Application

Application Procedure

The Department of Geography is committed to supporting a diverse, international and active community of graduate students. The Department’s Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) is responsible for evaluating all applicants to the graduate programme and recommending admission and funding decisions to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, NUS.

The GSC is, by necessity, highly selective: successful applicants are admitted on merit and compatibility with the research interests of faculty in the Department.

Selection Criteria

The GSC normally makes one of three decisions concerning each application received: accept with full scholarship (including fees); accept without funding; reject. Applicants may, on occasion, be funded directly through a research grant awarded to their proposed advisor(s).

Selection of graduate students is made according to the following criteria:

1. Qualifications and experience of the candidates, including:
i. Previous degree results
ii. Statement of Purpose (see below for further information)
iii. For applicants who do not have a degree from an English-speaking university, evidence that they have attained the basic level of English language proficiency by taking the TOEFL or IELTS.
- The Department requires applicants who took the TOEFL iBT in January 2026 to obtain a minimum of 5.0 based on the new TOEFL score scale. Applicants who took the TOEFL prior to the introduction of the new score scale should meet the minimum requirement of 100, with a minimum score of 22 for the writing section. The minimum requirement for IELTS score is 7.0.
- TOEFL and IELTS are only valid for two years after the test and the validity should not expire before the beginning of the application period for the research programme.
- The University does not accept IELTS Indicator and IELTS One Skill Retake.
iv. Stature of previous schools and programmes
v. The GRE is optional. However, do note that evidence of strong quantitative, verbal, and analytical skills through GRE scores, as well as indicators of research skills and experience will significantly strengthen your application.
vi. 2 Letters of recommendation
vii. Any additional relevant experience (including publications, involvement in seminars, workshops, conferences, relevant work experience etc)

2. The match between a prospective student and the research interests of faculty; and

3. Potential contributions to the life of the Department and to the discipline of Geography.

Please note that the number of graduate students registered in the Department is constrained by departmental facilities and resources, faculty load and availability of funding – this is to ensure that the community of graduate students in the Department receive supervision and support of the highest order.

Ready to Apply?

Candidates are expected to have been in contact with members of academic staff in Geography before applying.
Those interested in applying should therefore first identify and correspond with a member of academic staff in Geography whose research interests closely match their own.

Apply Online

FASS (Graduate Studies) Application Information

User Guide

Referee Reports

First and foremost, please assign the two referees to the application, especially if you initiate your application less than 2 weeks before its closing date.

An email notification will automatically be sent to the referees once you assigned them to the task. Please refer to the user guide. Applicants are not required to submit the reports on behalf of the referees. You may wish to alert them in advance to complete the report.

Statement of Purpose

As part of the application process, candidates are required to produce a Statement of Purpose, the structure of which is outlined below. While recognising that a graduate student’s ideas are likely to vary during the early stages of their research, the Statement of Purpose is read carefully by members of the Department’s Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) in order to ascertain a candidate’s background, sense of purpose, initial research focus and career intent. When evaluating a Statement of Purpose, the GSC will therefore attempt to determine the extent to which an applicant is focused, skilled, enthusiastic, likely to contribute to the life of the Department, able to express her/himself and, overall, is a great match for the programme.

The Statement of Purpose (SoP) must be no more than 1,900 words inclusive of two parts, namely:

400-word background and motivation
1500-word research proposal including references.

Background and Motivation

Describe your reasons for applying to the PhD programme and your future career plans
How do your past educational, professional and other life experiences prepare you for undertaking your proposed research at NUS Geography?
Please include other relevant information that may aid the admission committee in assessing your aptitude and motivation for the PhD. These may include and are not restricted to - existing work that inspires you (using a consistent system of referring to the publication(s)) or details of your work (thesis, journal publications, seminars, workshops, conferences etc.)

Research Proposal

Tell us about your proposed PhD topic including a focused statement of a research problem.
Please include methodological approach, techniques and/or conceptual framing that you may be considering using to structure, guide and operationalize your proposed research.
Mention the name(s) of the faculty members in Geography at NUS who have been consulted prior to the application being submitted.
References.

Deadlines

Geography recruits graduate research students through two intakes per year. Each of these intakes is tied to one of two application deadlines.

Candidates wishing to commence their studies in August (the beginning of the first semester of a new academic year) should submit their application in advance of the November 1st deadline in the previous year. Similarly, a candidate wishing to be considered for the January intake (beginning of the second semester of an academic year) should apply before the May 15th deadline of the previous year. Applications received after the deadlines will be considered for the next relevant intake. An application fee must accompany each application. Note that the application fee is non-refundable.

Further information on the application procedure, including the deadlines, application fees, and associated intake can be found here. Self-financed applicants to take note of the research programme fees here. Please read the instructions carefully before initiating the application process.

For Short-listed Applicants

Applicants who are short-listed for admission should expected to be interviewed. Generally interviews will be carried out via Zoom. The outcome of applications will be made known to applicants as soon as possible following the passing of the application deadline.

Important: The University has not engaged any external agencies to undertake graduate student recruitments on its behalf. Candidates interested in our graduate programmes are advised to apply directly to the University and not through any agents. Candidates who apply through agents will not have any added advantages in gaining admission and the University reserves the right to reject such applications without giving reasons.