DHyslop said:
Where I am in a geology program, if a program actually wants you to come they'll have a graduate assistanceship including a tuition waiver and enough of a stipend to eek a little bit of a living out of, during the school year at least. I was under the impression this was the same for most bio programs?
Dan
This would be the exception rather than norm 'down under', especially when you've got numerous postgrad students/researchers & limited funds available.
For an international Masters student you would have to pay full tuition fees, ~ NZ$20,000 annually. However, for an international PhD student/researcher I can now offer (courtesy of the NZ government) a full-fees scholarship, if you fit the entry criteria (and this is not inconsequential, very generously at ~ NZ$25,000 annually). I would be unable to offer any stipend or guarantee of work whilst here though, so you would need ~ NZ$15,000 annually to accommodate and feed yourself for the ~ 3-year duration of the research programme (5 year maximum, unless you like being growled at and generating lots of paperwork for your disgruntled supervisor).
Finding monies to keep yourself in a bed and fed can be a challenge, but I believe everyone here is working in one way or another, or has until such a time as they were successful in securing grants monies; I don't know anyone that is not eating or accommodated. What doesn't kill you builds character you know! (I was there too, a long time ago.)