Withdrawing from a doctoral programme

You can withdraw from your doctoral programme at any point. 

We understand your decision to withdraw from your doctoral programme can be a difficult one. 

We recommend that you speak with an adviser at the School of Graduate Studies before submitting a request to withdraw from your doctoral programme. 

If you choose to withdraw from your doctoral programme, please note that you are liable for your fees up until the withdrawal date. 

For more information, please see Doctoral fee refund.

A withdrawal will result in the end of your enrolment in your doctoral programme and you will no longer be a University of Auckland doctoral candidate.

The withdrawal takes effect at the end of the month chosen (e.g., if you withdraw on 15 April, you will remain enrolled until 30 April, as this is the end of the month). 

International doctoral candidates

• If you're an international doctoral candidate, you will no longer be enrolled at the University.
• The University must notify Immigration New Zealand of your withdrawal.
• If you wish to stay in New Zealand, you will need to apply for a new visa.
• Your health insurance premium may be affected as a former international candidate
  • If you have not made an insurance claim previously, you may be eligible for a partial refund of your insurance premium. This is calculated from when we receive your discontinuation confirmation from the School of Graduate Studies. For more information, please see Insurance at the University of Auckland.
  • If you have made a claim, you will not be eligible for a refund. 
  • Once an outcome has been determined, you will receive an email to your student email notifying you of the outcome.

If you have access to Wahapū, you can find the withdrawal request form under 'Change requests' on your Wahapū project homescreen. 

2016 PhD Statute or older, or named doctorate

If you don't have access to Wahapū, you will need to complete the withdrawal process manually using a DOC6 Change to Doctoral Candidature Registration form. 

You can find the DOC6 form at Application and Candidature.

You can still move to the most recent statute and have access to Wahapū. 

To change your statue, you can visit PhD Statute.

Check out the regulations for students completing a Doctor of Philosphy

Check out the regulations for students completing a Named Doctorate