Fulbright-EQC Graduate Award in Natural Disaster Research

Home The Awards Awards for New Zealand graduate students Fulbright-EQC Graduate Award in Natural Disaster Research

The Fulbright-EQC Graduate Award in Natural Disaster Research is for a promising New Zealand graduate student to undertake postgraduate study or research at a US university in the area of natural disaster research. One award valued at up to US$40,000 (plus NZ$4,000 travel funding) is granted annually for up to one year of study or research in the US. Students undertaking multi-year Masters or PhD degrees have the opportunity to apply for additional funding of up to US$30,000 towards their second year of study.

Closing date: 1 August annually

This award is offered in partnership with the Earthquake Commission (EQC), the government agency which provides natural disaster insurance for New Zealand residents, as well as funding natural disaster research and public education programs.

The award is available for research into the risks posed by natural disasters, the hazards they present, their impact, society’s vulnerability, mitigation and management measures.

Read about 2015 Fulbright-EQC Graduate Award in Natural Disaster Research Viranchi Patel’s experience at Stanford, half way into his exchange

Fulbright New Zealand Graduate Awards can be used towards a Masters or PhD programme, or grantees can participate as a Visiting Student Researcher (VSR). A VSR allows grantees to spend between 6-12 months studying or researching a topic or proposed project in the US, usually as part of a degree programme within New Zealand. This can be an attractive option for those pursuing a graduate degree at a New Zealand institution, when research in the US would supplement or aid their programme. A VSR does not require full graduate school admission into a US institution, and instead requires a letter of invitation from a host institution.

Previous grantees

Jesse Kearse – Fulbright-EQC Award in Natural Disaster Research

Danielle Lindsay – Fulbright-EQC Graduate Award in Natural Disaster Research

Amanda Wallis – Fulbright-EQC Award in Natural Disaster Research

Eligibility

Citizenship requirements

Entitlement

Award conditions

Orientation

Application process

Contact information

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Eligibility

To be eligible, you must:

have achieved 480 points, which must include a completed undergraduate degree.
Fulbright New Zealand will also accept applications from candidates who were granted direct entry into the second year of a degree programme, therefore completing a 480-point degree with 360 points.
In exceptional circumstances, Fulbright New Zealand may consider the application of a student with a 360-point degree provided they have both:
– the strong support of their tertiary institution (from a Dean or member of senior management); and
– a conditional offer from a US institution;
not yet hold a doctoral degree;
plan to undertake full-time postgraduate study or research at a US institution for a period of at least six months; and
meet the citizenship requirements for this award.

Preference for Fulbright graduate awards is given to candidates who have not previously received a Fulbright graduate award, or had extensive recent experience in the US (ie. have not studied, taught, researched or worked in the US for a period aggregating more than nine months/one academic year during the past five years).

Candidates may not pursue study or research activities that involve direct clinical patient contact. This can extend to the fields of Medical Sciences, Veterinary Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Psychological Counselling or any other field that requires direct clinical patient contact and/or prescribing or administering medication. Candidates with medical degrees may receive awards for advanced academic study, but not for internships or residencies. Awards shall not authorise activity for which a license to practice medicine or nursing is required.

Citizenship requirements

You are eligible to apply for this award if you:

are a New Zealand citizen;
and are not a permanent resident or citizen of the US;
and are not currently living in the US.

Entitlement

A one-off payment of up to US$40,000 towards the first year of study or research. The award will be reduced if the recipient takes up a study or research programme of less than nine months duration.
Students undertaking multi-year Masters or PhD degrees have the opportunity to apply for additional funding of up to US$30,000 towards their second year of study. Funding for second year study is not guaranteed.
NZ$4,000 reimbursed towards a return airfare to the US;
Access to the Institute of International Education (IIE)’s University Placement Services to assist you with identifying the most suitable US university and academic programme, your application and applying for financial support; and IIE’s ongoing support whilst you are in the US;
Participation in a pre-departure programme run by Fulbright New Zealand before your departure to the US (worth NZ$500), and enrichment seminars run by IIE throughout your stay in the US;
A basic health benefit plan covering a maximum of US$100,000 per sickness or injury.

The value of the Fulbright award is unlikely to fully fund your entire course of study. For this reason, you should investigate additional funding from any US institutions you plan on applying to and other scholarships and private sources while you await the outcome of your Fulbright application. Fulbright students can often source additional funding through the US institution they attend. We have also compiled a spreadsheet of complementary scholarships available in New Zealand which may be held concurrently to a Fulbright award, and encourage you to investigate these sources of additional funding.

Award conditions

Your award must be approved by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board in Washington, DC;
Your award is conditional on acceptance into an approved institution and course of study or research;
For VSR programmes the period of award must be between 6 and 12 months.
For Masters and PhD programmes, the period of the award will be between 1 and 2 years.
Your award must be taken up in the American academic year following official confirmation of the award, and no earlier than July of that year;
You will be required to undertake a full medical examination before applying for your visa;
You must travel on a New Zealand passport, and US immigration documentation must be completed from within New Zealand. Grantees must use the DS-2019 form provided by Fulbright New Zealand to obtain an Exchange Visitor (J) non-immigrant visa to enter the United States. You will be required to attend a visa interview at the US Consulate in Auckland in order to obtain your visa;
International travel will only be funded between New Zealand and the US, and must be on either an American or New Zealand carrier;
You may apply for an additional period of practical experience/academic training in the US for up to 18 months upon completion of your degree (conditions apply);
You may be required to fulfil some Fulbright New Zealand/EQC media requirements before your departure for the US, during your exchange and/or on return to New Zealand;
You must provide Fulbright New Zealand with copies of any articles, research papers or theses resulting from your award. A final report must also be completed before you depart from the US;
Fulbright grantees must travel to the US on an Exchange Visitor (J) non-immigrant visa. A requirement of this visa is that you must return to your home country for a cumulative total of two years at the end of your exchange visitor programme before becoming eligible to apply to live in the US. This home-country foreign residency requirement is in keeping with the philosophy of the Fulbright exchange programme, that you return to New Zealand to share your experiences. Note that you will not be prohibited from travelling to the US for short-term visits on the visa waiver program or a non-immigrant visa.

Orientation

It was Senator J William Fulbright’s mission to build peace through the mutual understanding of cultures. Fulbright applicants and grantees are expected to understand and support this mission and be effective ambassadors for New Zealand. In addition to the monetary, educational and cultural exchange benefits made possible by the award, Fulbright grantees carry the prestige of the Fulbright programme along with them throughout their careers. Alumni are expected to succeed and be ‘thought leaders’ in their respective fields/careers, and to support and remain engaged with the Fulbright programme for the rest of their lives. To support their understanding of the Fulbright mission, New Zealand grantees are required to attend a pre-departure orientation programme held each June in Wellington.

Application process

You must complete and submit an online application by the application deadline*;
You must also submit all required support documents to us by the application deadline;
Interviews will be held in Wellington. Fulbright New Zealand will pay the costs of travel to Wellington only for applicants residing in New Zealand. Applicants outside New Zealand who are unable to attend an interview in person may be disadvantaged;
We will advise you of the outcome of your application in early October.

* Note that if the application deadline falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline is extended to 5:00pm on the next business day.

You should begin researching US institutions as soon as possible while awaiting the outcome of your application, bearing in mind that the closing date for applications to many institutions will fall in December. You should also plan to sit GMAT or GRE tests as required by the institutions you intend applying to. Ideally you should sit the tests in time to include results with your applications (note that for paper-based GRE tests this means sitting the tests by October at latest).

Contact information

For further information, contact our Programme Manager for this award, Pip Climo – pip@fulbright.org.nz / (04) 494 1500

Fulbright New Zealand has Campus Advisers stationed on all major New Zealand campuses. Our Advisers are all Fulbright alumni who are available to discuss their exchange experiences with students and staff, as well as to give basic information about our awards.

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Applications for programmes starting in the 2021/2022 US academic year have now closed.

Applications for programmes starting in the 2022/2023 US academic year will open in early 2021.