Commonwealth Scholarships
Application process
- Commonwealth Scholarships applicants from developing countries apply directly to a nominating agency in their home country. Click on the following link to access the contact details of the nominating agencies: www.csfp-online.org/cgi-bin/schemes.pl?display=scheme&id=11
- The nominating agency – often the home government’s scholarships or training department – distributes application forms and advises applicants of the close-off date to return completed applications. Applications must include certified copies of the required supporting documentation.
- Applicants are encouraged to apply directly to a participating university prior to applying for the scholarship. Applicants who
have secured offers of place or evidence of correspondence with
the university stand a stronger chance of securing a scholarship than those who haven't.
- The nominating agency undertakes an initial screening of applications before determining a shortlist of candidates
for study in
New Zealand. The shortlisted applications are sent to the
NZAID Scholarships Unit in
Wellington,
New Zealand , by 30 June.
- NZAID assesses the shortlisted applications and seeks placement at the relevant university by mid-September. Incomplete applications will not be assessed.
- A selection committee, comprising NZAID and university representatives, meets in September / October to select successful candidates. Selection is based on academic merit, quality of proposal and the likely impact of the study on the development of their home country. Efforts are made to ensure that the scholarships are offered equitably to female and male candidates. The selection committee may also consider relevant work or community experiences and prioritise those who are ethnically (e.g. indigenous people) or geographically disadvantaged. The committee will try to obtain a geographical spread of countries represented.
- The New Zealand universities forward scholarship offers to successful candidates during October. To accept the offer, candidates are required to sign the declaration in the Commonwealth Scholarship Offer stating that they will comply with the conditions of the scholarship.
The university assists candidates with their travel arrangements to New Zealand and the visa application process, arranges airport reception and temporary accommodation, and provides an arrival briefing and orientation programme.
- Successful candidates commence their studies around February.
