Diverse Gender Scholarship

Unitec is committed to providing an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity, by identifying and addressing barriers that diverse students face when engaged in tertiary study.  This scholarship is intended to address some of the unique barriers diverse gender students encounter.

Applications for 2026 are now open 

Opens: 6th September 2025 | Closes 12th February 2026

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the Scholarship, an applicant must:

• identify as outside the gender binary. This can include but is not limited to transgender, intersex, gender fluid, gender queer, gender questioning
• be a domestic student, i.e., a New Zealand citizen or Permanent Resident
• have applied or already be enrolled, full-time (or part-time by exception), in an undergraduate certificate, diploma or degree, or a postgraduate certificate or diploma (Level 3 to 8) programme, that takes at least one semester of full-time study to complete

*For the purposes of this scholarship Diverse Gender includes tangata ira tane, FtM, MtF, transsexual, fa’afafine, transgender, whakawahine, transmen, transwomen, akava’ine, leiti, intersex, genderqueer and gender-neutral people.

How to apply

Apply online using the form provided. Support is available for ākonga through our Careers Team or 
Scholarships Team. Please book an appointment early and prior to the application deadline if you would like 
to discuss or seek support with your application: https://guides.unitec.ac.nz/scholarships.

As part of your application you will need to respond to the following questions:

• Tell us a little about yourself, especially around your goals and achievements, community involvement and personal strengths. It would be great to see examples of how you have helped communities you belong to or identify with, such as your hapori, marae, hapu, iwi, church, cultural or other community
• what will you be studying at Unitec in 2026 and what are your career aspirations after you complete your study?
• what motivates you to succeed in your studies?
• how will this scholarship help support you with your studies?
• In what ways do you think your study enables you to make a positive difference in society now (immediately) and in the future (long-term)?
• During the year we have Unitec events for ākonga. These include Māori and Pacific Orientations, Whānau/Fanau evenings, Te Wiki o te Reo & Pacific Island language weeks, events for Disabled and Neurodiverse ākonga, Ally Network and Under 25 ākonga. Please describe how you can contribute to events that connect to your identity. 

If you are a disabled ākonga, sole parent, or an ākonga with other carer responsibilities, who is applying to study part-time, you will also be asked “how does being able to study part-time remove barriers and help you to succeed in your goals?”

Selection Bases

The Selection Committee will review all eligible applications and make award recommendations based on a combination of:

• responses to the scholarship questions;
• feedback from Referee identified on the application;
• Unitec priority group goals – namely to achieve parity for Māori, Pacific and Under 25 students, and enhance the success of Disabled and Neurodiverse learners, sole parents, and ākonga with carers responsibilities; and

Preference is given to students who:

• demonstrate that financial support will have an impact on their ability to pursue their studies
• are first-time applicants who have not received the Diverse Gender Scholarship before

Selection process

Once scholarship applications close, the Scholarships & Mentoring Team (“Team”) check that the applicants have:

• completed the online application
• applied to study or are enrolled in a relevant course at Unitec; and
• enrolled as a domestic ākonga

The Team send all eligible applications out to the ALLY Network Scholarship Selection Committee for review. 

The number of scholarships awarded varies and is dependent on available funding.

What happens after selection?

The Scholarships & Mentoring team alongside the ALLY Unitec community are the kaitiakitanga of the scholarships process. They will: 

Scholarships Team:

• let ākonga know scholarship application outcomes
• check enrolments and set up the first payment – usually paid to ākonga in week six or eight of semester 1.
• manage ongoing eligibility checks, mentoring opportunities, and second payments

ALLY Unitec Community:

• Connect you with the ALLY Unitec Network for support if requested

Ongoing eligibility

Academic progress: ākonga who are awarded the scholarship are expected to achieve Pass grades for all courses, unless exceptional circumstance prevail, which may include disability related reasons and/or unforeseen situations, that may have impacted on their grades.

Akonga who fail one or more courses will be assisted by the Scholarships & Mentoring team to explain their circumstances via a breach appeals process.

Appeals are considered by the awarding scholarship selection Committee Chair. The Committee Chair will decide whether to terminate or maintain the scholarship, and will also provide referrals to academic or pastoral assistance, wherever possible, to support the ākonga. 

Unitec Enrolment: Ākonga are expected to maintain their enrolment status, i.e., be enrolled full-time (typically a minimum of 60 credits) per semester, or part-time as stipulated when their scholarship was awarded. 

Termination of a scholarship

Your scholarship will be ended/terminated by Unitec if:

• you withdraw from the Unitec course/programme after the start of the programme
• you cease to meet the eligibility criteria;
• you breach the academic and enrolment eligibility requirements and don’t successfully appeal, or
• Unitec determines that you are guilty of misconduct and after consultation with the Director Student Success (or their nominee), deems that it is not appropriate for you to continue to hold the Scholarship.

If Unitec terminates the Recipients Scholarship for any of the above reasons, after the start of Semester 1 or 2, Unitec may require any Scholarship payment(s) already made be reimbursed to Unitec.

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