Admission Requirements
The normal minimum criteria for admission as a research Masters or PhD candidate are indicated below. However, meeting them does not imply automatic acceptance in the respective programme.
Masters
In general, the University requires:
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normally 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
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in exceptional cases, a Bachelors degree in a relevant discipline with at least two years of relevant work experience, subject to approval by the Faculty and Board of Graduate Studies, on a case-by-case basis; and
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TOEFL/IELTS, where applicable.
All applicants should consult the website of relevant Departments/Programmes for specific departmental requirements. |
PhD
In general, the University requires:
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normally a good Masters degree in a relevant discipline; or
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an NUS Honours degree (at least Second Class Upper Division) or equivalent (e.g., a four-year Bachelors degree with an average grade above B) in a relevant discipline, subject to approval by the Faculty, on a case-by-case basis; and
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TOEFL/IELTS, where applicable.
All applicants should consult the website of relevant Departments/Programmes for specific departmental requirements. |
English Language Proficiency
Applicants whose native tongue or medium of university instruction is not in English should submit the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score as evidence of their proficiency in the English language.
The following minimum TOEFL score is required:
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85 for the internet-based test (with a minimum score of 22 for the writing section); or
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580 for the paper-based test; or
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237 for the computer-based test.
Alternatively, an IELTS result of 6.0 is required.
Note that some Departments/Programmes may set higher requirements than those stated above.
TOEFL and IELTS are only valid for two years after the test and the validity should not expire before the beginning of the application period for the research programme.
The Educational Testing Service (ETS) has indicated that score reports are valid only if our University receives them directly from ETS.
The Faculty's TOEFL institution code is 9081.
Graduate Record Examination
Only the following applicants are required to submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) reports:
For admission to the Department of Political Science
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Only applicants (except graduates from the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University) applying for PhD studies must submit the GRE report.
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Applicants are required to obtain a minimum of 1200 points for the Verbal and Quantitative sections, and a score of 3.5 for the Analytical section.
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For admission to the Department of Psychology
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All applicants (except graduates from the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University) must submit the GRE report.
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The Department has not instituted any minimum requirements but the General Test and the Psychology Subject Test have to be taken.
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For admission to the Cultural Studies in Asia Programme
(Office of Programmes)
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All applicants (except graduates from the National University of Singapore Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University) must submit the GRE report.
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Applicants are required to obtain a minimum score of 1200 points with at least 600 each for Verbal and Quantitative sections, and a score of 4.0 for the Analytical section.
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The Educational Testing Service (ETS) has indicated that score reports are valid only if our University receives them directly from ETS. The University Code is 0677.
