William Georgetti Scholarship information

The William Georgetti Scholarship is one of New Zealand's most prestigious postgraduate awards. It is named after the influential landowner William Georgetti who bequeathed his estate for the purposes of establishing a perpetual scholarship so that young New Zealanders could continue their studies. Georgetti’s hope was “that the best brains available shall receive the benefit of this trust”.^[1]

The scholarship is administered by Universities New Zealand - Te Pōkai Tara. Recipients of the award are selected annually by a panel led by the Governor General of New Zealand. Typically between three and seven awards are given, although there may be as many as twelve,^[2] and the committee may decide not to award the scholarship at all if no suitable candidate is found. Unlike most postgraduate scholarships, the William Georgetti Scholarship is not restricted to location (recipients may study at any university in any country), discipline or prior institution.

The official description of the scholarship states that its "purpose is to encourage postgraduate study and research, normally in New Zealand, in a field that in the opinion of the Scholarship Board is important to the social, cultural or economic development of New Zealand." In practice however, the award is more often used to support study overseas. Since 2007, 40% of recipients have used their award to fund studies in the United Kingdom, 35% for study in the United States of America, 17% for studies in New Zealand and 8% for studies elsewhere.^[3]