Scholarship details

The Dr Eileen Fair Master’s Scholarship has been created to support and encourage people from the Manawatū region to complete postgraduate studies related to the environment.

This $40,000 (inclusive of tuition fees) scholarship is tenable for one year.

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Dates for the 2026 scholarship are:

Submission deadline: Monday 24th November 5pm

Award announced:1 February 2026

Payments: April and August 2026 for enrolments commencing in March 2026 or earlier

To be eligible candidates must:

  • Be accepted for enrolment for a Master’s in environmental studies at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University Palmerston North campus. “Environmental studies” means the topic undertaken must provide environmental benefit; study can be within any discipline – for advice as to whether a topic falls within the scope of environmental studies, please contact research@eileenfair.org.nz for a determination.
  • Be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident.
  • Have a connection to the Manawatū region – to be eligible for this scholarship, you must have grown up in the region or have other close family ties to it.
  • Demonstrate that your research topic will:
    • close research gaps
    • have lasting impact
    • involve the community
    • relate to one of the following: sea / river / wetlands / dry land / urban areas
    • relate to one of the following: environmental conservation / restoration / monitoring.

Selection will be made on the basis of:

  • Academic merit (25%)
  • Quality/relevance of the research and research plan (25%)
  • Quality/relevance of the community engagement plan (25%)
  • Two referee reports, with at least one from an academic with some level of research supervision over the applicant, preferably their studies supervisor (10%)
  • Alignment with the eligibility criteria (15%)

The Eileen Fair Charitable Trust will make the award.

For more information or questions about the Dr Eileen Fair Master’s Scholarship, contact research@eileenfair.org.nz.

To complete your application you will need:

  • Proof of enrolment in pdf, png, or jpg format
  • Your research start and expected completion dates
  • A description of your topic, including how it meets the eligibility criteria for this scholarship
  • A research plan, with research outputs and dates (e.g. literature review, field work completion, chapters drafted), and supporting images (if applicable – images should be in pdf, png, or jpg format)
  • A community engagement plan, including which communities and groups you will involve in your research, and how they will be involved, in pdf, png, doc, or jpg format
  • A short description of how you would use the scholarship funds, including for your planned community engagement
  • A 30-second to 1-minute long video outlining your project
  • Confirmation of your supervision agreement
  • If you are currently studying, your current year provisional transcripts and academic transcripts from the previous two years of study
  • If you are not currently studying, the academic transcripts from your most recent degree
  • Names and email addresses for two referees who have agreed to provide references for you
  • Optional – Supporting documents for your community engagement plan (for example, letters of support, evidence of previous community engagement or collaboration).

Full terms and conditions and requirements for the scholarship will be made available when applications open.

Dr Eileen Fair’s story

Eileen broke into the male-dominated world of science in the 1960s and 70s. She graduated from Massey University in 1966 with a Bachelor of Science in geography and went on to complete her Master’s with honours in 1968. Her Master’s thesis, Structural, tectonic and climatic control of the fluvial geomorphology of the Manawatu River west of the Manawatu Gorge, identified the date of the formation of the Manawatū River valley. Her dissertation dated the river terraces to glacial outwash periods of the late Pleistocene, with the earliest terrace identified as being approximately 50,000 years old.

Continuing her career in geomorphology, Eileen was awarded a scholarship to study her PhD at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, USA. The research for her PhD dissertation, The carbonation process in karst geomorphology: A climatic model,was undertaken in a bat-filled cave in the Ozark Mountains. Eileen’s work showing the relationship between surface precipitation and flow rates on cave formations is still used today in workshops run by the Tumbling Creek Cave Foundation. It demonstrates the intimate relationship between the surface and subsurface ecosystems in karst terrains.

After being awarded her PhD in 1974, Eileen lectured in physical geography at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio and at Perth University in Western Australia before returning to New Zealand. Eileen grew up in Palmerston North and was a passionate advocate for Manawatū, a region she called home for most of her life.