Scholarship overview
Key facts
Application dates
Working alongside Period People Aotearoa and Toi Āria: Design for Public Good, the project will explore how people can access, understand and act on menstrual health information, and how social norms and cultural expectations influence period product choices. The research will contribute to new approaches to public health communication, design for public good, and support more informed and equitable menstrual experiences.
Toi Āria: Design for Public Good Master's Scholarship
Special Topic: ‘An appetite for good information’: Designing for period equity in Aotearoa New Zealand
This scholarship provides a stipend to support a Master of Design student to undertake research that explores how design can improve access to trustworthy and evidence-informed information about menstrual products in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The project sits at the intersection of design, health information and social change and will be undertaken in partnership with Period People Aotearoa and Toi Āria: Design for Public Good. The research will explore how design can contribute to meaningful resources that support agency, participation, and informed decision-making throughout diverse menstrual journeys.
Each month, more than one million people in Aotearoa New Zealand and nearly two billion people worldwide experience menstruation. In 2023, people in Aotearoa spent approximately $79 million on more than 350 million disposable pads and tampons. At the same time, reusable products such as menstrual cups and period underwear are becoming increasingly popular, offering people greater choice in how they manage their periods. However, many questions remain about the safety, use, accessibility, and understanding of these products, and there is growing recognition that people need better information to support informed decision-making.
Emerging research and community engagement activities suggest there is a strong appetite for trustworthy, accessible, and relevant menstrual health information in Aotearoa New Zealand. Choices are influenced by social norms, family practices, peer networks, cultural expectations, perceptions of safety, experiences of stigma, and normative pressures about what constitutes a ‘normal’ or ‘acceptable’ way to manage menstruation. People have to navigate between competing sources of knowledge, from health professionals to social media.
The project forms part of Period People Aotearoa, a women's health research programme led by a transdisciplinary group of researchers who combine community and cultural lived experience with expertise in scientific, creative, and collaborative research. Our vision is a future where anyone who has a period is able to make informed choices about their period products, confident that those products are safe for their body.
The scholarship is hosted within Toi Āria: Design for Public Good, a research centre that uses design as a catalyst for positive social, cultural and environmental change. Through participatory and community-engaged approaches, Toi Āria brings together researchers, practitioners, communities, and organisations to address complex public challenges and create more equitable futures.
The successful candidate will investigate menstrual health information as part of a broader social and cultural ecosystem rather than simply a communication challenge. The research will explore how information is encountered, shared, and acted upon in everyday life and how it shapes people’s understanding of safety, risk and choice.
Additional information:
The project may involve design research methods such as interviews, ethnographic inquiry, co-design workshops, journey mapping, visual communication, speculative design, storytelling, prototyping, and the development of communication resources. We have a particular interest in exploring the experiences of rangatahi, Māori, Pacific peoples, gender-diverse menstruators, and communities that may face barriers to accessing menstrual health information.
We welcome expressions of interest that demonstrate the applicant’s background and aspirations, how their interests and values align with the goals of Period People Aotearoa and Toi Āria, and their vision for how design can contribute to menstrual health equity and wellbeing.
Period People Aotearoa is a network of researchers, practitioners, community partners, and lived-experience experts connected through a shared vision that everyone should have choice and safety in their diverse menstrual journeys throughout life. The programme combines scientific, creative, and community-engaged research to generate evidence, build understanding, and support informed decision-making about menstrual products and menstrual health.
Toi Āria: Design for Public Good is a design cluster that works with communities, organisations, and researchers to address complex societal challenges. Through design, Toi Āria seeks to create positive public outcomes, strengthen community capability, and support more equitable and sustainable futures. For more information about Toi Āria: Design for Pubic Good, visit: www.toiaria.org
If you would like to discuss your application, please contact Paul James – creative.postgrad@massey.ac.nz
Who we're looking for
Applicants will normally have completed, or be in the final year of, a Bachelors or Honours degree, or an equivalent qualification, in a relevant field (e.g. Design, Visual Communication Design, Information Design, Social Innovation, User Experience Design, Service Design or related disciplines).
Preference will be given to candidates with interests in participatory design, social innovation, community engagement, women’s health, reproductive health, health equity, or design for social impact. Applicants should demonstrate strong critical thinking skills, design research capability, an interest in collaborative and community-centred approaches, and the ability to communicate complex ideas through visual, written, and interactive forms.
An understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, culturally responsive design approaches, and inclusive research practices is strongly preferred.
Eligible candidates are encouraged to email Paul James at Creative.postgrad@massey.ac.nz
Subject line: Scholarship Enquiry – Toi Āria
Application checklist
Include the following with your application:
- Completed Bachelor or Honours qualification or B Average in 400/700 level courses if currently completing an Honours qualification at Massey
- Research/Project Proposal
- Academic Transcripts (if not currently studying at Massey)
- Portfolio of relevant design work and CV
- A one-page document explaining why they are interested in the topic and approach