Fisheries New Zealand Scholarships

Scholarships are available to both Masters and undergraduate students in the fields of fisheries science and marine biology.

About the scholarships

Fisheries New Zealand in collaboration with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) are offering scholarships to both Masters and undergraduate students.

2021 Masters Scholarships in Quantitative Fisheries Science

Scholarships are available for Masters students in the field of quantitative marine science, particularly stock assessment modelling or ecosystem modelling.

We encourage you to apply if you have a major or minor in mathematics, statistics, computing or biology. Applicants with a strong quantitative (particularly applied statistics) or computer programming background, combined with marine biology will be favoured.

2021 Undergraduate Scholarships in Quantitative Marine Biology

Scholarships are available for undergraduate students interested in an Honours year or doing a double-major in:

  • biology or marine biology, with
  • mathematics, computing or statistics.

Applications with a strong quantitative background (such as statistics) will be favoured.

Scholarship value

Masters scholarship – $20,000 per year for up to 2 years.

Undergraduate scholarships – $5,000 for your final year of undergraduate study.

Check if you are eligible to apply

To apply for either scholarship you must:

  • be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident
  • undertake full-time study in New Zealand (with the possibility of some coursework through an Australian university)
  • let Fisheries New Zealand know if you hold other scholarships (you're encouraged to apply for additional scholarships that cover fees).

Apply for a 2021 Masters scholarship

There are 2 stages for Masters applications. In stage 1 you submit an expression of interest. Stage 2 requires a full project proposal.

To apply you must:

  • be eligible to do a Master of Science (MSc) at any New Zealand university
  • have a suitable university supervisor and NIWA or Fisheries New Zealand technical advisor before stage 2 (a potential university supervisor is desirable but not necessary for stage 1)
  • start study within 6 months of getting this scholarship.

How to apply

Read the information sheet before you start.

Stage 1

Fill out part 1 of the application form and send to science.officer@mpi.govt.nz

Stage 2

If you are successful in stage 1, we'll invite you to complete part 2 of the application form. You'll need to include a full project proposal.

Important dates

  • Stage 1 closes 16 October 2020.
  • Stage 1 successful applicants notified by 30 October 2020.
  • Stage 2 closes 11 December 2020.

Apply for a 2021 undergraduate scholarship

To apply you must:

  • plan to take or have completed 2 statistics, computer programming, or mathematics courses, with a marine biology course in your third year
  • have enrolled in a minimum of one statistics, computer programming or mathematics course in your second year.

How to apply

Read the information sheet before you start.

Prepare a cover letter including:

  • a short description of courses taken
  • proposed courses for the next year
  • your future goals.  

Send your cover letter and CV to science.officer@mpi.govt.nz 

Note, there is no application form for undergraduate scholarships. 

Closing date

  • 30 November 2020.

Who to contact

If you have questions about these scholarships, email science.officer@mpi.govt.nz

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