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All doctoral students will need to complete seven graduate courses (level-5000), including the seminar course, BL5198, NG5001 (compulsory for students from AY2022/2023 Sem 1 onwards, S/U option available) and achieve a minimum GPA of 3.5 (equivalent to B average).

The Laboratory Rotation Programme is an integral component of the graduate experience for new PhD students. You will have to select two labs and spend one month working in each lab. You can work with either a senior student or other lab members during the attachment period. On completion of the attachment to both labs, you will have to decide which lab you will join to work on your doctoral research. 

Students are required to complete and submit the Lab Rotation Form and Confirmation of Thesis Advisor Form to the department.

A TAC should be formed immediately after confirmation of the thesis advisor by the student and, if the faculty wishes, can be used to panel the oral QE. TAC members will be recommended by the thesis advisor and approved by the DBS Graduate Committee. A TAC will consist of a Thesis Advisor(s) and two non-supervisory members. At least ONE of the non-supervisory member needs to be NUS full time regular staff (preferably DBS staff). In general, full-time faculty member should hold appointment and perform duties at the University for a minimum of nine (9) months a year (i.e. ≥ 75% appointment at NUS). TAC members will be recommended by the Thesis Advisor and approved by the DBS Graduate Committee. One of the non-supervisory members will act as the chairperson. One TAC meeting must be conducted within the student’s first year of study after admission to help the student prepare for their QE. The meeting format of the TAC is flexible. It is the responsibility of each student to call regular meetings of the TAC at least once a year after QE. Meetings can be held anytime during the semester to avoid scheduling conflicts. The final TAC meeting makes a recommendation for thesis submission.

For more information on TAC, please refer to this link.

The TAC workflow chart can be found here. 

Qualifying Examinations for Transferring to a PhD Programme

Under the university policy, all graduate students who wish to transfer to the PhD programme are required to take two examinations: a written qualifying examination followed by an oral examination.

Written QE

The written QE will test students’ ability to read, understand, analyse, and criticise scientific literature papers, while the oral examination will test specific knowledge about their research project and the broader research field within which the project is contained. 

Schedule of written examination
The department will conduct the written examination at the beginning of every semester, i.e. January and August. Details of date and venue will be announced about two months in advance.

Students are required to read BL5198 before attempting to sit for the QE written test.

Procedure

Students who wish to transfer to the PhD program need to pass the written QE. It is recommended that students take their QE at the end of their second semester in graduate school, and no later than by the beginning of their fourth semester. Students need to get their thesis advisor(s)’ approval before applying for the written QE.

Format of the written examination

Students will be given a choice of several research articles two weeks before they take the oral examination. They should pick one of these articles to read and study carefully, but they can read and prepare material for more than one article, if they wish. In addition, students should read additional research/review articles around the same topic, or in the same field, to become familiar with aims and goals of the larger field of research represented by the specific article, the techniques used in that field, and advances achieved since the article was published. The exam questions will be specific to each of the proposed articles and students can choose which questions they want to answer at the beginning of the examination. Questions around the article may be broad or quite specific, and are left to the discretion of different faculty members. The examination may test a student’s ability to read and understand the specific research article, the student’s ability to provide a critical assessment of the articles’ strengths and weaknesses or its methodology, ability to discuss a controversial topic raised in the article, the ability of the student to devise additional hypotheses and experiments that can advance the field forward, etc. The exam will last up to four hours and be in the open-book format, but no internet access will be permitted.

Marking standards

The exam can be either handwritten or typewritten. The handwriting must be clear and legible.

Students will be examined on:

• • • • • their knowledge in the field,
        • the quality of their reasoning,
        • the quality of their arguments,
        • and the quality of their writing style.

Preparation for the examination

• • • • • Students are required to read BL5198 for preparation of the written QE.
        • Students will be given two weeks to read and prepare for the written test.
        • Students should read a broad range of research articles to prepare for the QE.

Results of the examination

There will be “Pass” or “Fail” grades. A “Pass” grade will be awarded if the student attains a score equivalent to or above a B grade.

Students with a “Pass” grade will then proceed on to the oral examination. Students with a “Fail” grade are allowed to apply for the second examination, by the beginning of their fourth semester at the latest. This will be their final chance to remain in the graduate program.

Oral QE

After passing the written examination, the student can proceed on to the oral examination, which should be conducted before the 21th month of beginning of the candidature (end of Apr for Aug intake; end of Sep for Jan intake), at the latest. Students can take the oral QE as soon as they are ready, anytime from 12-18 months of the candidature. A warning letter will be issued by the Head of Department if the oral QE is delayed beyond the 21 months limit.

Requirements

To be eligible for the Oral QE, students must fulfil the following requirements:

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Passed the Written Qualifying exam.
            2. Completed the first TAC meeting during the first year.
            3. Three approved level-5000 graduate courses with an average grade of B (GPA of 3.5 and above).
            4. Fulfilled a minimum of 36 hours (for the scholarships requirement of 144, e.g SG, SPR; NRFs.) and 104 hours (for scholarship requirement of 416 hours; e.g. international) respectively of part-time teaching if the student is administrated by NUS.
               

The oral examination will focus on the following:

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Research progress
            2. Research proposal
            3. Knowledge in the specific research area

Procedure

• • • • • A student has to pass the PhD Written Qualifying Examination before s(he) can take the oral qualifying examination.
        • The student has to form his/her examination committee consisting of two voting members and the thesis advisor as a non-voting member. One of the voting members will act as the Chairperson.
        • The student will need to submit a written proposal for his/her research thesis of about 10-15 (maximum) pages, covering question/hypothesis/specific aims/ methods/expected outcomes, and progress, at least two weeks before the oral examination.
        • The student needs to present his/her thesis proposal in an open seminar, followed by a closed session with the examination committee.
        • It is up to the discretion of the Chairperson whether the thesis advisor(s) has to leave the examination venue during the close-door discussion by the examiners.
        • A decision will be made by the Committee in the absence of the student and the thesis advisor(s).
          
          
          For more details on the procedure for the Oral QE, please refer to this document. 

Results

The Committee will decide if the student:

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. passes the oral examination and can transfer to the PhD program directly;
            2. be given a conditional “Pass”, with conditions stipulated by the Committee. A re-examination may be called for if necessary; or
            3. fails the examination and should not be transferred to the PhD program.

Candidates have to submit their theses for examination (after being approved by the thesis advisors and Heads of Departments) by the maximum period of candidature or such date as stipulated by the thesis advisors or the University, whichever date is earlier.

• Requirement for Thesis Submission
• Checklist for Thesis Submission
• Thesis Plagiarism Check Guidelines

PhD candidates are required to attend an oral examination after the theses have been examined.

The entire oral examination usually takes about two hours. It comprises an oral presentation followed by an oral defence/open discussion. There are usually three to four members on the examination panel. The oral presentation should in general last about 40 to 60 minutes.

You are expected to

• Give a brief overview of the thesis and highlight its connection to your research objectives;
• Discuss key findings and new contributions made to the field;
• Justify methodology and theoretical framework used; and
• Analyse implications of study for future research, policy and other applications

You are also expected to answer satisfactorily any question raised on the subject matter of your research thesis and related subjects.

After the oral examination, the candidate will be informed by the Oral Panel of the outcome, on the amendments to the thesis and the person(s) to advise the candidate on the amendments, if applicable.

After examination/re-examination, if no or only minor amendments are required, the final approved thesis must be uploaded electronically. You will be notified via email when the system is open for a week for you to upload the thesis. One copy (in any form agreed with your thesis advisors) of the final approved thesis should be submitted to the thesis advisors.

You would need to complete the GS Exit Questionnaire via online link sent by the administrator.

All students will need to fulfill the stipulated number of ‘Compulsory Teaching Hours’ for their candidatures, with a required commitment of 36 hours per regular semester during the first half of the candidature as Graduate Part-Time Teaching Assistants (PTTA). You are encouraged fulfill this obligation before going for the Qualifying Examinations. The PTTA obligation can however be cleared throughout the entire candidature independently of the recommended distribution of 36 hours per semester.

For more information, please refer to:

• Guidelines for DBS Graduate PTTA 
• DBS Graduate PTT Application Form (for graduate students)
  
  

DBS Graduate PTT Appointment Claim Forms (for graduate students)

1. DBS Graduate PTT Appointment NON-PAYMENT Claim Form(for graduate students)
2. Graduate Assistantship Programme Claim Form
3. Guidelines for DBS Understudy Teaching Assistant
4. DBS Understudy Teaching Assistant Application Form

Attendance in the departmental colloquium is compulsory for graduate students. Our regular departmental colloquiums are scheduled on Fridays from 4 PM to 5 PM.

Our department holds an annual graduate congress, an annual tradition since 1996. This congress is run by our very own graduate students. Through this experience,  students are able to develop and expand their network of budding researchers within the region and across the globe. Each year, the congress centres around emerging or current scientific issues.

The current rotation of venues for the congresses are Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

Our full-time PhD students may receive partial financial assistance from the department for attending international conferences depending on the availability of funds. Each student can avail one such travel support during the tenure of their graduate studies. The primary factor for support will be the academic merit of the paper or poster being presented along with the reputation of the conference. Additionally, priority will be given to students who actively participate in organising departmental activities.

For more information, please refer to the following documents:

• DBS Travel Grant Guidelines
• Application Form for DBS Travel Awards

The University and Faculty recognise outstanding students for their academic excellence and meritorious contribution to the scientific field.

Besides the NUS Research Scholarship, students who have made sustained research achievements will have opportunities to receive prestigious awards such as the NUS President’s Fellowship, Singapore Millennium Foundation Fellowship and Lee Kong Chian Fellowship, etc.

Each year, several awards are offered for the best theses (e.g., Wang Gungwu Medal, Chua Toh Hua Memorial Gold Medal, and ISPMB Gold Medal).

• Alumni form
• Application for PhD Qualifying Exam
• Leave Application Form (Graduate Students)
• TAC Meeting Form
• Thesis committee report form (PhD QE oral)

• myPortal@NUS
• PhD standards

For enquiries, please email us at dbsbox12@nus.edu.sg.