the university of auckland phd programs

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• Ngā akoranga | Study
• Applications and admissions
• How to apply
• Postgraduate admission
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Doctoral applications

If you are applying for a PhD or named doctorate, here’s our step-by-step guide for doctoral applications, admission and enrolment.

Step 1. View the doctoral entry requirements

To view the academic eligibility requirements for entry into a PhD or named doctorate programme, see  Doctoral entry requirements .

Step 2. Choose your area of interest

Decide your area of research interest or potential research topic. You can look at faculty or department websites relevant to your topic, and consider the research interests and publications of academic staff.

For information on thesis and research areas see:

• Find a supervisor
• Postgraduate research areas

Step 3. Check application closing dates

If you are applying for the Doctor of Clinical Psychology or Doctor of Education, see Postgraduate application closing dates .

For other doctoral programmes, you can submit an Application for Admission at any time.

Step 4. Submit your doctoral application

Before you apply you will need to,.

• Prepare electronic copies of your doctoral application documents, such as your Academic transcripts, Statement of Research Intent and CV (résumé). If English is not your first language, approved English language test scores from the last two years. For more information, visit: Documents to support your application Statement of Research Intent
• Your Doctoral Reference Letters When submitting an application for admission, you will be asked to enter your referees' information. The Admissions Office will contact you to arrange your doctoral reference letters after the initial assessment of your application. Your referees only have to send their references once we request them. Please note that applicants who have not studied at the University of Auckland within the last five years must arrange two references, and these should be from academic staff who can comment on your research experience and capability. One referee should be your postgraduate thesis/dissertation supervisor.
• Research and publication history You may be asked to supply your research dissertation/thesis from your qualifying degree and/or relevant refereed publications.

Is this your first time applying with us?

• Click on  Application for Admission
• Click, ‘Sign up for a new account’ below the Password entry field.
• A confirmation message will ask you to confirm sign up for a new account. Select ‘Confirm’.
• The 'Register for a new account' page will appear. Enter your email address, name and a password and click ‘Register’ (After accepting the IT Acceptable Use Policy and Disclaimer).
• In the next page provide your contact details, date of birth, citizenship, ethnicity. Also indicate if you have a disability so we can better meet your needs.
• Complete all your Application for Admission sections. For a step by step guide, see Doctoral application help .
• Ensure you have read the Declaration section. Click, ‘I Agree’ and ‘Submit application.’

If you have applied, studied or worked with us before

• Use either your ID number or the email address used when you last applied, and your password. 
• To reset your password, please visit Change or reset your password
• Click ‘Start a new application’ to add a new programme. 

What to expect after you apply

Your application will be reviewed by the Department and the Board of Graduate Studies. Within two working days, you will receive an acknowledgement email with a Student ID number for logging into your Application for Admission.

Step 5. Track your application progress

Doctoral applications can take eight weeks or longer due to approvals required at different levels. This is from the time an application is submitted to when a decision is made.

You can see the status of your documents submitted in your 'Things you need to do' list in your Application for Admission .

To see the status of the programme(s) you’ve applied into, you can access 'Your applications' in your Application for Admission .

Step 6. View your application decision

When a decision is made, the status will show on the 'Your applications' section of your Application for Admission.

Offer of place

You can accept or decline an offer of place in a programme from your Application for Admission . When you accept an offer of place, you are admitted to your programme. We will acknowledge your acceptance by email, with information on how to enrol.

Step 7. Begin your doctoral enrolment

When you receive your confirmation of place, you can begin  Doctoral enrolment .

As a doctoral candidate, you will be re-enrolled at the beginning of each academic year by the School of Graduate Studies. Please pay your fees on time to ensure re-enrolment.

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• Institutions
• Scholarships

University of Auckland

• Courses 205

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctorate (PhD)

Key details

About this course, study locations, course structure.

The University of Auckland PhD is a three-to-four year full-time advanced research degree.

On entry to the PhD programme, you will be enrolled provisionally. By the end of your first year, you must meet a number of milestones to be confirmed into the PhD programme, including developing a full thesis proposal. After confirmation, you will continue to work on your research before submitting your thesis for examination after three years and within four years of your start date. The examination process includes an oral exam.

Part-time enrolment is available for New Zealand students, in which case provisional enrolment lasts for 24 months, and you must submit your full thesis for examination no earlier than 6 years, and within 8 years, of your start date.

As part of your PhD study, you have access to our doctoral skills workshops and resources, designed to help you achieve success in your research and develop skills for your future. We have a dedicated postgraduate careers advisor, and our library service includes research services advisers to help you in your research. The central School of Graduate Studies provides dedicated support and advice for the doctoral community.

For international students, your visa conditions will generally stipulate that you must be enrolled for full-time PhD study.

It may be possible for candidates to undertake a PhD including scholarly creative work and/or publications that they worked on while under supervision for their PhD. For information on including scholarly creative work in a PhD, see the PhD including scholarly creative work policy and procedures . To read the rules about including publications in a PhD, see the Doctoral thesis policy and procedures .

To read the rules about including publications in your PhD, see Doctoral Candidates- including publications in a thesis policy and procedures .

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• AskAuckland

Doctoral Entrepreneurial Leadership Programme

The Doctoral Entrepreneurial Leadership programme is a free year-long programme for University of Auckland doctoral candidates from all disciplines. It is designed to develop your entrepreneurial mindset.

Entrepreneurial careers occur within and beyond the world of start-ups and entrepreneurial skills are relevant in numerous contexts, including academia, social enterprises, community and government organisations, and corporate settings. This programme will equip you with the tools and frameworks to think about career pathways, entreprenuerial mindset, and where to from here.

The programme has relevance to doctoral candidates from all disciplines, with costs covered by way of a scholarship. On completion of the programme, participation will be recognised on participants academic transcripts.

Applications close on 31 October.

Any questions, please get in touch via [email protected]

Learning outcomes

Who should apply, programme structure, timing and commitment, facilitation team.

• How to apply

By the end of this programme, we aim to support participants to:

• Understand different entrepreneurial career pathways and contexts and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking with their research pursuits
• Develop awareness and understanding of what an entrepreneurial career might look like for them including how they might apply entrepreneurial thinking in their future career decisions and possible steps to get there
• Examine their entrepreneurial mindset and how this might be further enhanced
• Build their network within the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem including industry and other stakeholders, both within academia and externally

BACK TO TOP ∧

If you are a current doctoral candidate at the University of Auckland , who has completed their provisional year, curious about expanding your entrepreneurial leadership skills, creating tangible solutions and impact both within and outside of academia, this Entrepreneurial Leadership programme is for you.

No past experience or study of entrepreneurship, start-ups or venture creation is required.

The Doctoral Entrepreneurial Leadership programme is designed for in-person attendance, and will involve:

• Kick-off event
• Residential retreat (2.5 days)
• Monthly workshops throughout the year (1-4 pm in the University of Auckland city campus)
• Self-directed learning and reflections, and active participation
• A network of innovative and entrepreneurial peers from all faculties
• Exposure to a network of innovative and entrepreneurial leaders in numerous contexts
• Knowledge of the entrepreneurial ecosystem eg. professional service firms, impact, social and commercial investors, incubators and accelerators, government organisations, social and commercial startups, community and social organisations and corporates

Participation in the Doctoral Entrepreneurial Leadership programme is designed to support students to freely share their experiences to date, explore possibilities and build their network.

Participation in the Doctoral Entrepreneurial Leadership programme involves a year-long commitment with mandatory participation in workshops and additional work and reflection required in participants’ own time.

2025 Sessions:

All sessions are hosted at the University of Auckland city campus except for the Residential Overnight Workshop

• February 26 – Welcome Session, 4 – 5pm
• March 12 – 14 – Residential Overnight Workshop, Overnight
• April 29  – Workshop, 1 – 4pm
• May 27  – Workshop, 1 – 4pm
• June 17  – Workshop, 1 – 4pm
• July 29  – Workshop, 1 – 4pm
• August 19  – Workshop, 1 – 4pm
• September 23  – Workshop, 1 – 4pm
• October 28  – Workshop, 1 – 4pm

Please note that dates will be subject to change.

Deb is a co-author of the book “Changing gears: How to take your kiwi business from the kitchen table to the board table” and “Gearing Up: Leading your Kiwi business into the future” (2020).

Deb is a founding faculty member of The ICEHOUSE Growth programmes and has been involved in the development, design and delivery of the Owner Manager business growth programmes for SMEs from all sectors and industries since 2001.

Deb is a part owner and on the board of her family business Biocell Corporation and sits on a number of Boards of Directors and Advisory Boards including Resero Group, Onguard, and Forrest Wines.

Deb is an investor and board member of Soul Capital (New Zealand’s first impact investment fund) and an investor in ICE Angels. In 2018 Deb was asked to be deputy chair of the government-appointed Small Business Council (SBC) which morphed into an advisory role to the Minister of Small Business as part of the Small Business Advisory group. She is an industry representative on the government-appointed Australia and New Zealand Electronic Invoicing Board (ANZEIB).

How to Apply

To apply for the programme, applicants must apply for the Doctoral Entrepreneurial Leadership Award with the Scholarships Office.  

Applicants are subject to a competitive selection process. To be eligible to apply:  

• You must be actively enrolled in a doctoral programme at the University of Auckland.  
• Your candidature must be confirmed by the commencement of the Entrepreneurial Leadership programme. If you are not confirmed into your programme at the time of application, any offer of a place in the programme will be conditional on you having gained confirmation of candidature prior to the commencement of the programme.  
• You must be within 24 months of full-time equivalent enrolment from the commencement of your doctoral candidature by the commencement of the Entrepreneurial Leadership programme.  
• Full-time and part-time candidates are welcome to apply.  
• Candidates must be based on-shore, and able to commit to full attendance of the programme in person.  

Please note:  

• Your supervisor will need to endorse your application.
• Supporting documentation will be required prior to the programme starting, e.g. a letter or email of support from your supervisor.
• Due to limited availability, participants can only apply for either the Academic Career Advancement Programme (ACAP) or the Doctoral Entrepreneurial Leadership Programme.
• Applications  close on 31st October.

“The residential retreat was definitely a highlight! We heard the professional and personal journeys of inspiring speakers, gained new insight into resilience, and the seed of an entrepreneurial mindset was planted. Throughout the programme, I loved being introduced to creative ways of expressing my research. Like, how would I build my research journey using Lego? What does my topic morph into if I describe it using a metaphor? How can I communicate meaning through creating a physical item in the Makerspace? These activities unlocked new possibilities and really progressed my thinking.”

Tiffany Williams PhD Candidate – Medical and Health Sciences

“Taking part in the Doctoral Entrepreneurial Leadership Programme  was a truly transformative experience for me. It wasn’t just about entrepreneurship; it was about soulful career development. The programme has given me a clearer lens to view my life’s path, making me eager to embrace challenges, personal development, and a mindset rooted in the belief that there’s no limit to what I can achieve.”

Mohammad Iftekhar Rahman PhD Candidate – Business

EMAIL [email protected]

POSTAL ADDRESS THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND BUSINESS SCHOOL PRIVATE BAG 92019, AUCKLAND

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