Graduate Admissions
Students apply either to English Language and Linguistics (EL), English Literature (EN) or Theatre and Performance Studies (TPS). Within each discipline, the department offers three graduate degree programmes: the Masters by Coursework, the Masters by Research and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Theatre and Performance Studies is the exception in that it does not offer a Masters by Coursework.
Admission Requirements
Masters by Coursework
The department offers three Masters by Coursework programmes:
MA (English Language and Linguistics), MA (Literary Studies) (for August 2022 intake and after), and MA (Theatre and Performance Studies) (for August 2024 intake and after).
The admission requirements for these programmes are as follows:
- An NUS Honours degree (Second Class and above) or equivalent (e.g. a four-year Bachelors degree with at least an average grade of B or equivalent in the subject or related field); or
- A good Bachelors degree (at least an average of B or equivalent) in the subject or related field and successful completion of a placement test; or
- In exceptional cases, other qualifications and experience subject to approval by the Board of Graduate Studies; and
- TOEFL (85 for the internet test or 580 for the paper test or 237 for the computer test) or IELTS,(6.0) for students who have not studied in a university where the medium of instruction is English.
Masters by Research
The department requires:
- Normally an NUS Honours degree (Second Class and above) or equivalent (e.g., a four-year Bachelors degree with at least an average grade of B) in a relevant discipline; or
- In exceptional circumstances and case by case, a Bachelors degree in a relevant discipline with at least two years of relevant work experience, subject to approval by the Board of Graduate Studies; and
- TOEFL (85 for the internet test or 580 for the paper test or 237 for the computer test) or IELTS,(6.0) for students who have not studied in a university where the medium of instruction is English.
PhD Degree
The department requires:
- Normally a good Masters degree in a relevant discipline; or
- In exceptional circumstances and case by case, an NUS Honours degree (at least 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; and
- TOEFL (85 for the internet test or 580 for the paper test or 237 for the computer test) or IELTS,(6.0) for students who have not studied in a university where the medium of instruction is English.
- Applicants have to obtain an aggregate minimum score of 320 for the GRE Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections and a minimum score of 3.5 for the Analytical section.
Further Application Requirements
- The Department requires a writing sample related to the area of study (EL, EN or TS) to be submitted for all applications to its graduate programmes.
- Masters by Research and PhD students are requested to provide a preliminary research proposal of 2-4 pages. Although this document should be as focused as possible, it is exploratory and admitted students are not required to work on the exact area proposed. However, the capacities to develop an interesting research question and approach are important indicators of a student’s ability and seriousness.
Deadlines
Unless there are special circumstances, we prefer that students begin their studies in the first semester in August each year.
For the Masters by Research and PhD programmes, students hoping to begin in the first semester in August must have completed their application by 1 November of the previous year.
For the Masters by Coursework programmes, students planning to begin in August must have submitted their application between 1 November of the previous year and 15 January of the current year.
More Information
- For more detailed information on the Research programmes, see the Faculty website.
For detailed information on Coursework programmes, see the Faculty website.