Scholarships and prizes

A variety of scholarships and prizes are available to students at the International Institute of Modern Letters.

Undergraduate prizes

Several prizes are available to recognise an exceptional student in an undergraduate creative writing (CREW) workshop. These include the:

Prizes are awarded annually, subject to the relevant workshop being offered in any one year.

As we do not offer undergraduate majors or full year programmes, there are no specific scholarships available for our undergraduate CREW courses.

Masters-level scholarships

Visit Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington's scholarships database for detailed information about the full range of scholarships currently available to existing or prospective students, including deadlines, conditions, and the application process. You can filter your search by categories.

Please direct all enquiries to the Scholarships Office.

You can also search for nationally available scholarships and grants, including those targeted to Māori or Pasifika students. Toitū Kaupapa Māori Matauranga / the Māori Education Trust offers a number of scholarships annually.

For Master of Arts in Creative Writing applicants

If you are applying for a Wellington Masters (by thesis) Scholarship, or another postgraduate scholarship, tick the relevant box on the application form and list the name of the scholarship you are applying for.

In addition to the Wellington Masters (by thesis) Scholarship, there are a number of scholarships that either specifically targeted towards, or relevant to, MA in Creative Writing applicants which you may want to consider:

The Copyright Licensing New Zealand Master of Creative Writing Scholarship is available to a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident who has applied for, and is subsequently accepted into, our MA programme. One scholarship will be awarded each year (funding-dependent), with preference given to Māori and Pasifika applicants.
The Brian Fox Scholarship in Creative Writing supports a student who has been accepted into the MA in Creative Writing.
The Graduate Women Wellington - Master's by Thesis Scholarship is offered to encourage postgraduate study by Women at masters by thesis level at the University.
Wellington Pasifika Masters' by Thesis Scholarships are intended to encourage and support Pasifika students to undertake a Master’s by Thesis degree at the University.
Te Herenga Waka Māori Master's by Thesis Scholarships are intended to encourage and support Māori students to undertake a Master’s by Thesis degree at the University.

As of October 2024, the University's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is also offering seven new strategic scholarships for students who meet one of the following criteria:

students who are immigrant or refugees
and/or
topics in
- creative writing for Māori or immigrant or refugee students
- career change for language education
- teacher education in NZ sign language/deaf studies
- translation studies for speakers of Pacific languages or for speakers of languages of culturally and linguistically diverse communities in New Zealand.

Detailed information about these scholarships was not available at the time of writing, but interested applicants can direct initial enquiries to the Scholarships Office.

Scholarship applications are considered pending acceptance into the programme. If a scholarship application is due on or before our 1 November course application deadline, the two selection processes run concurrently. Check the relevant deadline and do not wait for our decision on your application before applying for a scholarship.

Applicants will know the outcome of both applications before Christmas. Acceptance into the programme does not guarantee a scholarship offer.

Master of Arts in Creative Writing prizes

The following prizes relate to students completing their Master of Arts in Creative Writing:

Adam Foundation Prize in Creative Writing is awarded to the author of the best portfolio in the Writing for the Page stream.
David Carson-Parker Embassy Prize in Scriptwriting is awarded to the author of the best portfolio in the Scriptwriting stream.
Brad McGann Filmwriting Award is awarded to a graduating film scriptwriter who has demonstrated excellent potential, to support further work on a film script.
Biggs Family Prize in Poetry is awarded to recognise the potential of a graduating poet.
Letteri Family Prize for Creative Nonfiction is awarded to recognise the potential of a graduating nonfiction writer.
Modern Letters Prize for Fiction is awarded to recognise the potential of a graduating fiction writer.

Search for these and other prizes from the Scholarships database Annual Prizes landing page.

Read about previous MA prize winners.

PhD scholarships

If you are considering applying for a PhD scholarships, read the information on PhD funding, and then contact the University's Scholarships Office if you have further questions about available scholarships, deadlines and conditions, or about the application process.

If you intend to apply for a Wellington Doctoral Scholarship, you can do this online as part of your Application for PhD admission. Doctoral Scholarship applicants must read the full scholarship regulations before submitting your application.

Scholarship applications are considered pending acceptance into the programme. The scholarship selection process is separate and acceptance into the programme does not guarantee a scholarship offer. Applicants will know the outcome of both applications by mid-August.