Programmes

Designed to prepare you for scholarly research, teaching, and applied work

The department presently offers three research programmes

Overview

Our Department has been consistently ranked first in Asia and among top 20 in the world, according to the QS World University Rankings. In 2023, NUS Sociology was ranked the 7th in the world along with other top universities including Harvard, Cambridge, London School of Economics, and UC Berkeley. The staff strength of the Department of Sociology today is about 49 faculty members, including those on tenure and educator tracks.

The Department’s research and teaching interests are wide-ranging. Our major strengths lie in sociology and anthropology of Asia. While many faculty members specialize in research on Singapore society and culture, a number are also engaged in research on other Asian societies, including China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Our main research areas include Ageing, Demography, Health, Family and Kinship, Gender and Sexuality, Media and Popular Culture, Migration, Politics and Power, Race and Ethnicity, Social Networks and Urbanism.

Our Programmes

Master of Social Sciences in Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology / Anthropology

Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology/Anthropology

The PhD programme aims to train students in rigorous critical thinking and equip them to conduct in-depth research using multiple methods to advance the knowledge about society and culture. Graduates of the programme are expected to embark on a lifelong learning journey to keep up to date with sociological/anthropological theory and knowledge, so as to continuously apply themselves to practice sociology/anthropology in their professional or academic lives.

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Programme information

Programme Requirements for Ph.D. in Sociology

Ph.D. candidates in Sociology must complete 10 courses with a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.5 (B grade) to graduate. These courses include:

• SC6770 Graduate Research Seminar (Pass/Fail)
• SC5101 Graduate Research Methods
• SC5102 Quantitative Methods
• SC5103 Qualitative Methods
• SC6102 Sociological Theory
• Five other electives (refer to the sections on 'Elective Courses' and 'Course Exemptions')

Programme Requirements for Ph.D. in Anthropology

Ph.D. candidates in Anthropology must complete 10 courses with a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.5 (B grade) to graduate. These courses include:

• SC6770 Graduate Research Seminar (Pass/Fail)
• SC5101 Graduate Research Methods
• SC5103 Qualitative Methods
• SC5215 Visual Ethnography or SC6224 Producing Ethnography
• SC6216 The Anthropological Perspective
• Five other electives

Additional programme information

Elective Courses

Ph.D. students are required to complete five elective courses, with the following provisions:

A) Two Independent Study Courses (ISCs):

• One ISC must be coded as an SC-course and the other as a non-SC course.

• One non-SC course, which includes the non-SC Independent Study course.

B) The ISC supervisor cannot be the student’s thesis advisor.

C) If the student takes the option to do two ISCs (one SC-coded and one non-SC coded), one of the ISCs cannot be on their dissertation topic. If two ISCs are chosen, one cannot be on the dissertation topic.

D) ISC topics must be approved by the Department.

Additional Requirements

All Ph.D. students must take NG5001 Academic Communication for Graduate Researchers.

NG5001 Academic Communication for Graduate Researchers

NG5001 facilitates further development of students’ academic literacies in critical reading, writing and oral presentation. For critical reading, students will be guided to deconstruct and evaluate arguments – competences which students will then deploy by writing a proposal. In writing the proposal, students will need to demonstrate the ability to use suitable academic conventions. This proposal will subsequently be delivered as an oral presentation to a cross-disciplinary audience. This module utilizes a blended learning approach, where students’ learning experiences will comprise in-class and online synchronous and asynchronous lessons and activities.

Course Exemption Policy

Students may be exempted from one course, excluding core courses. The exempted course must have similar learning objectives, content, and sophistication as the corresponding NUS course. Only courses completed at Level 5000 or above (i.e., Masters level and above) and relevant to the student's research degree program are eligible. The course must have been completed less than five years before admission. Exemption applications must be submitted before the end of the first semester of candidacy.

Continuous Assessment

Graduate Supervision

All Ph.D. students (both in Sociology and Anthropology) would typically suggest an advisor upon application to NUS. In the event that the students did not do so, they should consult and select an advisor from the Department's faculty. The faculty profile and research interests are available on the Department’s website (https://fass.nus.edu.sg/socanth/faculty/).

Students who have suggested an advisor in their application are also under no obligation to be supervised by her/him. Should students wish to change thesis advisors, students must nominate an advisor by the end of the first semester. The advisor (and co-advisor, if applicable) must also be faculty members of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.

In the event that students decide to change their advisor(s) after they have confirmed one during their candidature, students must notify the Graduate Chair of their intention to do so through email.

Ph.D. Thesis Committee (TC)

The Thesis Committee (TC) should be formed within the first year of student’s registration and the TC comprises of the thesis advisor and two faculty members. Only one TC member can be from outside the department or NUS. If the student opts for co-supervision, the co-supervisor must be from within the department. The advisor must inform the Department Graduate Chair of the TC nomination via email.

Sample Study Plan for PhD Students