Undergraduate Study Scholarship November 2026

ndergraduate Study Scholarship

Supporting the next generation of nurses and midwives

The Undergraduate Study Scholarship supports nursing and midwifery students to continue their studies by helping reduce the financial barriers associated with tertiary education.

The scholarship recognises not only academic achievement, but also the qualities that define exceptional health professionals - commitment to patients, contribution to the nursing profession, and service to communities. By investing in students today, Nursing Research Aotearoa is helping strengthen the future nursing and midwifery workforce across New Zealand.

Funding available

Successful applicants may receive up to $2,000.

Who can apply?

Applicants must be:

• A Bachelor of Nursing or Bachelor of Midwifery student who has successfully completed year two of their programme; or
• A Diploma of Enrolled Nursing student who has successfully completed their first semester of study.

The programme of study must be approved by the Nursing Council of New Zealand (NCNZ) or the Midwifery Council of New Zealand (MCNZ).

Assessment criteria

Applications will be assessed on:

• Academic achievement.
• Contribution to nursing, such as supporting fellow students or demonstrating excellence in patient care.
• Contribution to the wider community, including volunteer work, cultural commitments, whānau responsibilities or other community involvement.

Application requirements

As part of the online application, applicants will be asked to provide:

• Proof of enrolment.
• Information demonstrating how they meet the assessment criteria.
• Contact details for up to two referees, who will provide a letter of support and may be contacted as part of the assessment process.

Nursing Education and Research Foundation (NERF) is undergoing a name change, which is why you are seeing Nursing Research Aotearoa | Te Out Tangahau Tapuhi o Aotearoa at the top of this page. 

IMPORTANT: Please read the information below to assist you in completing your application.

Welcome to the Nursing Research Aotearoa's online grant application service, powered by SmartyGrants. If this is the first time you are applying using SmartyGrants, click ‘Start a Submission’, then ‘Register here’.

If you need help using this form, download the Help Guide for Applicants or check out Applicant FAQ's.

On every page of the form you will see a Form Navigation panel. This links directly to each page of the form, so you can click a page name to jump directly to the page you want.

You can also click 'Next Page' or 'Previous Page' on the top or bottom of each page to move forward or backward through the form.

Please ensure you save your form as you go.

Your form will save each time you click ‘Next Page’, ‘Previous Page’, or any page name on the Form Navigation panel.

If you wish to leave a partially completed form, click 'Save and Close' and log out.

You can reopen your draft form and continue where you left off. When you log back in and click on the My Submissions link at the top of the screen, you will find a list of any applications you have started or submitted. Click the submission number or the arrow icon to expand the list of associated forms, and click on the form name to continue filling it out.

You can also download any form, whether draft or completed, as a PDF. In the ‘My Submissions’ area of your account click on the submission number, then click the red PDF icon beside the form you want to download or, while filling out the form, click on the ‘Download PDF' button located at the top and bottom of the last page (’Review and Submit').

You will find a Review and Submit page listed at the bottom of the Form Navigation panel. You need to review your form before you can submit it. You will not be able to submit your form until all the required fields are completed and there are no validation errors.

Once you have reviewed your form and corrected any errors you can submit it by clicking on the Submit button at the top or bottom of the screen.

Once you have submitted your form no further editing or uploading of supporting documents is possible.

When you have successfully submitted your form you will see a confirmation page, and you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your submitted form attached. This will be sent to the email address you use to login.

If you don't see a confirmation page or receive a confirmation email then you should presume that your form has NOT been submitted.

Hint: also check the email hasn't landed in your spam or junk email folder.

You can return to the My Submissions page of your account to view the submission status of the form.

You may need to upload/submit attachments to support your application. This is very simple but requires you to have the documents saved on your computer, or on a storage device.

You need to allow enough time for each file to upload before trying to attach another file. Files can be up to 25MB each; however, we do recommend trying to keep files to a maximum of 5MB – the larger the file, the longer the upload time.

For security reasons, your login session will expire after 20 minutes of inactivity. Saving your form or navigating to another page resets the timer.

You’ll be prompted 90 seconds before your session expires, with the option to extend your session or log out. If you don’t respond to the prompt in time, your form will be automatically saved before your session ends.

Even so, we recommend saving your form regularly – especially when working on longer responses – to avoid losing any work.