History

The Department of History at the National University of Singapore offers degrees by research and dissertation at both the MA and PhD levels. The scope for research is extensive and the interests and backgrounds of the supervising teaching staff are broad and cosmopolitan. Fluency in English is essential, as all work must be presented in that language, but for graduate studies the Department encourages and supports the use of research materials in other languages, especially regional languages.

The Department is particularly strong in Southeast Asian studies. The academic staff includes specialists working on Malaysia and Singapore, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand. However there are other faculty members who can also supervise research in Chinese or Japanese history, as well as selected topics in European, American and military history, history of art, business, science and technology. An idea of the scope of the Department may be gained from this list of the department's faculty members and their specialities. You can also take a look at the topics our graduate students engage in.

The University's Central Library has extensive holdings on Southeast Asia written in English, Malay, Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, French, Portuguese and Spanish. There is also a very large microfilm collection containing archival materials from the National Archives in the United Kingdom (previously Public Record Office) and from other European and American collections. Students at the University can also use the library of the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, and the Singapore National Archives.

The University operates a generous, BUT HIGHLY COMPETITIVE, scholarship program that covers tuition and living costs for students doing graduate studies in Singapore. Students from non-English speaking countries must attain a minimum TOEFL score of 600 to qualify for scholarship consideration.

Theses are written in English, and students entering the university are expected to have a reasonable command of the English language. Normally entering graduate students are expected to achieve a TOEFL score of 600, although students with a lower score may be admitted on a case-by-case basis. Remedial English training is available for students who need assistance.

• Obtain a minimum Cumulative Average Point of 3.50 for the required modules;
• Where applicable, obtain satisfactory grades (at least grade C) in the graduate English modules conducted by the Centre for English Language Communication at advanced level, with the exception of students from the Department of Chinese Studies who are required to achieve an intermediate level of proficiency;
• Pass Qualifying Examination;
• Pass PhD thesis; and
• Pass Oral Examination.

• Normally a good Masters degree in a relevant discipline; or
• an NUS Honours degree (at least Distinction/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
• The following minimum TOEFL score is required: 85 for the internet-based test (with a minimum score of 22 for the writing section); or 580 for the paper-based test; or 237 for the computer-based test.
• Alternatively, an IELTS result of 6.0 is required.

Scholarships

• NUS Graduate Scholarship