Scholarships, Funding and StudyLink for Global Experiences
Get the low down on tuition fees, budgeting, funding and more.
Having a global experience is without a doubt life-changing, but we understand that the financial element can be overwhelming. This page helps to break down the costs involved and outlines what funding options you may have. Most students fund their global experience through a combination of scholarships, StudyLink and personal savings.
Global Experience Costs
Exchange Tuition
Exchange tuition fees are the same as your standard Waikato tuition fees as shown in the table below.
When you go on exchange for at least one trimester, you will be enrolled as a University of Waikato student. This means you will pay tuition fees here, not at the host university. However, you’ll be responsible for other costs including airfares, overseas living costs, accommodation, and course materials.
Undergraduate Exchange Fees:
| Domestic Students | International Students | ||
| One trimester | $4,275.00 | One trimester | $18,723.00 |
| Two trimesters | $8,550.00 | Two trimesters | $37,446.00 |
*Costs are based on 2024 tuition fees and are subject to change.
Postgraduate Exchange Fees:
| Domestic Students | International Students | ||
| One trimester | $4,920.00 | One trimester | $20,407.00 |
| Two trimesters | $9,840.00 | Two trimesters | $40,814.00 |
*Costs are based on 2024 tuition fees and are subject to change.
Internships
When you do an internship, instead of paying tuition fees, you pay a programme fee directly to the internship provider. This fee will vary depending on location, program type and program length. To help give you an indication of how much an internship may cost check out the price overviews for our internship providers on our Global Internships page.
Budgeting for your global experience
Exchange
The cost of an exchange programme will vary based on destination, accommodation, visa requirements, and insurance. If you plan to do a lot of extra travel, you will need to factor this into your budget as well.
Currently, we estimate that you will need $12,000 - $15,000 NZD to finance an exchange over one trimester. This estimate does vary from country to country though, so for a more detailed estimate please contact us. This estimate includes accommodation, flights, visa, and spending money. It does not account for any financial support you could receive through StudyLink or scholarships/awards, so the amount could be much less.
The biggest financial factor of an exchange is the accommodation, so make sure you have a look at the accommodation information on our programme pages to get the best estimate for what this amount would be. You can also look at hypothetical flights to get that estimate, and then it is a case of working on how much you will need to live week-to-week. We can help with this; there are many university-specific resources available for budgeting.
Internships
If you are going on an internship, your costs will differ from an exchange. This is due to providers often including accommodation in their programme fee. However, your flights will always need to be added on top. For a more detailed indication of what to budget for, check out our Global Internships page.
StudyLink
Eligibility for allowances and loans is based on the duration and total EFTS of your programme (i.e. full-time status).
While our global internships are non-credit bearing, if you are able to arrange credit through your division, you could also be eligible for student loan and/or student allowance support while on your programme.