About the University: Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington is one of New Zealand’s oldest and most prestigious tertiary institutions with a proud tradition of academic excellence. Learn more about our 115 years of rich history.
National and global rankings
Victoria University of Wellington are New Zealand’s top-ranked university for research intensity and consistently rank among the world’s best universities in the QS World Rankings. Our rankings
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How to apply
Our step-by-step guide will help you apply for a PhD or professional doctorate at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
You don’t need to find a supervisor before you apply, but we encourage you to learn about our researchers and approach them directly to discuss potential projects. The final allocation of supervisors is done by the School, according to research interests and available resourcing.
Step-by-step guide to applying
Step 1: Check that you meet the requirements
Before you begin your application, make sure you understand our requirements for admission, including prerequisite qualifications, and what is really involved in doing a doctoral degree.
Step 2: Additional requirements
Check whether you’re applying for a programme—such as architecture, creative writing, design, health, or music—where the school requires additional application information. This might be a portfolio, audition, or prior registration of interest.
Programmes with additional application requirements
Step 3: Online application
Sign up for the online application system. The University uses a system called Communityforce to process applications for all doctoral degrees and for Wellington Doctoral Scholarships (PhD only).
You will enter information and upload documentation through this system, and use it to request reports from your referees. You must complete and submit your own application—you cannot use an agent to apply on your behalf.
Welcome to the Victoria University of Wellington scholarship application site
Existing users
Enter your Username and Password to complete the application. Your username is the email address and password you initially used to set up your account. (Current students need to use their preferred email address as recorded in Student Records). If you need to update your email address, click on “View/Edit Profile” at the top right of the page after you have logged in.
First time users or new applicants
Click the “Create New Account” button below in order to register and complete your application.
Forgot password?
Click on “Forgot Password” and enter your login email address, an email will be sent asking you to reset your password. You will receive a confirmation email once you have successfully reset your password. Contact scholarships-office@vuw.ac.nz if you have any further password issues.
Receiving emails about your scholarship
Once you have created an account and applied for scholarships, you can expect all correspondence regarding your application to come from admin@communityforce.com. Please add this email address to your safe senders list to ensure you do not miss any crucial information regarding your scholarship application. This is particularly relevant to hotmail or outlook users. Current student email addresses will automatically convert to the preferred email address recorded in Student Records. Create New Account
Your privacy is important, and we protect the personal information you submit to us. Find out more about the University’s privacy policy.
Step 4: Prepare your expression of interest
You don’t need to prepare a formal research proposal at this stage. You need to write an ‘expression of interest’, which should provide a clear overview of the nature of your intended study, discuss how you will research your topic, and explain why you are suited for doctoral research.
Writing an expression of interest
Step 5: Assemble and upload additional documentation
Upload your documentation through the online system. All applicants need to provide:
- A 2,000-word sample of your academic writing in English.
- Certified copies of your academic transcript/s and degree certificates.
International students need to upload further documentation, including:
- Evidence of English language proficiency.
- Translations of official documents—these must be certified by an accredited translator.
- Applicants from EU countries also need to upload a certified copy of their Diploma Supplement.
If you are having trouble uploading documentation, please contact pg-research@vuw.ac.nz.
If you provide more information than has been requested, it will not be forwarded to the selection panels.
Step 6: Scholaro report for international qualifications
If your most recent qualification was not completed in New Zealand—and you are not a current student of this University—you are required to provide a Scholaro Grade Point Average (GPA) report.
You will need to pay a small fee directly to Scholaro. Find out more about generating a Scholaro GPA report for your doctoral application.
Generate a Scholaro GPA report
Step 7: Select your academic referees
Use the online application system to contact two referees and ask them to evaluate your academic ability and research potential.
Your referees’ reports (references) are a critical part of your application and must be received before we can consider your application. You should request your references at least two weeks before the deadline for your chosen round.
Step 8: Check and submit your application
You can check the status of your application through the online system. The dashboard shows your progress, including whether we have received reports from your referees.
Your application must be 100% complete—with the dashboard showing all green—before you can submit it. We will send an email to the address you provided once we have received your application.
After you submit your application
Incomplete applications
If your application is incomplete by 4.30 pm (New Zealand time) on the day of the deadline, you will need to reapply in the following round. You will be able to transfer some but not all of your information. We will remove from the system any applications that remain incomplete through two successive deadlines.
Contact us
The Scholarships and Doctoral Admissions Office works alongside the Wellington Faculty of Graduate Research to process all applications for doctoral programmes across the University.
Contact the Doctoral Admissions team
Fees, funding, and scholarships
Find out how much a doctorate will cost and how you can support your studies with grants and scholarships, including the Wellington Doctoral Scholarships.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for full-time PhD study vary depending on the area of your research. The average yearly fees are listed by subject category in the postgraduate thesis section of the fees for domestic students page.
The New Zealand Government subsidises fees for international PhD candidates who live and study in New Zealand. This means that international PhD students may be eligible to pay the same ‘domestic’ fees as PhD students who are citizens, residents, or permanent residents of New Zealand.
The tuition fees for the professional doctorates—Doctor of Education, Doctor of Health, Doctor of Midwifery, Doctor of Musical Arts, and Doctor of Nursing—are listed individually as they combine taught and thesis components.
International Doctor of Musical Arts students will need to pay international fees. Our health- and education-sector professional doctorates are not generally suitable for international students.
Scholarships
You can search our scholarships database by category, study area, and study level
Search the scholarships database
Wellington Doctoral Scholarships
Wellington Doctoral Scholarships are the main scholarship for PhD students. They are awarded on academic merit and are open to all full-time PhD applicants. The scholarship will pay you a $27,500 annual living allowance and will cover the cost of your tuition, but not additional fees such as insurance and student levies.
You don’t need to submit a separate application for a Wellington Doctoral Scholarship—the application is part of your overall PhD admission application. Scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis and availability is limited.
Wellington Doctoral Scholarships
Guaranteed scholarships
If you’ve achieved a grade point average (GPA) of 8.5 or above in your qualifying Master’s or Honours degree (completed at a New Zealand university within 12 months prior to application) you are guaranteed a Wellington Doctoral Scholarship to support your PhD.
If you’re Māori or Pasifika and have achieved a GPA of 7.5 or above, you are guaranteed a Māori and Pasifika Doctoral Scholarship.
Other funding opportunities
There are a number of ways in which the University can help you with your finances throughout your study. You can find out more on our funding page for current doctoral students.
Student Loans
If you are a New Zealand citizen, permanent resident or refugee, you may be eligible to apply for a Student Loan to fund your doctoral study. Find out more information from StudyLink.
Entry requirements
You’ll need to meet our entry requirements for academic qualifications and English proficiency—plus have some valuable personal qualities.
We will make our decision about accepting you as a doctoral candidate based on your academic record, your research background, and the availability of supervision and other resources in the area of your research interests. You are not guaranteed admission to a doctoral programme at the University even if you hold one of the entry requirement qualifications (‘prerequisites’) listed below.
Academic qualification requirements
From a New Zealand university
If you have studied at a university in New Zealand you will need:
- a Bachelor’s degree with Honours or a Master’s degree with a GPA* of no less than 6 (letter grade B+), or
- to be currently enrolled in a Master’s thesis at this University and meet the requirements for conversion to a PhD, or
- be able to produce evidence to the satisfaction of the Dean, Wellington Faculty of Graduate Research, of other adequate training and the ability to proceed with the proposed course for the degree.
* The calculation of your GPA will depend on your prerequisite degree.
From a university outside New Zealand
International applicants are expected to have equivalent qualifications to those required of New Zealand applicants:
- If you have a four-year Bachelor’s degree graded in a four-point GPA system, you will need to have a GPA of at least 3.0 out of 4.0.
- If you have a Bachelor’s degree graded in the British system (including from India), you must have been awarded the degree with first or upper second-class Honours.
- Or you will need to be able to produce evidence to the satisfaction of the Dean, Wellington Faculty of Graduate Research, of other adequate training and the ability to proceed with the proposed course for the degree.
If your first language is not English, you must also meet the English language requirements.
For some programmes, you may need to provide evidence of relevant work or research experience.
Certified copies
You must provide certified copies of academic transcripts for any qualifications, except for those awarded by this University. Applicants from EU countries must also provide the Diploma Supplement. If your application is successful, we may request to see the original transcripts.
If your documents are in a language other than English, you must attach English translations certified by an accredited translator and bearing the translator’s official stamp. You’ll need to upload both certified copies of your academic transcript and certified copies of the translation.
GPA calculations
Your Grade Point Average (GPA) is calculated as per approved University Research Committee methods for doctoral assessment. These will be based, where possible, on 240 points (or equivalent) from the relevant qualification(s) that provides admission to the doctoral programme. For example, based on courses at levels 400 and 500 (or equivalent) completed as part of your Honours or Master’s degree.
English language requirements
If you are an international student and your first language is not English, you must provide evidence of your English proficiency before you will be accepted as a doctoral candidate. The University’s English language requirements are strict and are not negotiable.
If you do not provide evidence that you meet these requirements, your Offer of Place will only be conditional—which will affect your ability to obtain a student visa.
The minimum requirements are:
- TOEFL 90 points on the internet-based test with a minimum of 20 in writing, or
- IELTS overall band of 6.5, no sub-score below 6, or
- a minimum of two ratings of 5 and two ratings of 4 in the Victoria University of Wellington English for Academic Purposes test, or
- Pearson Test of English, with a score of 58 (with a communicative score of not less than 50).
On average it takes three months of full-time English language study to improve an overall IELTS bandwidth score by 0.5 or a TOEFL score by 25 points.
English for Academic Purposes programme
The University offers an English for Academic Purposes programme, leading to the award of a Certificate of Proficiency in English. You may wish to enrol in this programme before you begin your doctoral studies.
Online English tests
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will accept some online/at home versions of English proficiency tests.
TOEFL iBT
ETS/TOEFL is now offering a special Home Edition of the TOEFL iBT test. Visit the TOEFL website for more information.
IELTS
IELTS is now offering an an online test called the IELTS Indicator that you can take at home. Visit the IELTS Indicator website for more information.
Important qualities
Having the right academic qualifications and competence in English may not be enough for you to succeed as a doctoral candidate. You will also need to:
- have a strong interest in doing a substantial research project over an extended period of time
- be self-disciplined and focused on your research
- be persistent in the face of setbacks
- be willing to respond effectively to advice and criticism
- be able to work independently
- be willing to work within the scholarly tradition
- have stable financial and personal circumstances
- be able to write well, as you’ll need to communicate your results and write a thesis.
International students
Information for international students about tuition fees, English language requirements, and what you need to know about moving to New Zealand.
Enrolments during COVID-19
Due to the global COVID-19 situation, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington is temporarily allowing international students who have an Offer of Place to enrol from overseas and begin their PhD studies from a distance. Students enrolling from overseas will have to meet the criteria outlined in the Guidelines for enrolment of international PhD students who are overseas due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Students interested in this option must discuss with their supervisor(s) whether this is a feasible option for them and their research, and if it is, please contact us for further information on the enrolment process and for the appropriate forms.
You can also find more information on the University’s main COVID-19 information page.
Tuition fees—PhD
The New Zealand Government subsidises fees for international PhD candidates who live and study in New Zealand. This means that international PhD students may be eligible to pay the same ‘domestic’ fees as PhD students who are citizens, residents, or permanent residents of New Zealand.
Fees, funding, and scholarships
Tuition fees—professional doctorates
International students studying the Doctor of Musical Arts will need to pay full international fees. Our health- and education-sector professional doctorates are not generally suitable for international students.
Entry requirements
International applicants are expected to have equivalent academic qualifications to those required of New Zealand applicants.
English language requirements
If your first language is not English, you must provide evidence of your English proficiency before you will be accepted as a doctoral candidate. The University’s English language requirements are strict and are not negotiable.
Arriving in New Zealand
Wellington University International is the part of the University that supports international students. Their web pages have lots of useful information that will help you get ready to move to New Zealand, including about the cost of living, accommodation options, medical and travel insurance, and visa requirements.
Visit the Wellington University International site
Student visa
You don’t need to have a student visa at the time of your application to study at the University. You can apply for a student visa after you are accepted as a doctoral student and receive an Offer of Place.
You will need a student visa before you come to New Zealand. Your nearest New Zealand Diplomatic Office can provide you with the necessary information and the forms to complete. Full details of visa and permit requirements, advice on rights to employment in New Zealand while studying, and reporting requirements are available from Immigration New Zealand.
Medical, travel, and accident insurance
Most international students are not entitled to freely access publicly-funded health services while in New Zealand, so you need to have appropriate medical and travel insurance.
The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) provides accident insurance for all New Zealand citizens, residents and temporary visitors to New Zealand, but you may still be liable for all other medical and related costs.
Pastoral Care
The Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students (‘the Code’), published by the Ministry of Education, is a policy specially designed for international students. It sets the standards of advice and care that must be given by an institution to an international student. Victoria University of Wellington has agreed to observe and be bound by the Code.
Copies of the Code are available from NZQA (the New Zealand Qualifications Authority) or on request from Wellington University International.
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