NIWA supports several postgraduate Centres of Excellence to attract the best students and train them at postgraduate level (PhD and MSc) in areas of growing demand.
Each Centre of Excellence has a management committee of University and NIWA staff, which provides a general oversight of the University/NIWA relationship. The management committee also has specific responsibilities, such as selecting which candidates will participate in the Centre's activities and identifying and securing sources of funding for candidates. Financial support is directed primarily at the PhD level, with research students funded through University scholarships, Ministry scholarships, industry funding and NIWA.
- Joint Graduate School in Coastal and Marine Science - The University of Auckland
- Centre of Excellence in Aquaculture and Marine Ecology (CEAME) - The University of Canterbury
- Research Centre for Oceanography - The University of Otago
- Climate Change Research Institute - Victoria University of Wellington