New Zealand Scholarship
7 min read ยท updated 2026-10-13
New Zealand Scholarship is NZQA's top secondary award, usually sat by Year 13 students alongside NCEA Level 3. It doesn't give NCEA credits; it recognises top performance and comes with monetary awards for study. Results come out in mid-February, so the 2026 results are due in February 2027. There is no entry fee for domestic students, but not every school enters students, so talk to your teachers early.
How Scholarship works
Each subject is assessed by an exam or, in some subjects, submitted work, and graded as Scholarship or Outstanding Scholarship. Students must meet the Scholarship standard, and awards are limited to about the top 3% of each subject's cohort (students with 14 or more NCEA Level 3 credits in that subject). It asks students to analyse, integrate and apply ideas beyond the Level 3 course.
The awards
The monetary awards for the 2025 results, with the number of recipients:
- โ Premier Award (13): $10,000 a year for three years, for the very top students, for example four Outstanding Scholarships
- โ Outstanding Scholar Award (57): $5,000 a year for three years, for example three Scholarships with two at Outstanding
- โ Top Subject Scholar Award (38): $2,000 a year for three years, for the top student in a subject
- โ Scholarship Award (331): $2,000 a year for three years, for Scholarship in three or more subjects, or Outstanding in two
- โ Single Subject Award (2,325): a one-off $500 per subject, up to $1,000, for one or two Scholarships
- โ The three-year awards continue only while the student keeps at least a B grade average in tertiary study
Subjects
Scholarship is offered across the sciences, mathematics, languages, humanities, technology and the arts. NZQA reviews the subject list periodically: after its 2025 consultation, Business Studies is added from 2027, and 2025 was the last year Latin was offered. The next review, planned for 2027, sets the list from 2029.
Calculus and the sciences in 2025
NZQA publishes how many students in each subject's Level 3 cohort were awarded Scholarship. For the 2025 exams (Scholarship / Outstanding Scholarship, with the score range for each):
- โ Calculus: 13,102 in the cohort; 346 Scholarship (scores 17-26) and 41 Outstanding (27-32), 2.95% in all
- โ Physics: 10,631 in the cohort; 283 Scholarship (17-27) and 32 Outstanding (28-32), 2.96%
- โ Chemistry: 10,236 in the cohort; 256 Scholarship (17-24) and 28 Outstanding (25-32), 2.77%
- โ Biology: 11,208 in the cohort; 307 Scholarship and 33 Outstanding, 3.03%
- โ Statistics: 11,649 in the cohort; 312 Scholarship and 33 Outstanding, 2.96%
Preparing
- โ Choose one to three subjects where you are strongest and most interested
- โ Work through Scholarship past papers and the assessment reports NZQA publishes
- โ Practise extended, integrated answers: Scholarship rewards insight more than recall
- โ Plan time carefully: Scholarship exams sit alongside your Level 3 exams
FAQs
What is NZ Scholarship?๏ผ
NZQA's top secondary award, usually sat in Year 13, recognising excellence in a subject. It does not give NCEA credits.
How much is a Premier Award?๏ผ
$10,000 a year for three years of tertiary study, while keeping at least a B grade average.
How many students get Scholarship?๏ผ
About the top 3% of each subject's NCEA Level 3 cohort, provided they meet the Scholarship standard.
When are Scholarship results released?๏ผ
In mid-February: the 2026 results are due in February 2027.
How many students get Scholarship in Calculus?๏ผ
In 2025, 387 of 13,102 students in the Level 3 Calculus cohort (2.95%): 346 Scholarship and 41 Outstanding.
How many subjects can I sit?๏ผ
There is no fixed number. Students enter through their school, and each subject adds an exam to the Level 3 exam period.
Is Business Studies a Scholarship subject?๏ผ
From 2027, following NZQA's 2025 consultation.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these official sources on 2026-10-13.
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