Fund your study
Media Design School offers a range of undergraduate entrance scholarships to prospective students who display the potential for academic excellence in specific areas of digital design. To apply, simply mention which scholarship(s) you would like to put yourself forward for in your Letter of Intent.
Click on the scholarships below to see whether you're eligible to apply:
Media Design School Undergraduate Scholarships (2023)
If you are currently a New Zealand secondary school student and you have consistently achieved high marks throughout your education, then you should definitely consider applying for a Media Design School Academic Excellence Scholarship.
Media Design School’s Academic Excellence Scholarships gives students with exceptional academic potential in digital design the equivalent of 25% of one year of undergraduate degree-level tuition fees with Asia Pacific’s No.1 digital design school toward their chosen programme.
Selection Criteria
To be eligible to apply for an Academic Excellence Scholarship, you must:
- Have finished Year 12 and be in the process of completing Year 13 at a New Zealand school;
- Apply for the first year of one of the following:
- Bachelor of Creative Technologies (Game Art);
- Bachelor of Software Engineering (Game Programming);
- Bachelor of Media Design (February intake only);
- Bachelor of Art and Design.
- Please note that one Media Design School Academic Excellence Scholarship will be awarded for each of these qualifications.
- Demonstrate the potential for academic excellence at degree-level by providing your Academic Transcript;
- If you are applying for the Bachelor of Creative Technologies, Bachelor of Media Design, or the Bachelor of Art and Design you will need to supply a portfolio demonstrating your artistic ability.
How to Apply
To be eligible for this scholarship, you will need to explicitly state that you are applying for this scholarship in your Letter of Intent, which is part of your official Media Design School application.
It would be beneficial for you to highlight any notable academic achievements in digital design (or a related field) in your Letter of Intent.
Additional Information
Applicants must be New Zealand Citizens or Permanent Residents.
Scholarship Recipients will be determined on the merits of the student’s portfolio and their demonstrated academic excellence.
The submissions will be judged by Media Design School’s Academic and Admissions Panel, which will consist of representatives from the degree that the student is applying for as well as members from the Admissions department. The Academic and Admissions Panel’s determination of the scholarship recipients will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Complete Scholarship Application form available on website and attach the following documents: academic transcript, attendance record, letter of intent and submit by due date.
Media Design School Postgraduate Scholarships (2023)
If you are a current student of Media Design School enrolled in one of our Graduate or Postgraduate programmes and you have consistently achieved high marks throughout your education, then you should definitely consider applying for a Postgraduate Media Design School Academic Excellence Scholarship.
Media Design School’s Academic Excellence (Postgraduate) Scholarships provide students with exceptional academic performance in digital design or transformation 25% to put towards their successful year of postgraduate-level tuition fees with Asia Pacific’s No.1 digital design school.
Selection Criteria
To be eligible to apply for an Academic Excellence (Postgraduate) Scholarship, you:
- Must have already been enrolled in a Grad Cert, PGCert or PGDip and achieved academic excellence, been recognised for effective leadership skills and achieved not less than 90% attendance in the previous 12 months
How to Apply
To be eligible for this scholarship, you will need to explicitly state that you are applying for this scholarship in your Letter of Intent, which is part of your official Media Design School application.
It would be beneficial for you to highlight any notable academic achievements in digital design (or a related field) in your Letter of Intent.
Additional Information
Applicants must be New Zealand Citizens or Permanent Residents.
Scholarship Recipients will be determined on the merits of the student’s portfolio and their demonstrated academic excellence.
The submissions will be judged by Media Design School’s Academic and Admissions Panel, which will consist of representatives from the degree that the student is applying for as well as members from the Admissions department. The Academic and Admissions Panel’s determination of the scholarship recipients will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Complete Scholarship Application form available on website and attach the following documents: academic transcript, attendance record, letter of intent and submit by due date.
Media Design School Special Scholarships (2023)
If you are currently a New Zealand secondary school student and you have consistently achieved high marks throughout your education, then the Māori Academic Excellence Scholarship may be right for you.
Media Design School’s Māori Academic Excellence scholarships provide Māori students with exceptional academic potential in digital design by covering 100% of year 1 tuition fees of their chosen programme of study at Asia Pacific’s No.1 digital design school.
Selection Criteria
To be eligible to apply for an Academic Excellence Scholarship, you must:
- Have finished Year 12 and be in the process of completing Year 13 at a New Zealand school OR be an existing Digital Creativity foundation programme student;
- Identify yourself as New Zealand Māori ethnicity when applying for Media Design School;
- Apply for the first year of one of the following:
- Bachelor of Creative Technologies (Game Art);
- Bachelor of Software Engineering (Game Programming);
- Bachelor of Media Design (February intake only);
OR the Bachelor of Art and Design.
- Demonstrate the potential for academic excellence in digital design by providing your Academic Transcript;
- If you are applying for the Bachelor of Creative Technologies, Bachelor of Media Design, or the Bachelor of Art and Design you will need to supply a portfolio demonstrating your artistic ability.
How to Apply
To be eligible for this scholarship, you will need to explicitly state that you are applying for this scholarship in your Letter of Intent, which is part of your official Media Design School application.
It would be beneficial for you to highlight your involvement in your school or the wider Māori community as the Academic board will also take leadership and community service into consideration when awarding these scholarships.
Additional Information
Applicants must be New Zealand or Australian Citizens or New Zealand Permanent Residents of Māori descent.
The submissions will be judged by Media Design School’s Academic and Admissions Panel, which will consist of representatives from the programme that the student is applying for as well as members from the Admissions department.
When considering your application, the Academic and Admissions Board may ask you to provide evidence of your whakapapa (such as the names of your parents, grandparents and in some instances great grandparents) as well as information relating to your iwi, hāpū and marae.
The Academic and Admissions Panel’s determination of the scholarship recipients will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
If you are currently a New Zealand secondary school student and you have consistently achieved high marks throughout your education, then you should definitely consider applying for a Pacific Ako Acheivement Scholarship.
Media Design School’s Pacific Ako Acheivement Scholarship provide Pasifika students with exceptional academic potential in digital design 100% cover on the tuition fees of their chosen programme of study at Asia Pacific’s No.1 digital design school.
Selection Criteria
To be eligible to apply for an Academic Excellence Scholarship, you must:
- Have finished Year 12 and be in the process of completing Year 13 at a New Zealand school OR be an existing Media Design School Digital Creativity foundation programme student;
- Identify yourself as being of Pacific Island descent on your official application when applying for Media Design School;
- Apply for one of the following:
- Digital Creativity Foundation Programme,
- first year of the Bachelor of Creative Technologies (Game Art);
- Bachelor of Software Engineering (Game Programming);
- Bachelor of Media Design
- or the Bachelor of Art and Design.
- Demonstrate the potential for academic excellence in digital design by providing your Academic Transcript;
- If you are applying for the Bachelor of Creative Technologies, Bachelor of Media Design, or the Bachelor of Art and Design you will need to supply a portfolio demonstrating your artistic ability.
How to Apply
To be eligible for this scholarship, you will need to explicitly state that you are applying for this scholarship in your Letter of Intent, which is part of your official Media Design School application.
It would be beneficial for you to highlight your involvement in your school or the wider Pasifika community as the Academic board will also take leadership and community service into consideration when awarding these scholarships.
Additional Information
Applicants must be New Zealand Citizens or Permanent Residents who are of Pasifika (Pacific Island) descent.
Scholarship Recipients will be determined on the merits of the student’s portfolio and academic transcripts as well as their community involvement and demonstrated leadership skills.
The submissions will be judged by Media Design School’s Academic and Admissions Panel, which will consist of representatives from the programme that the student is applying for as well as members from the Admissions department.
When considering your application, the Academic and Admissions Board may ask you to provide evidence of Pasifika descent.
The Academic and Admissions Panel’s determination of the scholarship recipients will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Media Design School was the first school in New Zealand to provide specialised gaming degrees for aspirational game developers. Since then, we’ve been committed to supporting emerging female game developers showcase their talents, both in New Zealand and internationally. If you’re interested in studying Game Art or Game Programming, then this scholarship may be the right one for you.
The Girls in Games scholarship will give one female Game Artist and one female Game Programmer $2,000 to put towards their first year of undergraduate tuition fees at Media Design School.
Selection Criteria
To be eligible for the Girls in Games scholarship you must:
- Identify as female;
- Apply for the first year of either the:
- Bachelor of Creative Technologies (Game Art)
- or the Bachelor of Software Engineering (Game Programming);
- Demonstrate the potential for academic excellence in games by providing your Academic Transcript;
- If you are applying for the Bachelor of Creative Technologies (Game Art) scholarship, you will need to supply a portfolio demonstrating your artistic ability.
How to Apply
To be eligible for this scholarship, you will need to explicitly state that you are applying for this scholarship in your Letter of Intent, which is part of your official Media Design School application.
Additional Information
This scholarship is open to both domestic and international students. The Game Art scholarship is also open to existing Media Design School students undertaking the Digital Creativity foundation programme.
The submissions will be judged by Media Design School’s Academic and Admissions Panel, which will consist of representatives from the Game Development degrees as well as members from the Admissions department. The Academic and Admissions Panel’s determination of the scholarship recipients will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Unity is the leading game and experience creation platform in the world, with over 5.5 million registered developers. At the moment, 31% of the top 1000 grossing mobile games are made with Unity.
Media Design School is currently Unity's exclusive Training and Certification Partner in New Zealand and is working to ensure that all their students graduate as Unity Certified Developers to help them get one step closer to successful careers in Game Development.
Thanks to Unity Technologies, Media Design School will offer one aspiring developer the opportunity to study game development with the number one ranked 3D animation, visual effects and game school in the Asia Pacific region by contributing $2000 towards their first year of tuition.
Selection Criteria
To be eligible for the Unity® Games Scholarship you must:
- Apply for the first year of either the:
- Bachelor of Creative Technologies (Game Art) or the
- Bachelor of Software Engineering (Game Programming);
- Demonstrate the potential for academic excellence in games by providing your Academic Transcript;
- If you are applying for the Bachelor of Creative Technologies, you will need to supply a portfolio demonstrating your artistic ability.
How to Apply
To be eligible for this scholarship, you will need to explicitly state that you are applying for Unity® Games Scholarship in your Letter of Intent, which is an official part of your Media Design School application.
Additional Information
This scholarship is open to both domestic and international students.
The submissions will be judged by Media Design School’s Academic and Admissions Panel, which will consist of representatives from the Game Development degrees as well as members from the Admissions department. The Academic and Admissions Panel’s determination of the scholarship recipients will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
No Ngāti Whātua koe?
If you are identify as Ngāti Whātua o Orākei and wish to undertake tertiary study, but do not have the financial means to do so the Ngāti Whātua Scholarship may be right for you.
Media Design School’s Ngāti Whātua Scholarship provide New Zealand Māori students of Ngāti Whatua descent 100% cover on year 1 tuition fees of their chosen programme of study at Asia Pacific’s No.1 digital design school.
Selection Criteria
To be eligible to apply for a Ngāti Whātua Scholarship, you must:
- Be a descendent of Ngāti Whātua o Orākei, where whakapapa can be traced to Tuperiri.
- Apply for:
- Digital Creativity Foundation Programme,
- the first year of the Bachelor of Creative Technologies (Game Art);
- Bachelor of Software Engineering (Game Programming);
- Bachelor of Media Design
- or the Bachelor of Art and Design
How to Apply
To be eligible for this scholarship, you will need to explicitly state that you are applying for this scholarship in your Letter of Intent, which is part of your official Media Design School application.
Complete Scholarship Application form available on website and attach the following documents: letter of support from senior elder of Ngāti Whātua o Orākei, letter of intent, and submit by due date
It would be beneficial for you to highlight your involvement in your school or the wider Māori community as the Academic board will also take leadership and community service into consideration when awarding these scholarships.
Additional Information
Applicants must be New Zealand or Australian Citizens or New Zealand Permanent Residents of Māori descent.
The submissions will be judged by Media Design School’s Academic and Admissions Panel, which will consist of representatives from the programme that the student is applying for as well as members from the Admissions department.
When considering your application, the Academic and Admissions Board may ask you to provide evidence of your whakapapa (such as the names of your parents, grandparents and in some instances great grandparents) as well as information relating to your iwi, hāpū and marae.
The Academic and Admissions Panel’s determination of the scholarship recipients will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Industry Scholarships (2023)
The Influence Scholarship:
- is offered to New Zealand citizens and permanent residents working in 2022 who have been impacted by the recent events of the pandemic and/or are wanting to influence positive change in Aotearoa New Zealand
- cover 60% of the full fees for any of the programmes:
- Postgraduate Certificate in Digital Transformation
- Data Essentials 1 Micro-credential
- Data Essentials 2 Micro-credential
- Digital Transformation Micro-credential
Selection Criteria
To be eligible for the Influence Scholarship, applicants must be able to demonstrate they:
- are NZ citizens or permanent residents. (International students are not eligible to apply)
- meet the entry criteria for the selected programme or micro-credential
- are working in industry
- are able to successfully address the selection criteria
Influence scholarships are available to anyone working in any type of organisation – in both paid and volunteer work. Organisations can include:
- For-Profit Businesses – e.g., corporates, SMEs, sole traders, PTEs, business organisations etc.
- Government Organisations – e.g., government agencies and departments, crown entities, schools, tertiary institutions, local government, CCOs, community boards etc.
- Not-for-Profit Organisations: e.g., social enterprises, charities, NGOs, community groups etc.
- Māori & Pacific Organisations: e.g., iwi, hapu, mana whenua, Māori and Pacific community support & cultural groups etc.
- Individuals: e.g., self-employed, volunteers, retirees, mentors, community workers etc.
Applicants need to show that their roles within the organisation can influence positive change in Aotearoa New Zealand in at least one of these areas:
- Social – promoting and enabling social connections and support for people, groups and communities – especially for those in need.
- Cultural – supporting and promoting cultural awareness, diversity and inclusion – including the integration of Mātauranga, Kaupapa and Te Ao Māori values and principles, and Te Reo.
- Environmental – engaged in sustainable practices to protect and restore the natural environment – including the reduction of emissions, mitigating the effects of the climate crisis and cleaning up of waterways.
- Economic – improving the economic situation of Aotearoa New Zealand and all its people – including reducing inequality and poverty.
- Health & Wellbeing – improving and promoting the physical and mental health and wellbeing for people, groups and communities.
- Education – improving life-long learning, training and upskilling outcomes and opportunities for all the people of Aotearoa New Zealand – at any stage of their life.
How to Apply
- Complete the application and declaration for your chosen programme or micro-credential via the MDS website before applying of the scholarship.
- Complete the Scholarship Application form available on the website and include a video link or written response to the following:
- How they have been impacted by the pandemic and/or how they wish to influence positive social, cultural, environmental, economic, health & wellbeing or educational change in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
- Evidence of current work or projects underway in their business or organisation and how the chosen programme or micro-credential could improve the success of that work or project.
- Submit your scholarship application to scholarships@mediadesignschool.com at least 2 weeks before the start of your programme or micro-credential.
Additional Information
Terms and conditions
- Before applying you should check whether you are eligible for fees free. If you are, then you do not need to apply for a scholarship
- If you are already receiving other financial support towards your fees or if you have already received a scholarship from Media Design School in the past, you are not eligible to apply for this scholarship
- By accepting the scholarship, you are agreeing to participate in all classes for the programme or micro-credential you have enrolled in. Failure to do so may affect your ongoing eligibility for the scholarship
- The Influence Scholarship is available for all new enrolments made between June and December 2022 for the postgraduate programmes and micro-credentials listed above
- The Influence Scholarship cannot be applied for outside of those dates or in retrospect to completed enrolments for 2022 programmes. All scholarship applications will be reviewed and awarded at the discretion of the MDS scholarship panel.
- Scholarships are awarded upon the successful applicant’s offer of place and acceptance
- Scholarships are subject to candidates successfully meeting eligibility criteria in addition to the specific criteria for the scholarship
- Scholarship applications close 2 weeks prior to intake start date
- If more applications are received than the number of scholarships available, the MDS Scholarship Committee will decide who will receive the available scholarships based on evidence of need and the relative strength of the candidate’s application and their statement of intent
- Scholarships cannot be held over if an eligible candidate decides to postpone their study to a later intake. Candidates who postpone their study will need to re-apply for the scholarship without guaranteed of success
- There is no refund available to candidates who decide to withdraw from their programme for whatever reason
- All decisions are final and are not subject to appeal
External Scholarships
Scholarships for Māori Students
Careers NZ provides answers for many FAQs and suggestions to help you find the best way to fund your studies.
https://www.careers.govt.nz/courses/scholarships/scholarships-for-maori-learners/
Māori Education Trust provides many options for scholarships that you can apply for through the website.
https://maorieducation.org.nz/undergraduate-maori-scholarships/
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei offers help and support for the community in a variety of fields, including education. There are scholarships that may become available throughout the year.
Scholarships for Pacific Students
Applications close 5th August!
The Toloa Tertiary Scholarship package includes tertiary tuition fees and compulsory course related fees up to $10,000, for 1 year of fulltime study for STEAM-related tertiary courses and subjects. It also includes the Toloa alumni programme – access to STEAM networks, mentors and employers.
https://www.mpp.govt.nz/funding/toloa-tertiary-scholarships/
Careers NZ provides answers for many FAQs and suggestions to help you find the best way to fund your studies.
https://www.careers.govt.nz/courses/scholarships/scholarships-for-pacific-learners/
Pacific Education Foundation offers scholarships at the beginning of the year, with scholarships for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
Ministry for Pacific Peoples provides support and guidance for Pacific peoples needing assistance or to find like-minded communities.
https://www.mpp.govt.nz/funding/
Other Options
Careers NZ provides answers for many FAQs and suggestions to help you find the best way to fund your studies.
https://careers.govt.nz/courses/scholarships/where-to-find-scholarships
Applications close 12th August
To be eligible to apply for the grant, you must:
- be aged between 12 and 24
- have a meaningful connection to the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board area
- be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident
- include a letter from your school principal, teacher, tutor, community leader, or employer in support of your application.
You may be eligible for up to $2000
