The PhD scholarship provides three years of personal support of up to $30,000 per annum, plus tuition fees, up to $10,000 in total research working expenses, and a $3,000 tufungatika allowance, for outstanding graduate students in any discipline whose proposed research programme will contribute to improving health and economic outcomes for Pacific peoples.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for one of these scholarships, you'll need to be a New Zealand citizen or hold residency in New Zealand and be of indigenous Pacific descent. Most applicants will be enrolled full-time for a research-based degree at the doctoral level, usually a Doctor of Philosophy at a New Zealand University. However, we will consider other applications from students enrolled in other doctoral research degrees or who are enrolled part-time. If you haven't yet enrolled for your proposed course of study, but are intending to do so, you can still apply - in this case, any scholarship you may receive will be conditional on your successful enrolment.

Please note, programmes of study where the primary focus is a clinical practice qualification rather than advancing the individual’s research skills do not meet the PhD grant requirements.

Application process

Firstly, you'll need to register your intention to submit an application for a PhD scholarship and then complete your registration online via HRC Gateway. After registration, you'll need to submit a full application online via HRC Gateway using the templates provided below.

Got a question?

Please send an email to info@hrc.govt.nz and one of our team will be in touch.

Documents

Guidelines

2026 Career Development Awards - Peer Review Manual
3 Jun, 2025 6:54pm - 503KB

2026 Pacific Health Research Career Development Awards - Application Guidelines
3 Jun, 2025 7:53pm - 536KB

Forms

2026 Pacific Health Research Career Development Awards - Application Form
3 Jun, 2025 7:53pm - 109KB