Fulbright New Zealand General Graduate Awards are for promising New Zealand graduate students to undertake postgraduate study or research at US institutions in any field.
Approximately seven awards are granted annually, valued at up to US$50,000 (plus NZ$4,000 travel funding) 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$40,000 towards their second year of study.
These awards are available for study or research in any field not covered by one of our other, field-specific Fulbright New Zealand graduate awards.
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.
Note: Recipients of this award are eligible for the Robin W. and Avril Flockton Winks Award. Find out more below.
Anna Rankin
Anna Rankin from Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland will complete a Masters of Arts in Journalism with a Politics Concentration at Columbia University in New York City, New York.
Anna graduated with a PGDip in Journalism from Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau Auckland University of Technology in 2014 and an MA in Creative Writing (Non-fiction) from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington in 2018.
Maria Rabino-Neira
Maria Rabino-Neira from Auckland will research how humanitarian exemptions have evolved under international sanctions regimes, especially in counter-terrorism frameworks, at Harvard University in Massachusetts.
Maria graduated with an LLB in 2015, a Master of Conflict and Terrorism Studies (Hons First Class) from the University of Auckland in 2021, and is now doing her PhD in the Faculty of Law at Victoria University of Wellington.
Phoebe Johnson
Phoebe Johnson from Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington will be studying a Performer Composer Master of Fine Arts, at the New School in New York City, New York.
Phoebe graduated with a BMus (Hons first class) in Jazz Performance from Te Kōkī, The New Zealand School of Music in 2019.
Synteche Collins (Ngāti Pikiao, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Whanaunga)
Synteche Collins from Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa New Zealand, will research Indigenous and survivor-led approaches to combatting human trafficking at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in Honolulu, Hawai‘i.
Synteche is the founder of the Pacific Survivor Collective, a member of the Lived Experience Panel of the Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking and intends to undertake her PhD at Auckland University of Technology (AUT).
Nathan Joe
Nathan Joe from Ōtautahi Christchurch will complete a Master of Fine Arts specialising in Playwriting at the Michener Center for Writers, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.
Nathan graduated with a Bachelor in Broadcasting Communications from the New Zealand Broadcasting School, Ara, in 2012.
Bonita Bigham (Ngāruahine, Te Atiawa)
Fulbright New Zealand General Graduate Award
Bonita Bigham from Manaia, Taranaki will research impacts of laws and conventions on the retrieval and use of marine mammal resources for artistic purposes, in Aotearoa and Hawai’i.
Bonita is studying for a PhD in Fine Arts at Massey University.
She graduated with a Diploma in Print Journalism at Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki in 2002, a Master of Fine Arts in 2019 and a Master of Māori Visual Arts in 2021 from Massey University, and Toi Paematua Raranga – Diploma in Māori Arts at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in 2021.
Bonita is a Taranaki Regional Councillor, artist and passionate community and Māori arts advocate.