General Information

Degree Programs and Funding

General info. and masters degree information. The Graduate School experience at Auckland is different from that in North America. The degree may or may not be structured differently, funding can be different and there often isn't a class or cohort of fellow students. Here's some more information. Most masters projects are not funded and students pay full fees themselves and TA-ships and RA-ships are rare. Some students may be paid as tutors which is roughly equivalent to a teaching assistantship although these are not offered up-front as part of an offer. On the upside, being a tutor here is usually much easier than being a TA in North America. There are two pathways to graduate with a M.Sc. from Auckland and both are 2-year-long programs: (i) Year 1: course work for the qualification of Postgraduate Diploma of Science, PGDipSci. Year 2: M.Sc. research. Be aware that there is no guarantee that you will be able to transition from Year 1 to 2 and that to do so you will have to find an advisor (called supervisor in N.Z.) and get a committment early on; if you decide to leave after completing the PGDipSci qualification then you will have a qualificaiton that has no international equivalent. (ii) From 2010, the regular 2-year master degree will be an available option. There is no offical coursework component and you will have to organize a research topic before you arrive. If you haven't done an undergraduate research project before you may find this route challenging.

The Ph.D. degree. Doctoral projects are usually funded by research grants, but some domestic students will pay for themselves. Often, students will have organized their own scholarships (stipend plus expenses) or be sponsored by their home country or a company. To be competitive for an open Ph.D. position you will normally need a M.S./M.Sc. although students can gain entry to the doctoral program with an undergraduate honors degree if it is an 'A/A-' grade (= first class). A recent doctorate position we had available had about 40 applicants from around the world, so competition is tough. There is no coursework in the Ph.D. program and the time for completion is three years. Students come in and hit the ground running with research.

The cost of graduate school. Unless you have a full-ride scholarship you or your advisor will have to pay international student fees. It is not normal for advisors to pay. Some countries have an agreement whereby students can pay domestic-level fees, but this is not the case with US or Canadian students at this time. What you do have in your favor, however, is the exchange rate. Some US students are eligible for financial aid that can be used to pay for fees and living in N.Z. Presently, the cost of tuition and living expenses combined is about $US28,000 per year, but this can change (usually downwards) drastically with the exchange rate. Our program has hosted a good number of Fulbright scholars and this remains the best and cheapest way to fund your studies here at Auckland. Information and application forms are available on-line, so please check those out and then contact me.

Where to get information

(1) General information:  here >> 
(2) Faculty of Science information:  here >> 
(3) Department Postgraduate Advisor; David Hayward: d.hayward@auckland.ac.nz

Graduate Students