Fulbright New Zealand

What Fulbright New Zealand does

Fulbright New Zealand is the officially designated bi-national commission administering educational exchange between New Zealand and the United States, operating as a non-profit under a bilateral governmental agreement. The organization administers approximately 17 distinct award programs spanning General Graduate Awards, Science & Innovation Graduate Awards, Scholar Awards, Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Indigenous Awards, Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer's Residency, Harkness Fellowships, Distinguished Awards in Teaching, Specialist Programs, Scholar-In-Residence, and reciprocal US-to-NZ programs. Beneficiaries include NZ and US graduate students, academics, artists, professionals, teachers, and host institutions; in 2026 the commission announced 15 graduate awardees alone. The organization does not sell products or services and does not charge applicant fees; its funding model is grant-based, sourced primarily from the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, supplemented by co-funding from Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, Creative New Zealand, and other partners.

The commission operates from a single headquarters in Wellington, New Zealand, and reaches prospective applicants through its website (fulbright.org.nz), a network of campus advisers at NZ universities, active social media channels, press releases, and the Bright Sparks Newsletter. Its go-to-market is event-driven around annual competitive award cycles, with selection on a merit basis. In 2026, Fulbright alumnus and Board member Professor Rangi Mātāmua gifted the organization a Māori name, Te Kura Tūmahana, formalizing its commitment to te ao Māori alongside its existing Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga co-funded awards for Māori and Indigenous researchers. The Fulbright program was established by US legislation in 1946 and operates in over 160 countries globally; Fulbright New Zealand is the local manifestation of this network.

The underlying "technology" of Fulbright New Zealand is essentially program administration, partnership management, and applicant selection rather than software, platforms, or AI. The organization maintains no API, no SDK, no disclosed AI/ML capabilities, and no proprietary technology products. Its defensibility rests entirely on its regulatory designation as the official bi-national commission, the prestige of the Fulbright brand, and the embedded institutional relationships with host universities (Harvard, Columbia, Yale, NYU, Stanford, University of Otago, University of Auckland, Victoria University of Wellington, University of Hawai'i) and government funders. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, consistent with a government-funded non-profit operating under bilateral appropriation rather than commercial pricing.

Name

Fulbright New Zealand

Legal name

Fulbright New Zealand

Website

https://fulbright.org.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fulbright New Zealand is the official bi-national commission administering merit-based educational exchange awards between New Zealand and the United States, funded by both governments and partners and serving graduate students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Exchange Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Research Grants, Fellowships & Stipends (International) (EDAIAOAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Government-Sponsored Scholarships & Exchange Funding (EDAIAOAF), Country/Region-Specific Scholarships (Inbound/Outbound) (EDAIAOAC)

Keywords

• Educational exchange programs
• Scholarship awards
• Academic fellowships
• International study grants
• Binational exchange

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Fulbright New Zealand operates as a bi-national commission funded by the US and New Zealand governments, along with partner organizations. The organization provides exchange awards (grants) to successful applicants, not revenue-generating services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fulbright New Zealand is a bi-national commission that administers a portfolio of competitive, merit-based scholarship and fellowship awards (grants) enabling New Zealand and US citizens to undertake postgraduate study, research, teaching, or professional development at institutions in each other's country. Award programs cover graduate students, academics, artists, professionals, and teachers across both outbound (NZ-to-US) and inbound (US-to-NZ) directions.

Product overview

Fulbright New Zealand is a bi-national exchange organization offering a comprehensive portfolio of scholarship and fellowship programs facilitating academic, cultural, and professional exchanges between New Zealand and the United States. The portfolio includes General Graduate Awards, Science & Innovation Awards, Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Indigenous Awards, Scholar Awards, Specialist Programs, Distinguished Teaching Awards, and US-to-NZ programs. These award programs support students, academics, artists, professionals, and teachers at various career stages to participate in exchange experiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fulbright New Zealand General Graduate Awards

Quantifiable outcome

• 15 graduate awardees in 2026 cohort alone
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ngā Pae o te MāramatangacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNgā Pae o te Māramatanga is New Zealand's Māori Centre of Research Excellence. They partner with Fulbright New Zealand to offer the Fulbright-Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Graduate Award and Scholar Award, supporting Māori and Indigenous researchers to undertake exchanges between New Zealand and the US, focusing on kaupapa Māori research methodologies.
• Creative New ZealandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative New Zealand Arts Council partners with Fulbright New Zealand on the Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer's Residency, enabling writers to develop work focused on Pasifika heritage at the University of Hawai'i.
• US and New Zealand UniversitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner universities in both countries host Fulbright scholars. US institutions include Harvard, Columbia, Yale, NYU, Stanford, and others. NZ institutions include University of Otago, University of Auckland, Victoria University of Wellington, and others.
• Harkness FellowshipsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew Zealand Harkness Fellowships in Public Policy are administered by Fulbright New Zealand, providing leadership development opportunities for mid-career professionals.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Rhodes Trust: Administers the prestigious Rhodes Scholarships for international students to study at Oxford; comparable as a high-prestige, merit-based, internationally recognized postgraduate scholarship.
• Fulbright UK: UK arm of the global Fulbright Program operating under the same bilateral commission model; highly comparable in structure, programs, and funding arrangement.
• Chevening Scholarship (UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office): UK government-funded international scholarship program offering awards to foreign students to study in the UK; comparable as a government-sponsored, merit-based international exchange scheme.
• Commonwealth Scholarships: UK-funded scholarships for students from Commonwealth countries including New Zealand; comparable as a government-sponsored international postgraduate scholarship program.
• Fulbright Australia: Australian Fulbright commission operating under the same bilateral government-funded exchange model with the US; highly comparable in structure, scale, programs, and target audience.

Broad incumbents

• DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service): Germany's national agency for international academic exchange; comparable as a large-scale, government-funded international scholarship and exchange administrator.
• Fulbright US (Institute of International Education - IIE): Administers the US side of the Fulbright Program and a broad portfolio of international exchange and scholarship programs; directly comparable as the counterpart commission and the parent administrator of Fulbright globally.
• Erasmus+ (European Commission): EU's flagship student and staff mobility program supporting international exchange across Europe and globally; comparable as a large-scale government-funded exchange scheme with multiple award categories.

Regional players

• Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships (MFAT): New Zealand government's international development scholarships funded by MFAT; closely comparable as a government-funded NZ scholarship program with similar funding source and applicant pool.
• Creative New Zealand Arts Pasifika Awards: NZ government arts council offering Pasifika-focused creative residencies and awards; relevant peer for Fulbright NZ's Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer's Residency partnership.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FulbrightNZ
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/FulbrightNZ
• Facebookfacebook.com/fulbrightnz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fulbright-new-zealand
• Instagraminstagram.com/fulbrightnewzealand

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fulbright New Zealand