Scholarships for Māori and Pacific Island students

Discovery Scholarships - an overview

Kia Ora, Bula Vinaka, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Fakatalofa atu, Kia orana, Mālō e lelei, Mālō nī, Talofa lava, Tēnā koutou katoa ki ngā motu o Te Moana nui a Kiwa and warm welcome to you all.

The MacDiarmid Institute is delighted to announce the continued funding of its Discovery Scholarship Programme, for Māori and Pacific Island students in science. This is an extension of our long running DiscoveryCamp programme, to support students studying in the fields of physical sciences, chemical and process engineering and chemical and materials engineering, Māori sciences and sciences related to sustainable innovation.

For new scholarship recipients, receiving awards for the first time in 2025: the award will cover university fees up to $8,000 for the 2025 academic year, and a one-off cash award of up to $3,000.

Previous Discovery Scholarship recipients who received awards in 2024 or earlier are able to apply for Te Huarahi ki Mua Award category, which awards recipients a one-off cash award of up to $3,000.

The Institute welcomes applications from all Māori and Pacific Island students from all backgrounds and abilities, and will award a number of scholarships at each year of undergraduate study, Honours/PgDipSci, and Masters study. Students who are studying part time are also encouraged to apply.

In addition to the financial award, Discovery Scholars will be eligible for the same kinds of ongoing support as our current DiscoveryCamp Alumni cohort, such as summer studentships and access to a range of MacDiarmid Institute events.

* Please note that if undertaking PhD studies you are currently not eligible for these scholarships, but please contact us at MacD-Admin@vuw.ac.nz and we will help connect you with the appropriate scholarships for which you are eligible.

2025 Discovery Scholarship applications

Applications for the 2025 Discovery Scholarship programme are now closed. We aim to contact all applicants by mid-February to let them know the outcomes to their applications. If you would be interested in applying for the programme in 2026, please contact us as MacD-Admin@vuw.ac.nz and we'll contact you when further information is available. 

Eligibility criteria

In order to apply for a scholarship, students must be:

• Students enrolled or intended to enrol in a tertiary-level STEM course(s) that relates to the physical sciences, chemical/materials engineering, Māori sciences or sciences related to sustainable innovation
• Enrolled or intending to enrol for the 2025 academic year
• New Zealand-based
• A citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand

* Please note that sciences relating to medical technology, innovation and physics/chemistry will be eligible. However, health sciences with a focus on becoming a nurse, physio, medical doctor or the like are not eligible for these awards.

Awards available

Te Kainga Rua Award - Second Chance Learner Award

This category is for mature students either returning to tertiary education after having some time away or those that are undertaking tertiary courses for the first time. If you are passionate about the natural sciences or you wish to return to tertiary studies and would like help with reaching your goals and potential, we encourage you to apply.

Piki Ake Award - Step It Up Award

This category is for students who are passionate about science but have found it challenging to achieve highly. This award is to help enthusiastic students reach their potential and step up into achieving.

Te Taumata Award - High Achiever Award

This category is for students who have excelled in their studies and are looking toward continuing their study in the field.

Te Mātauranga Pūtaiao Award - Māori Science Award

This category is for students who are studying Mātauranga Māori Science and are looking toward continuing their study in the field.

Te Huarahi Ki Mua Award

This category is for students who have been previous recipients of a Discovery Scholarship Award (2024 and earlier) and are continuing their study in a relevant field (This is the only award previous recipients will be eligible to apply for and can only be awarded once to each recipient).

Contact us about co-sponsorship

We are seeking co-sponsorship from Iwi, business, and the research science and technology sector and organisations to enable us to award additional scholarships. The MacDiarmid Institute covers all costs of administering this process, advertising, selecting and providing ongoing mentorship and support to the recipients. No co-sponsorship monies go towards the administration of the scholarships.

We also offer ongoing paid summer internships for our scholarship recipients in our labs and provide opportunities and connections for co-sponsors to offer paid summer internships in their own labs or workplaces.

If you have any questions or are interested in discussing co-sponsorship further, please email macd-admin@vuw.ac.nz with attention to: Strategic Manager Māori, Kirsty Doyle, Kirsty.doyle@vuw.ac.nz, or Strategic Engagement and Communications Manager, Vanessa Young vanessa.young@vuw.ac.nz

Co-sponsors

GNS Science and the Aotearoa: Green Hydrogen Technology Platform

We are hugely grateful to GNS Science and the Aotearoa: Green Hydrogen Technology Platform, our first Discovery Scholarships co-sponsor, who have been supporting the scholarships since 2022. 

We're delighted to announce that Spirax Sarco has come on board as our first commercial co-sponsor, and will sponsor the scholarships for three years, 2024-2026.

 

If you have any questions regarding your application, or would like to be notified when applications open, please contact the MacDiarmid Institute at MacD-Admin@vuw.ac.nz.

Our Discovery Scholarship recipients on video

Meet some of our Discovery Scholarship recipients - watch their videos - where they share who they are, and the awesome study they are undertaking