Laidlaw College provides access to a number of scholarships, bursaries, and funds for students. All are annual unless otherwise stated. Before you submit your scholarship or bursary application you will need to have applied for or be enrolled in a programme of study at Laidlaw College.

Scholarships and bursaries applications are submitted to the Laidlaw College Scholarships Committee. The Scholarships Committee normally consists of:

• The Academic Dean (Chair)
• The Postgraduate Committee Chair
• Academic staff members from Counselling, Education, and Theology
• A representative from the Maori Lead
• A representative from the Pasifika Lead

The Scholarships Committee makes its recommendations to the National Principal/CEO who authorises the awarding of the scholarships and bursaries. All applicants will be notified of the outcome. The recipients of scholarships and bursaries will be advised how payment will be made.

Completing an application does not guarantee you will receive a scholarship or a bursary. Decisions regarding the awarding of scholarships or bursaries are affected by available funds, quality of applications, and the number of applicants each year.

Scholarship applications for 2026 Semester 2 close on June 30.

Māori Student Bursary

Amount: Up to a maximum of $500 per semester
Eligibility: Any undergraduate or postgraduate Māori student who is a citizen or permanent resident of Aotearoa New Zealand and is enrolled in a Laidlaw College recognised programme of study.

This fund is set up by Laidlaw College to recognise and value Māori students and their communities through the provision of funds to support those students in their studies. It is the College’s desire to affirm the implications of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to offer education and an environment in which Māori students can flourish.

The basis of selection will be academic achievement, community involvement, and a personal statement on why the candidate has chosen to study at Laidlaw College. The bursary will be awarded by the Laidlaw College Scholarships Committee.

Applications should include:

• A completed application form
• Evidence of prior academic achievement and/or standing (e.g. transcript)
• Personal statement of 200-300 words that explains why you have chosen to study at Laidlaw College
• A written reference in support of your application that describes your community involvement. This can not be from a staff member of Laidlaw College

For more information please contact the Scholarships team.

Pasifika Student Bursary

Amount: Up to a maximum of $500 per semester
Eligibility: Any undergraduate or postgraduate Pasifika student who is a citizen or permanent resident of Aotearoa New Zealand and is enrolled in a Laidlaw College recognised programme of study.

This fund is set up by Laidlaw College to recognise and value Pasifika students and their communities through the provision of funds to support those students in their studies. It is the College’s desire to see the flourishing of Pasifika students and graduates who will become leaders in their spheres of influence in all aspects of life in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The basis of selection will be academic achievement, community involvement, and a personal statement on why the candidate has chosen to study at Laidlaw College. The bursary will be awarded by the Laidlaw College Scholarships Committee.

Applications should include:

• A completed application form
• Evidence of academic achievement or standing (e.g. transcript)
  A personal statement  of 200-300 words that explains why you have chosen to study at Laidlaw College
• A written reference in support of your application that describes your community involvement. This cannot be from a staff member of Laidlaw College.

For more information please contact the Scholarships team.

David Stewart Scholarship

Amount: Up to $1,500
Eligibility: Any undergraduate student going into their second or third year of undergraduate study

This fund was set up on the retirement of former Principal David Stewart, our College’s longest serving Principal (24 years). Funds are held by the Laidlaw College Foundation, and controlled and distributed by the Laidlaw College Scholarships Committee. Its purpose is to provide scholarships for needy students of promise in their second or third year of study at Laidlaw College. Where possible the contribution of the Nelson Christian Trust to this fund will be taken into account when considering applications from students from the Nelson region.

To qualify for consideration of the award of a scholarship, students will have met the following criteria:

• Be entering into their second or third year of study at Laidlaw College
• Be able to show evidence of academic achievement in your first year of study at Laidlaw College, and involvement in the Laidlaw community
• Demonstrate genuine financial hardship

Applications must include:

• A completed application form
• Evidence of academic achievement or standing (e.g. transcript)
• A personal statement of 200-300 words that describes your commitment to being a Christian and how you demonstrate that in the context(s) that you live in

For more information please contact the Scholarships team.

McGregor/Kirk Scholarship

Amount: Up to $2,000
Eligibility: Any undergraduate or postgraduate student from the Pacific Islands (excluding New Zealand), or any student planning to undertake missionary service in the Pacific Islands

The purposes of this scholarship is to aid and assist:

1. Students from the Pacific Islands including the Islands of Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia and Papua New Guinea (but excluding New Zealand) embarked on or proposing to embark on full or part-time courses of study at Laidlaw College
2. Laidlaw College students who have evidenced an intention of performing missionary service in the Pacific Islands (as described above)

To qualify for consideration of the award of a scholarship, students will have met the following criteria:

• Be able to show evidence of a high level of academic achievement in your secondary schooling, or previous tertiary study history in completed qualifications, and a high level of community involvement
• Demonstrate evidence of being from the Pacific Islands, or intent to perform missionary service in the Pacific Islands

Applications must include:

• A completed application form - Evidence of academic achievement or standing (e.g. transcript) 
• A personal statement of 200-300 words that explains your links to the Pacific Islands, either in terms of your heritage or in terms of your plans to perform missionary service there. 
• A personal statement of 200-300 words that describes your commitment to being a Christian and how you demonstrate that in the context(s) that you live in.

For more information please contact the Scholarships team.

Pastoral Leadership Pathway Scholarship

Amount: Varied depending on available funds and assessed need.

Eligibility: Any student that is entering a programme of formal theological study at Laidlaw College and the Pastoral Leadership Pathway programme.

The Centre for Church Leadership offers a Pastoral Leadership Pathway Scholarship to support and encourage current and emerging pastoral leaders by reducing financial barriers to theological study and ministry leadership formation. The scholarship is designed to assist students who have a calling to pastoral ministry leadership, demonstrate academic ability, and have personal financial restrictions.

This scholarship contributes toward the cost of the Pastoral Leadership (PL) Pathway at Laidlaw College, including both the formal programmes of study and the cohort experience. Note that the 2026 fee for the Pastoral Leadership Pathway cohort experience is $800 per year.  Applications for the Pastoral Leadership Pathway Scholarship are accepted year-round.

To qualify for consideration of the award of a scholarship, students will have met the following criteria:

• Entering a programme of formal theological study at Laidlaw college
  
• Entering the Pastoral Leadership Pathway programme
  
• Demonstrated commitment to Christian leadership and service
  

Applications must include:

• A completed scholarship application form.
  
• A brief statement of how this scholarship would benefit the applicant.
  
• A personal statement of 200-300 words outlining your previous pastoral leadership experience and future pastoral leadership aspirations and sense of calling to this.
  
• A written reference from a credible referee.

For more information please contact the Scholarships team.

For more information about the Pastoral Leadership Pathway or assistance with the application process please contact the Pastoral Leadership Pathway Coordinator Louise Wernich ([email protected])

External Scholarships

TeachNZ offer a range of scholarships for students who are currently enrolled or wish to enrol in a teaching programme such as Laidlaw’s Bachelor of Education (Primary). For more information, please refer to the TeachNZ website: https://www.teachnz.govt.nz/studying-to-be-a-teacher/scholarships/

TeachNZ Te Huawhiti Career Changer Scholarship

Are you wanting to change careers and become a teacher or Kaiako? A TeachNZ Te Huawhiti Scholarship could support your journey. With a Career Changer Scholarship, students could study for their teaching qualification, have course fees paid and receive an allowance of $30,000 per year for up to three years. To be eligible:

• You must be changing your career or profession to teaching
• You must have at least 7 years work experience or equivalent experience (either paid and unpaid) since leaving school 

Applications can be made for any subject or sector, however priority is given to applications for:

• Science, Hard Technology, Maths, and te reo Māori
• Early Learning and Māori Medium
• Applicants who have a Limited Authority to Teach (LAT) or are Teacher’s Aides, Kaiāwhina, or Kaiārahi i te reo

The application period for the 2026 Te Huawhiti Career-Changer Scholarship are now closed.

The programme is available for any student planning to enrol, or already enrolled, in Laidlaw’s Bachelor of Education (Primary) and Laidlaw’s Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary).

Applicants can apply for as many different scholarships as they wish, but only accept one.

To apply for a scholarship, applicants must complete an online application form, available on the TeachNZ website.

If you have any questions, contact TeachNZ by calling 0800 165 225 or emailing [email protected]

Postgraduate (excl. PhD) Full time Thesis Scholarship

Amount: 100% tuition fees (excluding student services fee) for up to two semesters.
Eligibility: Any postgraduate student engaged in or proposing, full-time research through Laidlaw College who has a GPA of 8 or above.

Laidlaw College offers three full fees scholarships per year. The scholarship will be for a period of up to two consecutive semesters (reviewed at the end of the first semester). Continuation is subject to adequate progress in the Thesis.

BTh(Hons) students should apply by 30 November the year before study, and MTh students in sync with nominated start date.

Applicants for the scholarship will be assessed on the grounds of academic ability. Laidlaw reserves the right not to award the scholarship in any given round.

To qualify for consideration of the award of a scholarship, students will have met the following criteria:

• Have achieved highly in their qualifying undergraduate degree and or postgraduate courses, with  a GPA of 8 or above
• Be enrolled in a full-time research programme, MTh or BTh(Hons)
• Demonstrate genuine financial hardship

Applications must include:

• A completed application form
• A full academic transcript
• A fully developed research proposal.
• A written academic reference from a Laidlaw College staff member
• A written reference from a referee, external to Laidlaw, in support of your application and your research

For more information please contact the Scholarships team.

Farmer Fund Postgraduate Scholarship

Amount: 100% tuition fees (excludes Student Services Fee)
Eligibility: Any student engaged in full-time research through Laidlaw College in conjunction with the Laidlaw College MTh, AUT MPhil, AUT PhD, or ACT postgraduate programmes

With the generous assistance of the Farmer Fund, Laidlaw College offers up to six annual tuition scholarships to students researching in an area of applied or practical theology. This could include an interdisciplinary project engaging with theology and one or more other disciplines such as education or counselling, or could be an application of theology to a particular sphere of life. A central requirement of these scholarships is the expectation that a practical report or professional resource will be produced alongside the thesis or dissertation itself for the benefit of the church and/or wider community in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Securing the support of an approved Laidlaw College research supervisor for the project is a requirement of the scholarship. Students within research programmes spanning multiple years of full-time study, such as PhD or DMin programmes, may apply annually for subsequent tuition funding.

Scholarships will be awarded on the basis of academic and leadership potential and project suitability. Laidlaw College reserves the right not to award any scholarship in any given application round.

Applications must include:

• A completed application form
• A full academic transcript
• A research plan or proposal
• A written academic reference from a Laidlaw College staff member
• A written reference from a referee, external to Laidlaw, in support of your application and the benefit of your research to the church and/or wider community
• A statement of 300-500 words explaining how the proposed research will benefit the church and/or wider community in Aotearoa New Zealand. This must include reference to the practical report or professional resource that is to be developed

For more information please contact the Scholarships team.

Matt Alexander Scholarship

This scholarship is offered and administered by 3 Trusts Scholarships.  Please access details here.

This scholarship was established in honour of Matt Alexander, to resource the Christian church in New Zealand. The purpose of the scholarship is to grow and develop thinking Christian leadership in Aotearoa New Zealand. Through the generosity of Matt Alexander, his family and many others this scholarship was established to see the New Zealand church thrive in serving and loving God and those around it. 

Applicants for the Matt Alexander scholarship will be undertaking a programme of postgraduate study or study to a high level (this could be in New Zealand or off-shore). 

For more information please email [email protected]

International students may be eligible for the scholarships listed below. The following scholarships are exclusively for international students. Note that international students must study on a campus to be eligible. International scholarship applications will only be considered if an application to study at Laidlaw has been received.

International Undergraduate Scholarship

Amount: DipCS, GradDipTh, GradDipEd (Sec) = NZ$3,600 (excludes Student Services Fee). BCouns, BEd, BTh = NZ$6,000 (excludes Student Services Fee)

Eligibility: Any undergraduate international student

The presence of international students at Laidlaw College adds significantly to the richness and vibrancy of our classrooms, scholarship and community life. We are committed to being an intercultural college and welcome participation in our programmes from students from abroad.

To qualify for consideration of the award of a scholarship you should meet the following criteria:

• Have applied for and been accepted to a programme of study at Laidlaw College
• Demonstrate a commitment to what it means to being a Christian
• Be able to provide evidence of a high level of academic achievement and community involvement

Applications must include:

• A completed application form
• Evidence of academic achievement in your secondary schooling, or previous tertiary study history in completed qualifications(e.g. transcript)
• A personal statement of 300-500 words in support of your application and that describes your commitment to what it means to be a Christian
• A written academic reference from a from a suitable academic leader
• A written reference regarding your community involvement from a suitable community leader with whom you have worked closely for more than one year.

The link for the scholarship application form will be sent on receipt of a completed application to study.

Liddle Scholarship for current International Students

Amount: Up to $1,500
Eligibility: Any current undergraduate/postgraduate (PGDipTh & MTh) international student

The presence of international students at Laidlaw College adds significantly to the richness and vibrancy of our classrooms, scholarship and community life. We are committed to being an intercultural college and welcome participation in our programmes from students from abroad.

To qualify for consideration of the award of a scholarship you should meet the following criteria:

• Be currently involved in a Laidlaw College programme
• Be able to show evidence of academic achievement in your first year of study at Laidlaw College, and involvement in the Laidlaw community
• Demonstrate genuine financial hardship

Applications must include:

• A completed application form
• Evidence of academic achievement or standing (e.g. transcript)
• A personal statement of 200-300 words in support of your application and that describes your commitment to what it means to be a Christian in Aotearoa New Zealand
• A written reference in support of your application that describes your involvement in the Laidlaw College community.
• A written reference in support of your application that describes your involvement in church  community in Aotearoa New Zealand

For more information please contact the Scholarship Administrator.