Admission Requirements

Applicants must fulfil the following minimum admission requirements:

(1) Academic Qualifications:

(2) Standardised Tests (required for both MSc and PhD applicants)

a) English Language Requirements for International Applicants*
*TOEFL/IELTS requirements are waived for applicants whose undergraduate or graduate degrees are from Singapore autonomous universities, and English-medium institutions in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States

International applicants must submit test scores for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) and meet the following minimum scores:

Test scores for the TOEFL and IELTS are valid for 2 years. TOEFL and IELTS scores that are no longer valid will not be accepted.

For more information about the TOEFL or IELTS, please visit www.ets.org/toefl (for TOEFL) and www.ielts.org (for IELTS).

b) GRE® General Test

Applicants (except NUS, NTU, SMU & SUTD graduates from relevant disciplines) must submit test scores for the GRE® General Test. A minimum total GRE score of 320 for both Verbal and Quantitative and a minimum of 3.5 for Analytical Writing are recommended.

Please note that GRE scores are valid for 5 years from the test date. GRE scores that are no longer valid will not be accepted.

For more information on the GRE® General Test, please visit www.ets.org/gre

Curriculum structure and requirements:

Overview of the programme structure:

MSc students are required to complete 24 MCs of coursework, while PhD students are required to complete 28 MCs of coursework.

Coursework Requirements for students who enrol in AY2020/2021:

For more information on the coursework requirements, please see here.

Credit Transfer and Exemption:
Students who have completed relevant modules with comparable content and level of sophistication, and done so within 10 years before date of admission to the MSc/PhD programmes may be allowed to receive exemption, credit or grade transfer according to prevailing NUS regulations. This is subject to approval by the student’s supervisor and the School’s Programme Management Committee. Students who wish to apply for credit transfer and/or exemption should submit their application within the first month of their candidature.

English Language Requirement:
New students who are required to sit for the Diagnostic English Test (DET) may need to enrol for Graduate English Courses depending on the results of the DET. Please see here for more information.

PhD Qualifying Examination (PQE)
All PhD students have to pass the PhD Qualifying Examination (PQE) within 24 months from the date of admission to be confirmed as PhD candidates. The PQE comprises both a written and an oral component. Students may take up to 2 attempts to complete each component of the PQE. If students are unable to complete their PQE within 24 months of their candidature or if they fail to pass the PQE after 2 attempts, they will be asked to transfer to the MSc programme where eligible. Please see here for more information.

Thesis Examination
The thesis must demonstrate scholarship and the student’s ability to perform original, independent research, and represent the student’s work and significant contribution to the knowledge in the specific domain of research. The thesis should contain a substantial body of work that has been published or is publishable in international peer-reviewed journals.

The Master’s thesis should not exceed 60,000 words while the Doctoral thesis should not exceed 80,000 words. Students have to submit their theses by the maximum period of candidature. Please see here for more information.

Residency Requirements and Candidature:

The University’s minimum residency and maximum candidature requirements for graduate research programmes shall apply to both MSc and PhD students.

*The maximum candidature for research programmes is the same for both full-time and part-time students.

The residency requirement is per the existing guidelines and residency requires payment of fees, satisfying all curricular requirements of the programme of study and satisfying other departmental requirements such as teaching assistance.

Continuation and Graduation Requirements:

Continuation Requirements:

The University’s prevailing continuation requirements will apply to the MSc and PhD students.

Graduation Requirements (for students who enrol in AY2020/2021):

MSc:

• Completed coursework requirements with minimum CAP of 3.0
• Pass in the MSc thesis (word limit of 60,000)
• Satisfactory grade (at least Grade C+) in all the required Graduate English Courses for students who do not qualify for waiver of English Language requirement

PhD

• Completed coursework requirements with minimum CAP of 3.5
• Minimum grade of ‘C+’ in SPH5002 Public Health Research Methods
• Pass in PhD Qualifying Examination
• Pass in PhD thesis (word limit of 80,000) and Oral Examination.
• Satisfactory grade (at least grade C+) in all the Graduate English Courses, for students who do not qualify for waiver of English Language requirement

Leave of Absence

The University’s prevailing policies on Leave of Absence shall apply to the MSc and PhD students