Application form available here. Full regulations can be downloaded here. (Requires Acrobat Reader)

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History or background of award
For the purpose of encouraging postgraduate research at Victoria, the University offers scholarships to students about to commence a full-time, research-focussed Master’s degree.
In 2008 over thirty scholarships shall be offered, consisting of a $15,000 stipend, plus domestic fees. International students, other than those from Australia will be liable to pay the difference between the full international student fee and the domestic fee.

Purpose of award
To encourage research at Masters level at Victoria university. Only those students enrolled solely for a 90 point thesis are eligible to apply.

Selection criteria
Only those students enrolled solely for a 90 point thesis or above are eligible to apply. In some cases this will be Part 2 of a two-year Master’s degree and will usually have the course code 591. Students who are enrolled in Master’s degree programmes that have thesis or research components of less than 90 points, or who elect not to enrol for the solely by thesis option, but instead enrol in taught courses, internships, performance, portfolio, practicum, or other programme options, are eligible to apply for the Victoria Graduate Scholarships. Creative Writing candidates are eligible to apply for the Master’s [by thesis] Scholarship.

Number of awards offered
30

Value
$15,000
Domestic tuition fees

Tenure of award
One year

Closing dates for applications
Monday 01 November 2010
Tuesday 01 November 2011

How do students apply?
Applications for these scholarships must be made on the forms obtainable from the top of this page or from the Scholarships Office.
Referees statements: A template form for referees is available from this link http://www.victoria.ac.nz/home/admisenrol/payments/scholarships/publications/postgraduate-scholarships-referee-form.pdf -please make this available to your referees. Reference stements should be submitted directly to the Scholarships Office by the referees. This may be by email only if they are sent from a verifiable institutional email address.

It is important that you submit ONLY the documentation requested on the application form available from the link above, additional information will not be circulated to selection panels. Application forms and supporting documents should be sent to:

Scholarships Office
Research Office
10 Kelburn Parade
Victoria University of Wellington
PO Box 600
Wellington, New Zealand

Scholarship applicants must contact directly the School in which they wish to enrol so that their research proposal and the feasibility of supervision can be assessed. Enrolling as a Masters student and applying for a Victoria Masters Scholarship are two separate processes. The holding of Victoria Masters Scholarship is conditional upon the scholarship recipient gaining enrolment as a Masters student.

Applicants, other than those who have completed all of their study at Victoria, must include a certified copy of their academic record from other institutions with this application. Applicants whose degree has been conferred at any university other than a New Zealand University will be considered in two categories:
Category 1 – applicants from the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Germany or Australia must supply an original or certified copy of their university transcript.
Category 2 – applicants from any other country must have their transcript verified and assessed with a course by course evaluation by one of the below educational evaluators:
Educational Credential Evaluators
National Recognition Information Centre [UK]

Decision makers
Scholarships shall be awarded solely on the basis of academic merit by the University Scholarships Committee, a sub-committee of the University Research Committee.

How and when do students learn of the decision?
All offers for Victoria Master’s Scholarships will be made in late December of the year of application. Some applicants may be placed on a reserve list and will not be finally notified of the success or otherwise of their applications until as late as the end of February of the following year. If you are unsuccessful you may be notified by email only. Please provide a clearly written email address if available.

What conditions are attached to acceptance of this award?
Scholarship recipients will be expected to sign the Victoria Postgraduate Scholarship Contract. Once the period of tenure of a scholarship has commenced, the University Scholarships Committee may, at its sole discretion, grant a scholarship recipient a deferment of their scholarship for a period of up-to six months. In most cases such a deferment will coincide with a formal suspension from their enrolment in the Master’s degree. A scholarship shall be terminated and the corresponding proportion of the scholarship emolument forfeited, if a scholarship recipient ceases to resume the aforesaid programme of research or advanced study within one month of the last day of the period of deferment. Scholarship recipients shall be required to devote themselves full-time to their programme of research during the tenure of the scholarship and may not hold a position of emolument without the approval of the University Scholarships Committee. Approval may be given for scholarship recipients to undertake paid employment (usually tutoring) for up to a maximum of 600 hours in one calendar year. Each scholarship recipient and his/her principal supervisor shall provide a progress report to the Scholarships Office six months after the commencement of the scholarship. Where progress is not satisfactory, the matter will be referred to the University Scholarships Committee. The University Scholarships Committee may at any time suspend or terminate a scholarship, or require the forfeiture of such proportion of the scholarship emolument as it may determine, if the scholarship recipient is not diligently pursuing their programme of research, has violated the University Statute on Conduct, or has failed to comply with any of the terms and conditions on which the scholarship was awarded.

Additional information
Scholarships Office, 10 Kelburn Parade Victoria University of Wellington P.O. Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand Email: scholarships-office@vuw.ac.nz

Who else has information about this award?
Approval for the co-tenure of a Victoria Masters Scholarship with other awards that total more than $6,000 must be sought from the University Scholarships Committee. The co-tenure of other awards may result in a reduction in the value of the scholarship stipend.

For guidelines, application forms and more information about this award contact:

The Scholarships Office
Victoria University of Wellington
PO Box 600
Wellington
New Zealand

Phone: (04) 463 5113 or (04)463 5557
Fax:
E-mail: scholarships-office@vuw.ac.nz