Manawatū graduation ceremony in 2015.
Massey University has awarded 40 scholarships to doctoral students who will start their study next year.
For the first time, the University awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s Pasifika Doctoral Scholarship and a further three scholars were presented with Vice-Chancellor’s Māori Doctoral Scholarships.
The four recipients were part of a cohort of 23 scholars who received a Vice-Chancellor Doctoral Scholarship that provides an annual stipend of $30,000, plus fees, for three-years of full-time study, making it the highest value centrally-funded scholarship for doctoral students offered upon enrolment by any New Zealand university.
Dean, research Associate Professor Tracy Riley says the presentation of the Vice-Chancellor’s Pasifika and Māori Doctoral Scholarships will help to increase the Māori and Pasifika cohort, who currently comprise around 5 and 2 per cent, respectively, of the University’s doctoral scholars.
Following changes announced earlier this year, all doctoral scholarships were made available to full and part-time students for the first-time, with around a quarter of all scholarships awarded going to part-time students.
Dr Riley says the move aligns with the University’s overall strategy, which promotes excellence alongside equity and places equal importance on pure and applied research.
“We know that 16 per cent of our current doctoral students are studying part-time and many of them choose to study part-time so they can continue to work in their chosen profession while pursuing their doctorate in applied subjects such as veterinary science or nursing.”
This year’s recipients stand to benefit from a funding boost for the University’s doctoral scholarships. Tuition fees for Massey University doctoral scholarship recipients enrolling from next year will be waived, increasing each scholarship’s value by around $8000.
The funding increase is part of the University’s strategic initiatives, launched this year to ensure the institution excels in the increasingly competitive tertiary education sector, including accelerating key aspects of the new University Strategy and Research Strategy and increasing support for postgraduate research.