Admissions, Fees & Scholarships

Admission Requirements

• Undergraduate Bachelor's degree from a reputable college or university
• GRE or GMAT
• Cover letter
• Curriculum Vitae
• Statement of Purpose
  Your statement of purpose should clearly describe your purpose for getting a PhD at our programme and also list faculty members you are most interested in working with.
• 1-3 writing samples (such as a published paper or and undergraduate report)
• 3 referee's reports (A link will be sent to your referees' email directly; Please ensure that you have entered the official organisational email address of your referees accurately.)

TOEFL/ IELTS

Applicants must show proficiency in the English language. Applicants, whose medium of instruction at the Bachelor's/Master's level was not in English, are to sit for either TOEFL or IELTS.

PhD Programme Fees

Please refer to SMU PhD Programme Fees page for detailed and latest breakdown of fees.

Subsidised Tuition Rates

The scholarship provides fully subsidised tuition for all students admitted into the programme from August 2016 intake.

SMU Scholarship

The University awards scholarship and research/teaching assistantships to full-time PhD students on a competitive basis.

The scholarship provide waiver of the registration fee, as well as subsidised tuition. Subject to satisfactory progress¹ scholars also receive a monthly living stipend. The maximum scholarship duration is 4 years for PhD programmes. Beyond the scholarship duration, students may receive continued support through research assistantship (RA) or teaching assistantship (TA).

¹At the end of each year, the School will assess the student's academic performance and recommend whether to renew the scholarship.

Monthly Living Stipend 

From August 2015, Singapore Citizens will be provided with 17% CPF contribution

SMU PGR Scholars are not allowed to take up any other gainful employment during the period of their scholarship without prior approval from the University.

As part of their Post-Graduate by Research training, SMU PGR Scholars are expected to work, without extra remuneration, as part-time Research Assistant/Teaching Assistant for up to seven hours per week.

Conference Funding

Students are encouraged to attend academic conferences, and to present research papers at conferences. PhD students with papers accepted for presentation at reputable conferences may apply for funding up to a maximum of S$3,500.

Presidential Doctoral Fellowship

Presidential Doctoral Fellowships are awarded to outstanding PhD students. Students awarded the fellowship receive a higher monthly stipend for one year, and additional conference support of up to S$3,500 during the award period.

Postgraduate Insurance

For more information on Postgraduate Insurance, please click here.