The University of Waikato GEMS Scholarship was established in 2018, to promote educational opportunities, foster internationalisation and support talented international students of the GEMS Education Network in the opportunity to study at undergraduate level for the first time at the University of Waikato.
Up to three scholarships with a value of up to NZD$10,000 will be awarded annually to successful applicants from any of the GEMS Education Network schools who demonstrate excellent academic achievement, and the potential to become global ambassadors for the University.
The Scholarship will be applied to tuition fees only and is not transferrable. Students are required to pay their first year of tuition fees and apply for a student visa. The University will transfer the scholarship funding to the student’s tuition fees once their enrolment has been completed.
1. Eligibility
1.1.
To be eligible, applicants must:
a) be a student of a school of the GEMS Education Network;
b) not currently be enrolled at the University of Waikato;
c) must not have paid fees at the time of application,
d) be applying to enrol for the first time in an undergraduate level programme
at the University of Waikato;
e) not be classified as a domestic student (see clause 7.3.e);
f) have met the University of Waikato’s English language requirements for
admission;
g) have received a conditional of unconditional offer of Place from the
University of Waikato;
h) in the year of tenure, be commencing a full-time programme/s of study in A
and B Semester;
i) be residing in New Zealand for the tenure of the scholarship;
j) not be coming to the University of Waikato via a sponsoring body1; and
k) not be coming to the University of Waikato on a Guaranteed Credit
2. Value
2.1. Arrangement ,or through a study abroad or student exchange agreement.
The Scholarship will have a value up to NZD$10,000 and will be applied directly to the recipient’s tuition fees for their chosen programme/s of study once their enrolment is completed.
1 Examples of a sponsoring body are: governments, institutions and employers who fund student scholarships for study.
2 Guaranteed credit arrangements are where an institution outside of New Zealand has a formal agreement with the University
of Waikato whereby a student can study part of their degree at the partner institution and credit that study towards 1 – 2 years of study at the University of Waikato.
a) Students commencing in A Semester (February/March of each year) are able to enrol for the duration of the calendar year and will have the full amount of the Scholarship credited to their tuition fees.
b) Students commencing in B Semester (July) are only able to enrol for the remainder of the calendar year (July – December) and will have half the amount of the Scholarship credited to their tuition fees. Once they have enrolled in A Semester of the following year, the remainder of the Scholarship will be paid to their tuition fees.
3. Application
3.1. Applications for the Scholarship must be received using the online application form by:
1 December (for offers commencing in A Semester)
15 May (for offers commencing in B Semester)
3.2. International students, who are overseas at the time of submitting their application for the scholarship, must submit their scholarship application prior to lodging a visa application to travel to New Zealand, i.e. to be eligible to apply, the applicant cannot already have arrived in New Zealand.
3.3. International students currently residing in New Zealand, who, at the time of submitting their application, must not be enrolled at the University of Waikato or the Waikato Pathways College.
3.4. Applicants must upload the following as part of their online application:
a) their Conditional or Formal Offer of Place from the University of Waikato;
and
b) a personal statement that sets out the following (on the template
provided):
4. Selection Process and Panel
4.1. Applications will be shortlisted by the University’s International Regional Managers and forwarded to the Selection Panel for consideration.
4.2. The Selection Panel will comprise the Chair of the Scholarships Committee and the Director – International (or their nominees).
4.3. Scholarships will be offered on the basis of academic merit and future potential to become global ambassadors for the University of Waikato.
4.4. The Selection Panel’s decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into following the selection meeting.
5. Awarding
5.1. Applicants will be advised of the result of their application through MyWaikato. Notification may take up to 8 weeks.
What are your career goals/aspirations?
How will an international education experience help you to achieve
these goals?
What additional qualities/skills do you have that make you an ideal
candidate for this scholarship and an ambassador for the University of Waikato?
5.2. Successful applicants will receive a scholarship offer which is valid for two weeks. Students must confirm their acceptance of the Scholarship by the due date after which time the offer of Scholarship will lapse and no longer be valid.
5.3. After acceptance of the Scholarship recipients will receive an official scholarship letter as confirmation of the acceptance of the Scholarship. This letter may be included with their student visa application.
5.4. If for any reason a recipient is unable to take up their offer of the scholarship in the semester for which it is offered, they may request a deferral of their scholarship. This request must be made in writing to the School of Graduate Research – Scholarships scholarships@waikato.ac.nz.
a) Only one deferral is possible, and will only be considered if the semester requested is within the same year for which the scholarship was offered.
5.5. If the scholarship offer is not accepted, or a request for deferral is not received, within the time allowed to accept/defer the offer of the Scholarship will lapse.
6. Tenure
6.1. The tenure is one year (two semesters) and the Scholarship is valid only within the year for which it is awarded.
7. Other Conditions
7.1. The Scholarship cannot be held in conjunction with any other University of Waikato funded tuition or accommodation fees scholarship or award, nor can it be held in conjunction with any Education New Zealand scholarships.
7.2. This Scholarship is not refundable to the student.
7.3. For any of the following reasons, the Scholarships Executive may terminate a
Scholarship and recoup any funds dispersed. If a recipient:
a) withdraws from papers without adding sufficient papers to maintain full-
time enrolment,
b) changes to a qualification not covered under this Scholarship,
c) fails to make satisfactory progress in their first semester of study,
d) does not comply with the conditions of their student visa,
e) changes to domestic student status within the tenure of the Scholarship,
3
f) brings the University into disrepute , or
g) is otherwise not complying with the regulations governing the scholarship..
7.4. The recipient will have the right to appeal against any decision to terminate a Scholarship by writing to scholarships@waikato.ac.nz who will forward the appeal to the Scholarships Executive.
7.5. In accepting the Scholarship the student will be deemed to have read, understood and accepted the regulations of this Scholarship and any additional conditions.
3 See Student Code of Conduct
7.6. Recipients of this Scholarship agree to participate, if required, in any promotional activity and events organised by the University of Waikato during the tenure of the Scholarship.
7.7. The Scholarships Committee may, from time to time, vary these regulations.
