What graduate programmes does NUS offer?

The graduate programmes offered by NUS are broadly categorized into research and coursework programmes. At present, there are more than 100 coursework programmes (full-time and part-time available), while research programmes are available in most, if not all the departments of the various faculties/schools of the University.

What is the difference between a coursework and a research programme?

Coursework programmes involve the attendance of formal classes, seminars, laboratories and written examinations. Some programmes may also require the writing of a dissertation based on a project the candidate has undertaken.

Research programmes provides training in a particular subject area through independent investigations, study and experiment, culminating in the preparation of a thesis setting out the findings of the research undertaken. Research candidates may also be required to attend appropriate lectures and sit for written examinations.

What are the admission requirements?

Admission requirements vary from programme to programme. Generally, an applicant must have at least a good Bachelor’s degree (equivalent to a good Honours degree of NUS) in the appropriate discipline. In some cases, a period of relevant working experience is also required.

In addition, an applicant whose native tongue or medium of instruction for the Bachelor’s degree is not English, must have obtained a good TOEFL score or an IELTS score.

Applicants applying for admission in the fields of engineering, computer science, medicine and science should also preferably have obtained good GRE scores; while those applying for Business related areas should have obtained either GRE or GMAT scores.

Please visit the website of the relevant faculty/school for information on the following:

1. Offered programmes
2. Admission requirements
3. Application procedure
4. Fees
5. Scholarship (if applicable), etc.

If you wish to appeal or enquire on a particular programme, please contact the relevant faculty/school directly.

How do I appeal for waiver of admission requirements such as TOEFL and GRE?

You may contact the respective faculty/school directly.

Where can I find information on available scholarships?

For information on the various scholarships available, please refer to here.

For new students, the application for scholarship can be made together with your online application for admission.

Admission and scholarship applications are administered by the respective faculty/school as different faculty/school may have different admission requirements. If you have queries on the scholarship availability and application procedure for a particular programme, please contact the faculty/school directly.

Are there any admission interviews and/or tests?

Shortlisted applicants, especially those who applied for the research scholarship, may be required to attend an interview. Wherever possible, the interview will be held in the applicant’s country. The usual periods of overseas interviews will be March/April for the August intake and August/September for the January intake.

Is there an age limit for graduate programmes?

There is no age limit. As long as you meet the minimum requirements, you are eligible to apply. Each application is considered on its own merits.

How do I apply and when is the closing date?

Please visit the website of the relevant faculty/school for more information.

If I am paying for my own study, what kind of documentary proof of financial support do I have to submit?

It can be in the form of a bank statement for international students and if you are working in Singapore, a copy of your recent pay slip. If you are going to be supported by a sponsor, we will need a letter of confirmation from your sponsor, together with the financial status proof. You will need to prove that you will be able to cover your living expenses (S$18,000 per year), as well as, the tuition and miscellaneous student fees. You should have sufficient funds to sustain you for the normal duration of your programme, which is generally two years for Master’s and four years for PhD. Please refer to your faculty/school for the specific requirement.

How do I fill up the part on my proposed research topic in the application form if I don’t have a specific topic in mind?

You need not indicate a specific topic if you don’t have one in mind. You should, however, indicate the research area(s) that you are interested in. You may refer to this link to search for potential research collaborators and learn about our research expertise by using names, keywords and disciplines to identify matching user profiles.

For the field on proposed supervisor(s), can I leave it blank as I don’t know any staff in your University?

Yes, you can. You need not indicate any proposed supervisor(s) if you are unable to at the point of application.

When will I know the outcome of my application?

For coursework programmes, please check with the relevant faculty/school . Normally, the outcome should be known about two months before term commences.

Research applicants will be informed of the results of their applications by early June for the August intake and by early November for the January intake.

Is there a guide that I can refer to on how to use the Graduate Admission System?

Yes, upon logging in to the system, you can access the guide using the web link under the header “User Guide” at the homepage.

I cannot log in to the Graduation Admission System because I have forgotten my application password/email address which I have used to register an account with the system. What should I do?

If you have forgotten your password, please click on the following link to reset it.

If you have forgotten the email address which you have used to register an account with the system, please contact the respective faculty/school that you had applied to before.

While I have uploaded/ submitted all my supporting documents, my application status is still reflecting as “Submitted online”, “Processing” etc. Why is this so?

The faculty/programme administrator of the programme which you have applied for would have the access to check and update the status of your application. Please contact the respective faculty/school.

I have applied for two different programmes through the online admission system. Ther are different sets of “Checklists”. Is this correct?

Yes, different programmes have different set-up for their “checklists” as different faculties/programmes have different requirements.

For the field on Cumulative Average Point (CAP)/ Grade Points Average (GPA), how should I fill in if my Bachelor’s degree marks are all in percentages?

Since your institution has a different grading system, you may leave this field blank.

I am unable to upload all my documents as there is a limit for uploaded documents. What should I do?

The total size of your uploaded documents should not exceed 10MB. If your documents are larger than the limit, you will have to send hardcopies of the documents to the faculty/school which you have applied for.

How do I know if the payment is successful?

If the payment is successful, you will be directed to a confirmation page. Alternatively, you can check for the payment status under the “View Application/Make Payment” page. Lastly, you can check directly with your bank for confirmation on the transaction of payment.

I realized that I have made some serious errors in my application after I have submitted my application. What should I do?

The faculty/programme administrator of the programme which you have applied for would have the access to amend your application. Please contact the respective faculty/school.

I cannot modify the application information myself after I have submitted it. Could you tell me how to upload some supporting documents online?

The faculty/programme administrator of the programme which you have applied for would have the access to unlock your application for you to re-upload documents/make amendments after submission of application. This concession is granted on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the respective faculty/school.

I have accidentally submitted my application. How can I withdraw it?

The faculty/programme administrator of the programme which you have applied for would have the access to update the status of your application to withdrawn. Please contact the respective faculty/school.

After submitting the application online, can I still print the summary page?

Yes, the Application Summary page can still be printed.

I have submitted all the necessary admission documents by post. How do I know if the faculty/school has received the documents in good order?

You can login to the system and go to the “View Application/Make Payment” page to check for your application status. If the status has not been updated for some time, you may contact the respective faculty/school.

I have submitted my application online. I understand that my referee has received the email notification on online referee report submission. How do I know whether he/she has submitted the report?

You can login to the system and go to the “Referee Details” page. Under the “Status” column for each of your referee, click on the “View” link to check his/her report submission status.

My referee informed me that he/she has not received the email notification on the submission of the online referee report. What should I do?

You may contact the faculty/programme administrator of the programme which you have applied for as they would have the access to check and resend the e-mail to your referee.

The web link for the submission of the referee report is not working for my referee. The message from the system is “The page that you are attempting to access is invalid. This can be due to the deadline of referee report submission being exceeded or other reasons.”

The faculty/programme administrator of the programme which you have applied for would have the access to check and resend the e-mail to your referee with the reopening of the system for your referee to submit his/her report. Please contact the respective faculty/school.