The University offers a number of entrance scholarships which can help pay for university study or residential accommodation expenses.
Entrance scholarships are available for full-time, first-year (100-level papers) undergraduate study at Otago.
You can apply for all Entrance Scholarships through one application on eVision. We will use your responses, results and information from your referees and your school to determine which scholarships you are eligible for. Your application will be considered for any scholarships open on the date you apply. Opening and closing dates for scholarships vary, with many closing on 15 August. Applications must be received before 11:59pm on the closing date indicated in order to be considered.
Undergraduate entrance scholarships
Eligibility for International students
Only international students who have completed Year 12 and/or Year 13 at a New Zealand secondary school or the University of Otago Pathway | Te Huarahi programme (or an equivalent foundation course at another New Zealand tertiary institution) are eligible to apply for all undergraduate Entrance Scholarships.
If you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident studying in New Zealand you may apply for an undergraduate Entrance Scholarship providing you meet the eligibility criteria.
If you are a NZ citizen or NZ residence class visa holder and you haven't completed your year 12 and 13 in New Zealand but have completed it overseas, you can still apply.
Applying for an Entrance Scholarship
To submit an application for an undergraduate entrance scholarship, you need to have started the process of applying for a programme of study at the University of Otago using eVision.
You need to have:
- Created an account in eVision (including selecting an undergraduate programme of study - you can change your programme selection later if you need to).
- Completed the first three steps of your University Application (Personal details, Contact details and Educational background). You don't need to select a major or papers at this stage.
At this point, in eVision, you can navigate to the My Scholarships and Awards tab and select the Apply for an Undergraduate Entrance Scholarship link, or you can go to My Scholarships and Awards on the main page and select Apply Now. Follow the prompts to complete your application.
If the “Apply Now” button is not available in eVision
If you have followed the steps above for applying for an Entrance Scholarship but the Apply for an Undergraduate Entrance Scholarship button is not available, please check the following eligibility details:
Applications open on 1 July 2022, therefore the 'Apply now' button will not appear until this date.
Have you selected an eligible programme of study? Entrance scholarships are available for full-time, first-year (100-level papers) 2023 undergraduate study at Otago. This means the following programmes are not eligible so will not allow access to the online application:
- 2022 undergraduate programmes (you will need to cancel your 2022 programme application and apply for a 2023 programme)
- All Honours (e.g. Bachelor of Commerce with Honours), Certificate, Diploma, Masters, Phd programmes (these are not undergraduate)
- Health-Science Undergraduate Professional Programmes (HSUPP) which require Health-Science First Year - Dentistry, Medical Laboratory Science, Medicine, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy. (You need to cancel the special programme application and apply for the Health Sciences First Year instead, then you will be able to apply for entrance scholarships.)
- Students who have already studied more than 0.4 EFTS at any University or tertiary institution at degree-level or higher (one 18-point paper = roughly equivalent to 0.15 EFTS) – This does not apply if the University papers studied were undertaken whilst still enrolled in secondary school. However, students will not be offered the “Apply Now” option in eVision if they have indicated in their application that their occupation status as of 1 October 2022 was a university student. (If you have indicated this in error, you will need to go back and correct this information in eVision by re-entering the My Application menu item or in Programmes and Papers, click on your programme and select Course Enrolment. If you are already Course Declared, you will need to contact AskOtago to get this changed for you.)
If you are one of the students below, you will not automatically have access to apply through eVision, but may still be eligible:
- Students who completed a paper at the University of Otago while at high school
- International students who have completed, or are in the process of completing, a Pathway │ Te Huarahi or Foundation Year programme
If you are one of these students, you should email entrance.scholarships@otago.ac.nz with your Otago student ID number in your email for assistance.
Contact the Entrance Scholarships team to find out more about entrance scholarships:
Freephone 0800 80 80 98 (within New Zealand)
Tel +64 3 479 7000
Email entrance.scholarships@otago.ac.nz
Further information
Apply for an Entrance Scholarship
University of Otago Entrance Scholarships FAQs
Viewing Scholarship status
AskOtago staff can view the status of a student's application or offer through the student details search in eVision by navigating to the Scholarship tab.
Screenshots/Video of Scholarships Application process
View the Undergraduate Entrance Scholarships screenshots document for information on the application process:
Video of step-by-step application process (on OURDrive for AskOtago staff only; you will need to login).
Māori and Pacific Peoples' Entrance Scholarships
Those who wish to be considered for Māori or Pacific Peoples' Entrance Scholarships do not need to have their ancestry verified by the time that applications close. If they are successful, they should aim to get this completed by the time that they start at the University, although it is strongly recommended that they begin this process as soon as possible.
Queries about nominating referees
Please see related article: Entrance Scholarship References (“In the Application” section)
Checking/changing occupation status as of 1 October
As outlined in the main article above, students will not be offered the “Apply Now” option in eVision if they have indicated in their application that their occupation status as of 1 October 2022 was a university student.
The answer that applicants have provided to the main occupation question can be viewed in Process application > Details > Education Background > Tertiary Study > Your main occupation at 1 October [current year].
If the student is not able to correct their occupation status themselves, then AskOtago staff are able to do so on their behalf. If the applicant has a submitted programme application, then you will also need to create a ticket in the Student Administration - Admissions General queue so they are aware that you have made changes to the application.
Further information
The Terms and conditions page has a lot of useful information about entrance scholarships: