which will be used is:
Academic Merit* Examination results.
* Academic transcripts.
* Referees' reports.
* Any academic prizes.
* Other relevant activities.
* Publications, where appropriate.
Development Impact* The extent to which the candidate illustrates that the proposed study will increase knowledge about development and / or solutions to poverty reduction (including, amongst other themes, public health, education, governance, political, social and economic development and environment).
* Relevance and extent to which the Plan of Study fits well with the strengths and career aspirations of the candidate.
Quality of Study Plans - PhD Applications* Extent to which the study programme has been well researched and thought out, including the identification of appropriate institution and supervisor.
* Degree of innovation.
* Likely impact.
* Clarity of presentation.
* Relevance to field.
* Feasibility.
Quality of Study Plans - Masters Applications * Extent to which the proposed course / institution of study has been well researched (including specific options and dissertation topics, where appropriate) and presented.
* Clarity of presentation.
For more information about this scholarship please visit
New Zealand Commonwealth Scholarship Page.
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