Grants and Writing Resources for University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau
At the 2026 University Final of Three Minute Thesis (3MT), held at City Campus in July, a doctoral candidate from the Faculty of Engineering and Design took first place among 13 finalists and with it the University's place in the Asia-Pacific and U21 virtual competitions. Auckland's undergraduates had their own win that October. The $30k first prize in the 2026 Velocity $100k Challenge went to a scent-marketing venture for retailers led by an undergraduate business student, who also gained a place in the Venture Lab incubator.
Presenting Research
The School of Graduate Studies runs 3MT every year: doctoral candidates get under three minutes and one static slide to explain their research to a general audience. Faculty heats come first. Their winners meet in the University Final, where prizes from sponsors include watches, Auckland University Press e-vouchers and money from Alumni Relations and Development.
Posters and pictures have a venue of their own. The SGS Research Showcase is an annual exhibition open to currently enrolled doctoral candidates, with an Academic Poster category and a Research Image category that takes both original and AI-generated images, and it awards a winner, runner-up and people's choice in each, plus spot prizes that include one for the best entry by a provisional candidate.
Funding for Research
Undergraduates with at least two years of full-time study behind them can spend the summer on a Summer Research Scholarship. It runs 10 weeks. The student carries out a research project under a supervisor's guidance and receives a tax-free stipend of $6,820.80, paid fortnightly.
Doctoral candidates are considered for a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship automatically when they're offered a place. In 2026 it pays a tax-free stipend of $35,468 a year and covers tuition fees for up to 42 months FTE. Research costs that nothing else covers can come from a PReSS account, set at enrolment by the Graduate Research Committee in an amount that varies by subject area.
Prizes and Student Journals
The Phoenix Prize for Creative Writing pays $3,500 each year to one Master of Creative Writing student, chosen from manuscripts submitted for examination that show strong commercial potential. There's no application; the prize is awarded on the recommendation of the faculty or a University committee. At the doctoral level, the Vice-Chancellor's Prize for Best Doctoral Thesis goes each year to the five most exceptional theses from the previous year, judged on significance, originality, contribution and excellence.
Two law journals carry student work. The Auckland University Law Review is edited and published by students, with room for up to 30 editors, and puts out one print issue a year of undergraduate work. The Public Interest Law Journal of New Zealand is an annual written by New Zealand law students.
Help With Writing
Academic skills workshops are open to all students, online and on campus, and cover essay writing, paraphrasing, summarising and quoting, and referencing among other topics. Learning advisers also lead Writing in English workshops on campus or over Zoom for undergraduates, postgraduates and doctoral candidates.
Doctoral candidates get a separate calendar. Doctoral what's on lists sessions such as a literature review workshop, an abstract writing workshop and Word thesis formatting.
Where Theses Are Published
PhD theses and research master's theses of at least 90 points go into ResearchSpace, and both are made openly available unless the School of Graduate Studies approves an embargo, generally of up to two years. Taught master's dissertations and research essays aren't deposited.
When your draft is close and you want a careful last read, our editors are available. See our University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau dissertation and thesis editing and University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau essay editing pages, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.
From Our Writing Guides
Compiled by James Peterson Brown, PhD, Managing Editor of Editors For Students. Links checked October 2026.
Editors For Students is an independent editorial service and is not affiliated with the University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau, and your faculty may endorse our services individually. We look forward to helping you bring your Auckland writing to its strongest, submission-ready form.