<p>I wasn't really sure how to phrase the title of this thread... so let me explain.</p>
<p>I'm currently a junior majoring in Meteorology in the United States, and I was thinking about moving out of the country once I graduate, to work towards a master's, and then either enter the workforce of that country or continue on to a PhD.</p>
<p>In particular, I was looking at Victoria University of Wellington in Wellington, New Zealand.</p>
<p>I guess my first question is, would this be a wise path to take if I decide that I would like to live in New Zealand after graduating, or would I be better off with a degree from a US institution and attempting to move there afterwards?</p>
<p>Secondly, at my current university, I was told that graduate students in the college of Earth Sciences receive both a tuition waiver and a stipend to cover living expenses. I've spoken to a few other universities in the states that have the same, general set-up, and I should probably just contact VU directly, but does anyone know if international schools offer tuition waivers and stipends? I can't see any other way I could afford graduate school.</p>
<p>In general, there are fewer funding opportunities overseas than there are in the United States. Many are limited only to citizens of the university’s home nation.</p>
<p>However, if you are interested in emigrating to New Zealand, it may be an advantage, immigration and job-wise, to get your degree from a university there.</p>
<p>I agree that it’s best to contact Victoria. I’m at the University of Auckland (undergraduate and citizen) and Victoria is not particularly highly ranked in New Zealand so it doesn’t have huge amounts of money to give away. But maybe things are different for graduate students; I’m not sure. Apart from that though, the fees for international students are just insane. As for your other question, it depends on your current university. This is stating the obvious, but if you’re at Harvard it’s best to stay there for your degree rather than go to Victoria.
On a side note, the job market here is tough at the moment. You would probably be best to contact universities and do research before making a hasty decision, because there is a lot of emigration from New Zealand to Asia and Australia at the moment.</p>
<p>And also now that I remember, I heard on the radio the other day that students here are being advised to not bother looking for jobs here anymore because job prospects are poor compared to overseas at the moment. But maybe the person who said that was a moron. I don’t know. Just saying.</p>