The graduate programmes offered by the Department of English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies provide both an extensive education and a specialist discipline, enabling students to develop flexibility and range, coupled with specific transferable skills.
Students learn to be critical and creative in their thinking, to evaluate and manage complex information and to construct arguments. They master the arts of speaking and writing with clarity, precision and elegance: highly coveted skills in the modern workplace.
The English Language and Linguistics programmes provide a range of courses that offer expertise at an advanced level in foundational areas of language study, including grammatical structure of language, sound structure of language, and language use in social context.
Arts and Social Sciences
English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies
ellbox1@nus.edu.sg
Department of English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences National University of Singapore Block AS5, 7 Arts Link Singapore 117570Welcome to the Department of English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies
- We are one of the oldest departments in the university, and have had students studying with us since 1929. In that time we have changed from a department in a colonial university, to one that students mobilized in anti-colonial struggles, to an independent department in a newly independent nation, and finally, to the contemporary centre of literary, performance, and linguistic studies that we are today.
- The department is rather peculiar in that it houses three undergraduate majors and three graduate programmes all under the same roof. We teach and study English literature, language and linguistics, and Theatre and Performance Studies. Although there is a lot of collegial and student interaction between the three parts, as well as some teaching and research collaboration, each of the three sections has its own character and its own distinctive strengths. However, all three programmes include in their ranks some of the very best teachers in the university.
| Commitment | Average Candidature | Maximum Candidature |
|---|---|---|
| Full Time | 2 Years | 3 Years |
| Part Time | 2 Years | 3 Years |
Bachelor’s degree holder with a relevant background that seek to gain expertise at an advanced level in foundational areas of language study, including grammatical structure of language, sound structure of language, and language use in social context.
| Criteria | Minimum Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| GPA | An NUS Honours degree (Second Class and above) or equivalent (e.g., a four-year Bachelors degree with at least an average grade of B) in a relevant discipline or in exceptional circumstances and case by case, a Bachelors degree in a relevant discipline with at least two years of relevant work experience, subject to approval by the Board of Graduate Studies | ||
| English Proficiency Tests | TOEFL Internet-based | 85 / 120 | |
| IELTS | 6 / 9 | ||
- The Department requires a writing sample related to the area of study (EL, EN or TS) to be submitted for all applications to its graduate programmes.
- Masters by Research students are requested to provide a preliminary research proposal of 2-4 pages. Although this document should be as focused as possible, it is exploratory and admitted students are not required to work on the exact area proposed. However, the capacities to develop an interesting research question and approach are important indicators of a student’s ability and seriousness
- More information on how to write a research proposal can be obtained from: Research Proposal Guidelines for Applicants and How to Write a Research Proposal.
Please refer to the Faculty’s website here for the complete admission requirements and here for a list of supporting documents required.
| Category | Application Window | Application Result Released | |
|---|---|---|---|
Semester 1 Intake (August) | All students of any nationalities | 16 May to 1 November in the year preceding the intake | End of May |