William Georgetti Scholarship

The William Georgetti Scholarship is one of New Zealand's most prestigious postgraduate awards. It is named after the influential landowner William Georgetti who bequeathed his estate for the purposes of establishing a perpetual scholarship so that young New Zealanders could continue their studies. Georgetti’s hope was “that the best brains available shall receive the benefit of this trust”.

The scholarship is administered by Universities New Zealand - Te Pōkai Tara. Recipients of the award are selected annually by a panel led by the Governor General of New Zealand. Typically between three and seven awards are given, although there may be as many as twelve, and the committee may decide not to award the scholarship at all if no suitable candidate is found. Unlike most postgraduate scholarships, the William Georgetti Scholarship is not restricted to location (recipients may study at any university in any country), discipline or prior institution.

The official description of the scholarship states that its "purpose is to encourage postgraduate study and research, normally in New Zealand, in a field that in the opinion of the Scholarship Board is important to the social, cultural or economic development of New Zealand." In practice however, the award is more often used to support study overseas. Since 2007, 40% of recipients have used their award to fund studies in the United Kingdom, 35% for study in the United States of America, 17% for studies in New Zealand and 8% for studies elsewhere.

Recipients may be awarded up to NZD$20,000 per year for Masters study and NZD$30,000 per year for doctoral study. For those students studying overseas the award can be up to NZD$45,000 per year. The maximum period of tenure is three years. The maximum full award therefore is NZD$135,000.

The Trustees are able to alter the value of the award in certain circumstances however, for example 2013 recipient Sarah Paterson was awarded an additional NZD$6000 due to specific extra fees at her chosen institution, the University of Glasgow.

Applicants must:

Applicants affiliated with one of New Zealand's eight universities must apply through their university. Each university is permitted to put four of these applications forward, from which selection Universities New Zealand compiles a shortlist for interview. Interviews are conducted at Government House in Wellington. Interviewees have their travel paid for by the Trust.

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Wikipedia