The majority of PhD candidates, both international and domestic, pay domestic fees for PhD study. International students must reside in New Zealand during study to qualify for domestic fees. Up to 12 months' overseas research leave may be approved.
As there are few restrictions on when graduate study may start or end, fee payment schedules may be more complicated than for other students.
For candidates starting your thesis part-way through the year, tuition fees are calculated on a monthly basis, and the Student Services Fee on a quarterly basis.
For continuing candidates, fees are charged each calendar year.
For candidates submitting in the current year, the portion of your fees you have already paid which relates to the unused period of your enrolment will be refunded. To claim this refund, contact the Revenue Management Office several days following your submission:
Email student.finance@otago.ac.nz
Partial tuition fee payment in the final year of PhD study
If you are confident you will submit part-way through the year, you can request to only have to pay tuition fees in advance for the time you expect to use on your enrolment. For example, a candidate enrolling in January who expects to submit in August can apply for permission to only pay the January to August portion of their tuition fees in the first instance.
Requests for partial fee payment in the submission year should be made to the Revenue Management Office. If approved, the actual fee invoice will remain the same, but permission will be granted to pay only a portion of the bill (advice will be provided on this).
Under this arrangement, if the expected submission date is not met, the remainder of the fees for the year must then be paid in advance, and further partial fee approvals may not be granted.
Further information
Fee information for graduate research candidates
Tuition fees guide