We believe the PhD, both as a process of learning, and as an internationally recognized credential, offers numerous intrinsic and extrinsic benefits, including:

• The opportunity to make a significant contribution to both scholarship and practice
• The rewards of pursuing a topic of deep personal interest to you, building on your prior education and experience through an individualised course of study
• The development of skills in research, analysis, theorising, methodology and communication
• The opportunity to develop close networks with the School's academic members, who have degrees in more than 10 disciplines, and the other PhD candidates
• Inclusion in the academic life of a vibrant School, which includes several research centres, and teaching and research programmes in Public Policy, Public Management and Strategic Studies

Our current (and growing) PhD cohort includes 16 women and 7 men, many of whom combine half-time PhD study with work and family obligations. Our 'typical' student is older and more experienced than those in many discipline-based PhD programmes. Our students are passionate about the real-world application of their work.

We look for candidates who:

• Have a solid preparation for advanced study through prior academic training and/or significant, relevant work experience, often at senior levels
• Appreciate the challenges of and gains to be achieved from intensive scholarship, and can commit to striving for excellence in their work
• Have developed a feasible and well-scoped plan for the doctoral thesis

The School of Government has an expanding PhD Programme, offering opportunity for graduates with Master's-level degrees to undertake doctoral-level research in Public Policy.

In 2010, the School of Government is especially interested in recruiting PhD students whose interests fall into one of the following topic clusters:

• Policy decision making, public engagement in policy, sustainability and adaptability, especially concerning climate change and environmental issues, and their interface with society and governance
• Official statistics/access to data/data transparency/statistics in policy advising
• Public management/administration and governance, including performance management, e-government, local government and comparative government
• Strategic studies including strategic concepts and thinking and global strategic issues such as nuclear proliferation and terrorism
• Regional security issues including the changing strategic balance in Asia and South Pacific security, New Zealand defence and security policy
• Science, technology, and environmental policy and management