Education research

Visitors from other universities are encouraged, and we host a number of distinguished international scholars every year. We participate in the UC Visiting academic programme with the University of Oxford and Cambridge University, with annual exchanges to benefit both our academics and our students. 

Established academics join us for research collaborations, while on sabbatical leave, or as Erskine Fellows. Detailed information about UC's Erskine teaching Fellowships is available from the Erskine Programme office.

Established academics seeking research collaborations or sabbatical leave should contact us directly:

• School of Educational Studies and Leadership
• School of Teacher Education

We welcome applications from university academic staff who are interested in spending time at our campus, and working in collaboration with our academic staff in their teaching and research endeavours.

This opportunity allows scholars to bring their considerable academic expertise and experiences to generate new collaborative activities with colleagues at UC working in similar fields. This learning experience also provides career development opportunities, which may include further study at UC. Either way, we welcome you to apply to be a visiting scholar with us.

Learning                   

• Subject to the agreement of individual lecturers, Visiting Scholars may sit in on lectures and other teaching sessions. Visiting Scholars are normally expected to participate in the courses in the same way as the students.
• Visiting Scholars can request access to Learn (Moodle) sites for courses they are auditing, but access is at the discretion of the Course Coordinator.
• Visiting Scholars will not be registered for courses they audit, and they will not receive credit for their work. If they wish to receive credit, they will need to register as fee-paying students.

Contribution to teaching

• Visiting Scholars may be assigned Teaching Assistant duties, such as assisting in the preparation of material for teaching, technical or other assistance in lectures they are auditing, or contributing to the assessment of the course.
• Visiting Scholars may be invited to participate in planning meetings or marking moderation meetings for courses.

Contribution to research environment

• Visiting Scholars will normally be expected to attend any research lab/hub meetings with the UC staff member who is their mentor.
• Visiting Scholars will normally work with their mentor on some aspect of the mentor’s research. They may be invited to co-author a research paper with their mentor and/or other members of the research team.
• Visiting Scholars who are attempting to fulfil the research experience requirement to become eligible to apply for Doctoral studies at UC after their visit will be supported to participate in a research study that is relevant to their proposed doctoral studies with a view to writing a research paper together with their mentor.

• Post-doctoral scholars should provide a comprehensive research agenda they wish to carry out during their visit. They may also wish to include a proposed plan or goals for gaining tertiary teaching experience in their specialist area.
• Post-doctoral scholars may also be invited to participate in planning meetings or marking moderation meetings for courses.

Length of tenure

Visiting Scholars are usually at UC for six months. Longer may be possible by arrangement. Post-doctoral positions are usually for 12 months.

Application dates

1. Those wishing to be here from July/August/September are selected from applications received before 15 April of the year they wish to come.
2. Those wishing to arrive in January/February/March should apply by 15 October the year before their visit.
3. Only applicants with a completed Master degree in a relevant area will normally be considered for the Visiting Scholars scheme.

Costs and fees

Post-doctoral and Visiting Scholars are unpaid and must pay bench fees to contribute to their costs:

1. The normal rate is $NZ1200 a month of residence at the Faculty of Education.
2. Bench fees can be reduced or waived in certain circumstances, for example when a senior visiting researcher wishes to visit to further an existing research cooperation with our researchers.
3. Applications to have bench fees waived or reduced should be made at the time of application.

Resources and support provided

• Post-doctoral and Visiting Scholars will have full UC library privileges comparable to those offered to postgraduate students, including access to online library databases and electronic books.
• Post-doctoral and Visiting Scholars will be assigned a desk space, UC username, e-mail address and passwords and access to the UC WiFi network for the duration of their visit.
• Visiting Scholars will be assigned a mentor. This will normally be one of the UC academics identified by the applicant in their application. If these staff members are not available, an offer may still be made with a different mentor. The Visiting Scholar and the mentor will meet at least monthly during the visit, and the Visiting Scholar will report to their mentor.
• Post-doctoral scholars should nominate a Senior Academic or Academics for collaborative research engagement during the visit.

Applicants must submit a completed application form with details of their previous study, research and teaching and their plans for the visit. They should identify one or more UC academics they wish to be associated with. Please review the School websites as above for more detail.

Application dates

1. Those wishing to be here from July/August/September are selected from applications received before 15 April of the year they wish to come.
2. Those wishing to arrive in January/February/March should apply by 15 October the year before their visit.
3. Only applicants with a completed Master degree in a relevant area will normally be considered for the Visiting Scholars scheme.

Timeline

1. Applicants should complete the UC Visiting Scholar Application Form and send additional documents to the appropriate Head of School by the application deadline (15 April or 15 October).
2. Applicants selected for the next stage will be invited to take part in a Skype interview before the end of April or October.
3. Successful applicants will be notified by 15 May or November.