Wellington, March 30 NZPA - A University of Auckland graduate will undertake advanced earthquake engineering studies in Europe after winning a European Commission scholarship.

Chris Van Houtte was one of 12 students from outside of the European Union to receive the scholarship, worth 21,000 euro ($NZ49,800).

It will allow him to work towards a MEEES (Masters in Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology) through study at European universities.

Mr Van Houtte said the scholarship would expose him to some of the most advanced earthquake engineering research taking place in Europe -- work which would be significant when applied to a seismically active country like New Zealand.

The scholarship was awarded under the commission's Erasmus Mundus programme.