Research Mobilisation Doctoral Scholarship

History and purpose

This Scholarship was established in 2025 to honour Professor Margaret Hyland who held the role of Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research at Victoria University of Wellington from 2018 to 2025.

Professor Hyland was passionate about supporting researchers to mobilise the research they have undertaken at the University to deliver real and tangible societal, environmental and/or economic benefit or change.
The purpose of this Scholarship is to support a doctoral candidate to undertake engaged research that delivers these kinds of real and meaningful benefits and changes.

The scholarship seeks to enable research that is undertaken with communities, partners, and stakeholders, and can generate tangible, evidence‑informed outcomes capable of creating positive and enduring change. Through this support, the scholarship aims to foster research that is collaborative, impactful, and aligned with the needs and aspirations of the communities it serves.

Eligibility

• The Research Mobilisation Doctoral Scholarship is open to New Zealand citizens and permanent residents only who intend to enrol full time for a Doctorate (PhD) or who have commenced their doctoral study at Victoria University of Wellington.

Application process

Applicants must meet the entry requirements for Doctoral study at Victoria University of Wellington. Please refer to the Wellington Faculty of Graduate Research.

New Doctoral applicants should complete the Doctoral Admission and Scholarship online application and clearly indicate they wish to apply for the Research Mobilisation Doctoral Scholarship.

Applicants will be required to supply documentation that demonstrates that they meet the selection criteria below and any other documentation they wish to be considered by the committee, such as personal statements, character references, or endorsements from community partners to assist their application.

Selection criteria

The scholarships are offered to the top-ranked candidates who:

• have a strong academic record and excellent academic references,
• demonstrate potential for high-quality research,
• demonstrate strength of current research embeddedness in industry or community and engagement with groups or community mobilizing the research
• include a research proposal that demonstrates that the research will contribute to real world applications including evidence of an impact pathway and stakeholder analysis.

Selection process

The University Research Scholarships Committee makes the final selection of applicants on the recommendation of an ad hoc committee formed to assess applications for the Research Mobilisation Doctoral Scholarship

Additional information

• The Scholarship recipient may hold other awards concurrently.
• The Scholarship will be paid in monthly instalments directly to the student

Conditions

• Application deadline: A completed online application must be submitted by 4.30 pm on the closing date. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted. Any required supporting documentation (including references) must also be received by 4.30 pm on the closing date in order for the application to be considered.
• Eligibility: Applications are accepted from those who are eligible at the time of application, or who reasonably expect to become eligible within three months of their application, to register as a candidate for a Doctoral degree at Victoria University of Wellington.
• Prior experience: Applicants would normally be expected to have completed a Bachelor's or Master's degree with academic distinction equivalent to a First Class Honours degree at a New Zealand University.
• Award criteria: Scholarships will be awarded by the University Research Scholarships Committee, a sub-committee of the University Research Committee, on the basis of the selection criteria as outlined previously in these terms and conditions.
• Need to enrol: All offers of the Scholarship will be conditional upon the recipient being fully enrolled in a full-year programme (full time will be at the level of points considered by Studylink as full time) within the stipulated criteria and tenure of the scholarship. No payment of the Scholarship will be made until this condition is met.
• Need to sign a contract: Scholarship recipients are required to sign a Doctoral Research Scholarship Contract. The primary or Victoria University of Wellington supervisor will also sign the contract to indicate that they are aware of the terms and conditions of the scholarship.
• Start date: The tenure of every scholarship shall commence on a date to be determined in each case by the Faculty of Graduate Research after discussion with the appropriate school and supervisor. The date of commencement shall normally be no later than six months after the scholarship has been accepted by the scholarship recipient for domestic students.
• Deferral of start date: Scholarships cannot be deferred to a later year and it is not normally possible to defer the start date beyond what is specified in the previous paragraph. The Committee may grant a scholarship recipient a deferment of the commencement of the scholarship for longer periods, in exceptional circumstances, if it considers that such a deferment would benefit the scholarship recipient’s programme of research and the University.
• Need to proceed from provisional to full enrolment: The scholarship offer shall lapse in the event that the scholarship recipient does not proceed from provisional to full enrolment as a Doctoral student within 15 months of first enrolment.
• Withdrawal: Should the recipient withdraw from Victoria University of Wellington during the tenure of this scholarship or fail to achieve satisfactory progress, partial repayment of the Scholarship will normally be expected. Recipients must advise the Faculty of Graduate Research if they intend to withdraw.
• Length of scholarship: Every scholarship shall be tenable at Victoria University of Wellington for a period of up to three years except as otherwise provided in these terms and conditions. If a recipient submits within the tenure of the Scholarship, stipend payments will cease no more than one month after submission.
• Reduction in length of scholarship: If an applicant has already been enrolled for a PhD at Victoria University of Wellington for more than six months at the time when the offer of a scholarship is made, the maximum length of tenure of the scholarship will be reduced at the discretion of the Committee.
• Holding other awards at the same time: The Scholarship may be held in conjunction with other awards. Scholarship recipients must inform the Faculty of Graduate Research of any other awards held.
• Reduction in value of scholarship when holding other awards: pproval for the co-tenure of awards of greater than a total of one-third of the value of this scholarship stipend may result in a reduction in the value of the Research Mobilisation Doctoral Scholarship stipend. Faculty Research Grants are not considered under these conditions to constitute an award.
• Need to be enrolled full-time: Scholarship recipients shall be required to maintain full-time enrolment and devote themselves full-time to their programme of research during the tenure of the scholarship and may not hold a position of emolument. However, domestic students for whom socially compelling reasons make part-time enrolment preferable may apply to hold the scholarship on a part-time basis pro-rated.
• Limits on paid part-time employment: Approval may be given for scholarship recipients to undertake paid employment for up to a maximum of 600 hours in any one calendar year. All requests to undertake part-time employment must be supported in writing by the supervisor(s) and Head of School.
• Suspension: Once the period of tenure of a scholarship has commenced, the Faculty of Graduate Research may grant a scholarship recipient a suspension of their scholarship for a period not exceeding six months or a total of twelve months during the first three years of registration. As the monthly stipend is paid in advance the recipient must provide notification in advance of the suspension. In most cases, the scholarship suspension will coincide with a formal suspension from their Doctoral enrolment.
• Termination after suspension: A scholarship shall be terminated if a scholarship recipient ceases to resume the aforesaid programme of research within one month of the last day of the period of the suspension.
• Progress reports: The scholarship recipient must complete six monthly reports outlining their progress to date using the reporting process specified by the Faculty of Graduate Research.
• Representing the University: Recipients are expected to act as Ambassadors for Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and participate in appropriate events or marketing if requested.
• Academic staff not eligible: Academic staff at Victoria University of Wellington or any other University may not hold a Wellington Doctoral Scholarship while currently employed.
• Payment: Stipends are paid direct to the recipient via the recipient’s New Zealand bank account. Tuition fees are paid directly from the scholarship fund to the University fees office.
• Committee’s authority to suspend, terminate or vary scholarship: The Committee may at any time suspend or terminate a scholarship, or require the forfeiture of such proportion of the scholarship emolument as it may determine, if the scholarship recipient is not diligently pursuing their programme of research and is not making satisfactory progress, has violated the University Statute on Conduct, or has failed to comply with any of the terms and conditions on which the scholarship was awarded and of their Doctoral Scholarship Contract.
• Committee’s authority to vary terms or conditions: At the discretion of the Committee, the application of any of the terms and conditions of a Research Mobilisation Doctoral Scholarship may be modified or relaxed in special circumstances or in order to avoid hardship to any scholarship recipient or misuse of the scholarship funding.

The Committee shall review these Terms and Conditions as appropriate.

Contact

Contact the Faculty of Graduate Research's Doctoral Admissions Office at pg-research@vuw.ac.nz