SDG 1 – No Poverty , Pōhara Kore

Scholarships

A wide range of scholarships are awarded to Massey University students each year, providing financial support for students whilst they study. In 2024, 1,700 scholarships were granted, up from more than 1,600 in 2023 and 1,200 in 2022. These include contestable scholarships, awards, grants and bursaries, and are based on factors including academic merit, specific skills, financial need or a combination of these.

A key factor in the increase of scholarships in 2023 was the introduction of the Undergraduate Excellence Scholarships, which saw more than 150 scholarships awarded based on academic performance.

Scholarship distribution:

• Gender: Around 7 out of every 10 scholarships are awarded to female students – 71% of scholarships in 2024, 70% in 2023 and 72% of scholarships in 2022.
• Māori students: 16% of scholarships were awarded to Māori students, on average, between 2022 and 2024.
• Pacific Peoples students: 13% of scholarships were awarded to Pacific Peoples students, on average, between 2022 and 2024.

These scholarships provide valuable financial support, helping students succeed in their academic journey at Massey University.

Scholars Massey programme:

Massey University offers the Scholars Massey programme, a unique peer support initiative for students who are planning to apply for a scholarship or have already been awarded one. This programme provides guidance, community, and resources to help students make the most of their scholarship experience.

Find out more about the scholarships that Massey offers

Get tips and strategies for applying for scholarships

Find out more about the Scholars Massey programme

International collaborations

More than half, 55% of Massey University’s 99 SDG1 No Poverty publications between 2020 and 2024 resulted from international collaborations (Scopus database extracted using SciVal in October 2025). The publications were predominantly in the subject area of Social Sciences. The most popular topics that this research has focused on include sustainable livelihoods, agrarian change, minimum change and poverty alleviation.

The number of publications in 2024 was 18, dropping slightly from the consistent upward trend in recent years, increasing from 13 in 2020, to 21 in 2021 and 2022, and reaching 26 in 2023.

Nutritional education to help communities in need

Since 2017, Massey University has organised a series of training programmes in South Auckland’s low socioeconomic schools which teach young adults about nutrition, cooking and healthy eating within a budget. Through the Nestlé Cook for Life programme, our dietetics students are improving the lives of young people in vulnerable communities through the delivery of these educational programmes.

Read more about the nutritional education programme

COVID-19 hardship grants

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Massey University offered Emergency Hardship and Emergency Technology grants to ensure that students facing financial hardship could continue their studies. The university provided over $1.2 million worth of support.

Just Zilch Rescue Food Charity

In 2022, Massey staff and students harvested more than 3 tonnes of apples and pears and half a tonne of kiwifruit from the Massey orchards. The fruit went to Palmerston North rescue food charity Just Zilch to distribute through its free store.

Wharerata, the staff cafeteria on the Manawatū campus, and the Manawatū dining halls both give leftover daily production to Just Zilch.

International Development Studies Network

Massey chairs the Aotearoa NZ International Development Studies Network – an interface amongst people and organisations proactively working together on ending poverty. Members include aid and development NGOs, private sector development practitioners and the government (especially New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade).

In 2023, Massey University’s Professor Regina Scheyvens marked chairing the Aotearoa NZ International Development Studies Network for a quarter of a century. Under her leadership, the network has been at the forefront of efforts to address global poverty, actively contributing to initiatives aimed at sustainable development and social justice.

Scholarships for financial mentors

In June 2023, the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) has partnered with Massey to offer scholarships for financial mentors to enrol in a microcredit course. This initiative is designed to empower individuals by shifting the focus from crisis and debt management to promoting long-term financial well-being.

Read more about the scholarships

Creative capstone films tackle student housing and unpaid work

In 2024, 2 creative works developed in the capstone course Creativity in the Community were premiered. The short films explored social issues including the rental market’s impact on student wellbeing and unpaid student work placements, with a strong focus on solutions.

Exposure of Rental Housing Standards failure

In 2022, 3 Massey journalism students were honoured with the Bruce Jesson Emerging Journalism Award for their investigation that exposed the failure of New Zealand’s regulation of new laws on healthy home standards for rental housing.

Decades of Insight: Home and Rental Affordability Reports

Massey’s Real Estate Analysis Unit has published quarterly reports on home affordability for over 20 years, and on rental affordability for a quarter of a century.

Read the reports here

Annual Retirement Expenditure Guidelines

Massey’s Financial Education and Research Centre’s annual New Zealand Retirement Expenditure Guidelines continued to provide up-to-date information on saving requirements for 'no frills' and 'choices' retirement.

Financial Education and Research Centre

Community Accounting Services

Massey University’s Community Accounting Services provides free financial advice for non-profit community groups. There are also free, regular clinics for treasurers and board members of small to medium-sized community groups, including charities and service organisations.

Massey's Community Accounting Services

Poverty and health inequities research

In 2024, Dr Belinda Borrell from Massey’s SHORE & Whāriki Research Centre was awarded an Emerging Leader Fellowship by the Health Research Council of New Zealand.

The research will explore how racialised narratives around poverty and "deservingness" contribute to systemic inequality, reduced empathy, and poor health outcomes for Māori.

Exploring NZ’s welfare system through theatre

The play 'Un-Welfare State' critically examined the welfare system in Aotearoa New Zealand. Written and co-directed by a Massey academic, the 2023 production provided frontline insights and encouraged audiences to reflect on the system's effectiveness.