Tulī Takes Flight scholarships

The Tulī scholarships for study in 2024 are now closed. Notifications were sent out in February 2024.

About Tulī Takes Flight

Tulī Takes Flight (Tulī) scholarships are part of the goodwill and reconciliation to Aotearoa Pacific families and communities following the Government’s 2021 apology for the Dawn Raids that occurred in the 1970s. 

Up to 15 Tulī scholarships are available each year for new applicants.

Tulī scholarships acknowledge the ongoing importance of education for Aotearoa Pacific families and communities. They are intended to support Pacific people to reach their potential by reducing some of the financial barriers towards study or training. There are scholarships for both vocational and degree level study and training in Aotearoa.

There is no maximum age to undertake training and/or study.

What the scholarship is

The value of a Tulī scholarship will be from $11,000 to $31,000 each. 

A Tulī scholarship supports training or study at Level 4 or above on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework including study at levels 4 to 10 towards certificates or diplomas, degrees and post-graduate study.

You can check the level of your planned course on the NZQA website.

Qualifications – NZQA(external link)

What you can use the scholarship for

The Tulī scholarship can be used to: 

  • cover full-time course costs such as course materials, equipment and tuition fees
  • help with living costs such as accommodation, transport and childcare. 

The scholarships are only available to people applying for funding towards training or study that will be undertaken in the following year.

Scholarship categories

There are 2 categories of Tulī scholarship:

  • continuing study or training scholarship
  • career changer scholarship.

Continuing study or training scholarship

The continuing study or training scholarship is awarded for 1 or 2 years.

It is for people who:

  • have successfully completed at least 1 year of study or
  • are entering their second or subsequent year of training or study.

They may be:

  • continuing an existing course of study
  • returning to study after several years
  • starting either advanced vocational training or post-graduate study
  • wanting to do a doctoral study (for example, a PhD). A Tulī scholarship for doctoral studies can be awarded for 1 year only. It is only available in this category, not the career changer category.

The continuing study or training scholarship is made up of:

  • vocational training (4 scholarships)
  • academic study (4 scholarships).

Vocational training or study

These scholarships are for training or study at NZQA levels 4 to 7:

  • 2 scholarships valued at $11,000 each year
  • 2 scholarships valued at $16,000 each year.

We particularly want to encourage Pacific peoples considering vocational training or who are already undertaking it to apply for the scholarships.

Academic study

These scholarships are for study at NZQA levels 7 to 10 (degree level and above):

  • 2 undergraduate scholarships valued at $11,000 each year
  • 2 postgraduate scholarships valued at $16,000 each year.

Within each category, the Pacific Education Foundation Board can re-allocate scholarship numbers depending on the number of applications. For example, fewer postgraduate and more undergraduate scholarships.

Career-changer scholarship

The career-changer scholarship is awarded for up to 3 years depending on the course of study.

There are 7 scholarships worth $31,000 each year:

  • 3 vocational scholarships worth $31,000 per year (NZQA levels 4 to 7)
  • 4 academic degree and above scholarships worth $31,000 per year (NZQA levels 7 to 9).

This scholarship:

  • is for people who have at least 12 years work experience or equivalent experience (paid or unpaid) since leaving school
  • aims to help people gain a qualification that will enable them to move to a new career or advance to a higher level in their existing career.

The scholarship can be for vocational training, undergraduate, graduate or postgraduate study (up to and including masters’ level).

Career changers can be first year students or could be returning to study or training. It is not the intention of the career changer category to provide for postgraduate study for people who have already undertaken multiple years of study or training.

The Pacific Education Foundation Board will make the final decision about whether a course of study fits into the career-changer category.

How to make your application stand out

In 2024, there were over 300 applications for the 15 scholarships available under Tulī Takes Flight. It was highly competitive and many high-calibre applicants missed out. 

To make sure you submit a strong application, the panellists recommend that you:

  • be specific. You only have 350 words to answer each question so be sure to provide specific examples of, for example, how you’re currently involved in your community
  • clearly outline how you would use the financial aid from the scholarship. The purpose of the scholarship is to reduce some of the financial barriers associated with studying or training. As such, the panellists pay attention to the details you provide when answering the financial barriers question
  • use the Pacific Education Foundation's scholarship guide for applicants. The guide contains prompts to help you write your answers and outlines what the panellists are assessing in your application
  • link your answers back to your study. Think about what the impacts of your study might be, or what benefits might happen as a result of your chosen study, or why you have chosen to study this programme
  • have a family member or friend read over your application. Ask them to make sure your application makes sense and that you have answered the questions.

Pacific Education Foundation scholarship guide

How scholarships are awarded

Decisions about awarding the scholarships are made by the Pacific Education Foundation. The foundation board's decisions are final. 

General feedback is provided to all applicants, but the board is unable to provide feedback on individual applications. 

Learn more about the Pacific Education Foundation:

Pacific Education Foundation scholarships

For the 2023-24 round of Tulī scholarships, the board informed all applicants of the outcome of their application by email in February 2024. 

Changing your planned course of study or training

One of the criteria for the scholarship application assessment is why you have chosen to study in that field. If you change your course of study or qualification after applying for a Tulī scholarship, you will no longer be eligible for a scholarship.

You will need to re-apply for a scholarship in the following year for the new course of study.

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