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International PhD students have distinct needs compared to international undergraduate and graduate students, due to having significantly different study, work and life experiences. International students make up almost half of all doctoral students in Aotearoa, hence their wellbeing and therefore PhD productivity has a significant impact on institute-wide success.

For simplicity, we use the term ‘PhD student’ to mean people at any stage of pursuing a PhD – including doctoral candidates. However, for some people the word ‘student’ is considered a misnomer since it does not reflect a PhD student’s maturity and their need to balance significant non-academic responsibilities – such as employment and childcare – alongside academic demands.

“Postgraduate study cannot be isolated from other aspects of life, and a holistic concern for doctoral candidates as people, and not just students, requires a range of personal, family, non-academic, faith, health and social aspects to be recognised.” – Hopwood et al. (2011)

This topic will help PhD supervisors and other student support staff at tertiary education institutes understand and support the unique needs of international PhD students as different from the needs of international (under)graduates and domestic postgraduates.��

As the first step, we recommend first reading the toolkit topic Managing Expectations for help with identifying and resolving your doctorate students’ misaligned expectations before they arrive, which will help reduce the risk of PhD disruptions and delays.

International PhD students often find it more difficult than other students to find a healthy balance between academia and other aspects of their life. For example, many move to the country with their partner/spouse and children, whereas other international students are less likely to have dependents. They are ultimately responsible for their dependents’ wellbeing alongside their own while navigating an unfamiliar, expensive country.

Unlike domestic postgraduate students, most international PhD students do not have family or friends nearby that they can count on for support through difficult times. Since they are on temporary visas, they do not enjoy full rights as citizens when unable to find sufficient accommodation, income, or childcare even though they are classed as . International PhD students also do not have the option of switching to a part-time PhD if they need more time to earn the funds to continue pursuing their doctorate, which domestic students can do at any time.����

The temporary visa status of international PhD students means that unsupported students are more likely to experience financial insecurity, housing instability and/or family crises. Consequently, in some circumstances these students can encounter higher stress loads than domestic ones with respect to managing family wellbeing alongside their doctorate.��

“I talked to a supervisor from a different field once. He told me that he had a student who was having issues. She couldn’t cope with the pressures. She had to do a lot of work in the lab, and she had a husband and a son. The husband didn’t understand the PhD pressures on her, and the situation wasn’t positive at home. The supervisor then said to me, ‘I hope we can get a bit more work out of her before she quits’.”
– Mary, university lecturer

Hence, to avoid losing the much-needed diversity of thinkers and researchers in academia, it is critical to support international PhD students in an equitable way. Equitable means to readily provide tailored support to those who need more support, as opposed to simply treating all students the same (as an act of ‘equality’). This includes directing international PhD students to the right help early – ideally before they need it.

Well-supported international PhD students are more likely to have a successful and rewarding experience pursuing their doctorate in Aotearoa, and then recommend it to others. Additionally, those who get help quickly will likely contribute better quality work in the long run, leading to more impactful and noticeable research outputs for your institution and Aotearoa on the global stage.

‍Covered in this section:

2.1. Financial security

• Expectations and budgeting
• Finding work

2.2. Stable accommodation

• Finding suitable housing
• Tips for supporting students

2.3 Family wellbeing

• Cultural perspectives on family
• Family roles
• Family tensions

2.1 Financial security.

The average value of PhD scholarships in Aotearoa New Zealand is still below the minimum wage and has plateaued from 2011 to 2019 despite a significant increase in the cost of living (Soar et al, 2022).��

It also takes the average PhD student four years to complete their doctorates – including international PhD students – but nearly all PhD scholarships are limited to a three-year period. This means that the fourth year is unsupported by any scholarship and must be self-funded. Yet the student, who has already invested everything into their PhD, must keep going to finish their doctorate.

"The reasons for this can be complex but obviously not supporting people [for four years] is not keeping degrees shorter, it's just keeping PhD students even poorer. How can a student with children, or from a family that needs their help, justify that [additional time and money]?"
– Dr Lucy Stewart, co-author of Soar et al. (2022), as quoted in

With the cost of living now at an all-time high, having a modestly funded scholarship means that most PhD students need to find a good job outside of the 40+ hours per week they are expected to invest in their doctorate. Many international PhD students also arrive with misaligned expectations around the cost of living, putting themselves at a higher risk of going into financial hardship due to poorly informed planning and budgeting.

“When they tell you about the high living costs in New Zealand, you think ‘how bad can it be?’ $21 per hour as a minimum wage – that’s a fortune in my home country. The message doesn’t always get through, even when prospective students are told.”
– Nasima, Bangladesh

International PhD students may find it more challenging to appeal to prospective employers, due to being unfamiliar with New Zealand’s interview etiquette, for example. Hence, those that get good guidance in the job application process are more likely to secure suitable employment at a reasonable wage to support continuing and completing their PhD.

Read our toolkit topic Understand New Zealand Student Services to learn more about which support service to direct students to, depending on their situation. Similarly, our toolkit topic Support International Student Employability will help you identify which soft skills a student needs to strengthen to become more employable and therefore get work quickly.��

For helping students experiencing a crisis resulting from financial issues, we recommend you read our toolkit topic Supporting the mental health of International PhD students as well as the tips below.

Support tips