MAPAS — Māori and Pacific Admission SchemeEligibility · MH04 · Specialty Interview

MAPAS — the Māori and Pacific Admission Scheme — is a dedicated admission pathway at the University of Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences (FMHS). It exists to increase the proportion of Māori and Pacific doctors practising in Aotearoa New Zealand. That serves two ends: it meets health workforce needs, and it honours the commitments of Te Tiriti o Waitangi to Māori health equity.

MAPAS does not lower academic standards. Eligible applicants follow the same first-year gateway requirements as everyone else. What it provides is a separate ranking pool, and a Specialty Interview assessed by the MAPAS Admissions Panel. This guide explains who is eligible, how to apply, what to expect from the Specialty Interview, and how to prepare.

MAPAS sits within a broader commitment by Auckland FMHS to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which the university recognises as founding the relationship between Māori and the Crown and imposing obligations of tino rangatiratanga (self-determination), partnership and active protection of Māori health. The MBChB curriculum at Auckland integrates hauora Māori (Māori health) across all six years, including clinical training with Māori health providers and learning within mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) frameworks.

Pacific health equity is addressed in three ways: recognition of diverse Pacific communities, whānau-centred approaches to healthcare, and Pacific-focused clinical placements. The FMHS acknowledges that the Pacific health workforce is significantly under-represented relative to population. MAPAS is one structural mechanism to address that.

If you are preparing for the MAPAS Specialty Interview, build a grounded understanding of these frameworks. Not as abstract concepts. As lived perspectives you can speak to from your own personal and community experience.

To be eligible for MAPAS at Auckland FMHS you must meet all of the following criteria:

Ancestry is verified through the MH04 form: you list your ancestors back to your great-grandparents and name a certifier — not a sibling, spouse, parent, aunt, uncle or grandparent — who can confirm your whakapapa or Pacific ancestry, and MAPAS may ask for more information if anything is unclear.

Eligibility does not depend on being enrolled in any particular first-year programme — you apply to MAPAS through the FMHS admissions system alongside your BHSc or BSc Biomed enrolment.

MAPAS runs in parallel with the standard FMHS admissions cycle, with one critical addition — the MH04 form — and one extra interview. These are the six steps.

The MAPAS Specialty Interview has 5 stations and is run by the MAPAS Admissions Panel. It runs on Zoom, and Auckland says it covers academic preparation, cultural identity, whānau (family and community) issues, MAPAS expectations and social consciousness. The specific station prompts are not published, so preparation should cover the following areas:

Book a coaching session to practise both the Specialty Interview and the general MMI:

The University of Otago Division of Health Sciences does not use the MAPAS name, but operates a Māori and Pacific equity group under its Te Kauae Paraoa admissions policy. Eligible Māori and Pacific applicants at Otago are ranked in a separate sub-pool within their admission category (HSFY, Graduate or Alternative).

Unlike Auckland, Otago MBChB selection for HSFY and Graduate categories is academic ranking only — there is no separate specialty interview for Māori and Pacific applicants in these categories. The Te Kauae Paraoa policy provides equity weighting in the ranking, and the sub-pool typically has a lower competitive threshold than the general pool.

Quota numbers for the Otago Māori and Pacific sub-pool are not separately published on publicly available pages. If you are eligible for both MAPAS at Auckland and the Māori/Pacific sub-pool at Otago, applying to both universities in the same cycle is possible and often advantageous.