FAQs - Graduate Masters by Coursework

Graduate students are admitted to either a coursework or research programme . The Masters' degree programmes are offered under the coursework structure. The PhD, EngD and MEng degrees are research-based programmes.

The Masters' programmes by coursework involve the attendance of formal classes conducted in the evenings. The degrees are awarded once the candidates pass the relevant examinations and achieve the required level of proficiency in the examinations.

Research programmes – Master of Engineering (MEng), Doctor of Engineering (EngD) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) 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. Students are also required to attend appropriate lectures and sit for written examinations.

Besides the above, students need to attend and present a number of seminars. For doctoral students, the academic and research loads are heavier. Doctoral students need to pass an oral defence.

Note : module requirements vary from departments; please check the departments’ websites for details

Yes however, the application processing is done separately for coursework and research programmes. 

If you are interested in the research-based programmes of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Doctor of Engineering (EngD) or Master of Engineering (MEng), you can apply anytime as the applications are open throughout the year. The application schedule can be found here.

If you are interested in the Masters by coursework-based programme, you can only apply during the predetermined application period as described here (applications are processed during these periods).

Check the application period for the graduate programme you are interested in. If the application period for the programme you are interested in is open, you may proceed to submit your application online using the Graduate Admissions Systems (GDA). If you are a 1st time user of the online system, you will have to create a new account first before being able to apply for the programme. Please refer to the instructions on using the GDA system here.

The graduate courses are conducted in English.

Most of our graduate programmes by coursework do not offer scholarships but fee rebates are offered for certain categories of students. For fees payable please refer to Department websites here. For scholarships and other financial assistance available, please refer to our Financial aid section on our website.

The Office of Student Affairs (OSA) has a section – Hostel Admissions Services which oversee admission of students to the various student hostels. Please visit the OSA’s website for more information.

Priority for these campus accommodations are given to full time research students. Coursework students are unlikely to be offered campus accommodations. Off-campus accommodation details are also available from the OSA website.

A candidate is normally admitted at the beginning of each semester of the academic year i.e. at either August (Semester 1) or January (Semester 2). Please refer to our “Application periods” section in our website

Please refer to our How to apply section in our website.

Printed applications forms are no longer available.  All our applications are accepted online. Refer to our application instructions here

Please refer to our “Admission Requirement” section of our website.

If you are currently an undergraduate and wish to apply for admission, you may do so if  your degree conferment is by July (for August Intake) or December (for January Intake). Otherwise, please apply for admission in a subsequent semester.

Please refer to our “Admission Requirements” section of our website. No waivers can be granted if you do not meet the requirements. Please ensure that you have entered your score details and uploaded a copy to our application portal before the respective application deadlines as your application will not be considered if you do not meet the requirements.

For verification purposes, please also nominate our Institution to access your results online through ETS/TOEFL. Our Institution code for TOEFL is 9084. Refer to ETS website & TOEFL website on how to send scores to us electronically. Hardcopy of the results is not required. 

Screenshots of the online results are not acceptable. Applicants must enter their score details and upload a copy of their TOEFL/IELTS official scoresheet during application. There is no need to post us a physical copy of the scoresheet.

If you have submitted your application successfully but yet to submit the scoresheets, please email them to our office once its available. Consideration of late scoresheets will be at the discretion of the University.

For MSc applications, GRE scores are not required.

Most of our Masters by coursework does not require for referee reports for applications. For details, please refer to the requirements published on the programme website.

Interviews for our MSc programmes are usually not required. However, selected candidates might be contacted for an interview so as to assess their suitability for admission.

You may refer to our website on Scholarships and financial assistance.

Most of our Masters by coursework programmes also offer fee rebates. For details please refer to their respective websites for further information.

During the online application, applicants are to upload consolidated transcripts showing their latest overall CAP/GPA. In the event your University is unable to issue one before the application deadline, please upload all your results by semesters in 1 pdf file. Applicants may be contacted by email for further documentary evidence if required. Applicants who are not graduating before the intake applied for should apply for the subsequent intake.

At the point of applications, you only need to upload the electronic copies during your application.

As part of registration formalities, we will request to verify your academic documents (e.g official full academic transcripts and degree certificate/scroll issued by your home University) either in-person or electronically. As such please bring along all your original documents along with you from the start till the end of your candidature. 

Please submit copies of your latest  transcript or your semester result slips while we await the originals from your University. Please submit your application first before our application deadlines and send us the outstanding documents over once its available.

In general, evidence of financial support for MSc applications are not required. However applicants who are sponsored by their companies are advised to upload a copy during application. Applicants have to ensure that they have sufficient funds for their entire course of study in Singapore before they accept our offer of admission. Funds should be set aside for living expenses as well as tuition fees.

Candidates who require more time to prepare themselves financially for their graduate studies are encouraged to apply for admission in a subsequent intake.

We usually do not require MSc applicants to upload payslips and bank statements for most of our Masters by coursework programmes

Yes, you can. There is no limit to the number of applications you may apply to. An application number will be assigned to you when you create a new online application for each programme.  If you are successful in more than one application, you can choose only one programme to register with. Some programmes will give priority to their 1st choice if they have limited places to offer.

Only applicants for MSc(Civil Engineering), MSc(Industrial & Systems Engineering) & MSc(Management of Technology & Innnovation)  programmes will be able to select their area of specialisation during application. If there is no option to choose from during application, you will be able to select after admission to the MSc programme during the online academic plan declaration exercises after registration. MSc(Civil Engineering) students have to contact their Dept if they wish to change their specialisation after they are registered.

The Area of Specialisation is only printed in the transcript of academic records of the student (who has been awarded with the AOS). It will not be printed on the degree certificate. Students who successfully complete their degree requirements will receive a complimentary copy of their academic transcript together with their degree scroll.  Students who have completed the programme and wish to apply for additional official transcripts may refer to the Official Transcripts webpage.

You may make changes online while it is in Draft “Awaiting Submission” status.  Once you have clicked “submit”, you will not be able to make changes. Hence please check through your application carefully before submission. For supporting documents, you will still be able to upload them in your application after submission if you have not done so earlier. To replace an uploaded document after submission, please email to the Departments' programme administrators for assistance. 

A non-refundable application fee is required for each programme applied for and is payable after you submit your online application. 

The online application system only accepts the payment methods below:

–Alipay

-Credit Card (AMEX, VISA, or MasterCard)

– Debit Card (only for applicants with a banking account opened in Singapore with either of the following banks – POSB/DBS, UOB or Citibank)

International applications are strongly advised to use check with their credit card companies if it allows overseas payments before making payment. Please also refrain from making last minute submissions as there might be payment processing delays that might take up to 6 hours. If payment is unsuccessful, please wait for at least 6 hours before trying again to avoid duplicate payments.

Note: Your application will not be processed if no application fee is received before the application deadline. 

If the payment status shows as “Not Paid”, you will not be allowed to submit your application. Please return to the “Basic Programme Info” page and complete the Application Completeness Check before making the payment.

If the payment status show as “Processing”, this means that the system will block your attempt to make another payment for up till the next 6 hours until its successful. Please do not attempt to make payment during this period. You will have to wait for 6 hours until the system shows “Not Paid” before you can attempt to make payment again if it fails. In view of this, applicants are advised not to make last minute submission to allow sufficient time for e-payment.

Applicants should also try the following before contacting us:

• Try using a different browser
• Try using a different computer
• Try using a different credit card

Should you require further assistance, please email CDEGradCoursework@nus.edu.sg with your application number and screenshot of the error. Please contact us earlier before the application deadline as we cannot submit any application on your behalf.

Please refer to our “Application period” section in our website.

You will not be able to submit your application online after the system closes. Please follow the application periods as published on our website

Your application status should show “Submitted" status once you have completed the online application successfully. 

Your admission status will be updated when the outcome is released in batches by May (Aug intake) or November (Jan intake). Please check the system and emails regularly as you will be notified accordingly.

We no longer require applicants to print and post the hardcopy applications to us. Your application will be processed once its a “Submitted Online” status. For successful candidates, we will require you to present the original documents you submitted during our face to face registration Part II exercise.

MSc applicants are usually not considered for deferment of admissions.  You are to reapply for the subsequent admissions exercise or when circumstances permit. New students who have completed their registration formalities (Part 1 & 2) may request for leave of absence for up to 1 semester online through MyEduRec.

We will send you instructions on student pass application after you have received the offer of admission into our programmes. In the meantime, you may refer to our section for new students 

We offer our MSc programmes on both full-time and part-time basis, however, international candidates who are not long-term residents of Singapore at the time of application are only eligible to apply for the full-time MSc programmes, and if offered admission, they are to be registered as full-time students.

Candidates who are interested in applying for both full-time and part-time study of a graduate programme need only to apply for either the full-time or part-time study, according to their first choice of preference. Candidates who are successful upon gaining admission may subsequently apply to convert their student status (i.e. from full-time to part-time or vice versa). Request will be considered on a case by case basis.

Employment Pass (EP) and other Work Pass holders can only study part-time as full time study requires a Student’s Pass. EP and other Work Pass holders who wish to study full time will have to surrender their work passes and then apply for a Student’s Pass. International candidates who are pursuing the degree as a part-time registered student should hold a valid work pass to stay in Singapore.

Dependant’s Pass holders can only study full-time and have to apply for Student’s Pass via the SOLAR system. Upon receiving the in-principle approval of the Student’s Pass, candidates may choose either to:

(a)    Pursue their Study using the Dependant’s Pass (if the duration of the course of study is shorter than the duration of the Dependant’s Pass)

• After registering as a student, student has to apply for a Letter of Consent (LOC) from ICA (Student’s Pass Unit) in person or by post.
• Documents needed: Letter from student indicating he/she would like to study using the Dependant’s Pass, Form 16, In-Principle Approval (IPA) Letter, Letter from NUS certifying admission status, course of study and period of stay.
• Process time: Within the day of application in person.
  Note: If LOC is not granted by ICA, candidate will have to cancel his/her Dependant’s Pass and study with a Student’s Pass. Students will have to complete the relevant medical check-up and Student’s Pass application fees will be payable.

(b) Cancel the Dependant’s Pass and study with a Student’s Pass (fees payable)

There is no service obligation scheme for self-funded programmes. 

Staff concession is applicable to full-time staff members who are enrolled in NUS part-time government subsidised graduate programmes and are in service when they submit their application. Eligible staff members may contact Office of Human Resources before start of the applicable semester. For clarification of the guidelines and other related enquiries, staff members can refer here 

For self funded programmes, please refer to NUS MASTERS SPONSORSHIP POLICY & PROCEDURES here

Most self funded programmes require a non-refundable acceptance fee, payable during acceptance of their offer which will be credited to their Tuition fees. Do refer to the respective programme website for more details. Do note that the acceptance fee must be paid within the acceptance deadline (usually 2 weeks) from date of the offer. Otherwise, your offer of admission will lapse after the deadline if we did not receive any payment.

The remaining fees will be payable after you have completed all registration formalities with the University, after the semester starts. For fee payment deadlines and fee payment methods available, please refer to Office of Finance website here.

Please refer to the academic calendar for the semester commencement dates. Usually students may be requested to arrive at least a week earlier before the semester starts to complete Registration part Two formalities as per your offer email. International overseas students are subjected to student pass application approval and prevailing Immigration policies here.

Employment during vacation: Full-time international students may work during vacation without having to apply for a work Permit or a Letter of Consent.

Employment during Semester: Full-time international students may work part-time during semester time up to a maximum of 16 hours per week, unless they hold a scholarship that requires approval for the employment application. 

For employment as a student pass holder, please refer to MOM website https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/work-pass-exemption-for-foreign-students

Please refer to www.nus.edu.sg/cfg/students/employment-opportunities