Doctor of Philosophy | Economics

Admission Criteria

• A good first degree in Economics or related field from a highly ranked university, with at least second upper honours.
  
  
• An adequate background in Mathematics/Quantitative Methods.
  

• GRE (General) test is required and the score report should be from an official test centre and the test date of the report is within 5 years from date of the application. Waiver of GRE test requirement is not allowed and GMAT or GATE scores are not acceptable. However GRE is not required from NTU, NUS or SMU graduates.
  

• A good language proficiency score: IELTS score at least 7.0 (overall); TOEFL score at least 105 (IELTS is preferred).
  
  Applicants from Singapore universities (with at least 3 years of study) where English is the medium of instruction are exempted from IELTS/TOEFL.
  
  
• It is strongly recommended for applicants to contact one of the professors whom they wish to work with. Applicants can discuss their proposal with the faculty member and ask for suggestions and feedback prior to submitting the application.​

IMPORTANT

• Substitute tests due to COVID-19 safe distancing measures could be submitted. The University recognizes the TOEFL ITP PLUS (offered by ETS) and IELTS Indicator (offered by British Council). 
  

• The GRE General Test at home option offered by ETS is acceptable. 

Please refer to our quick application guide here.

Application Period & Other Information

Candidates may start applying online from 01 October for consideration to the following August intake. The application deadline is on 15th December for the Nanyang Research Scholarship (RSS) (same portal for self-financing students), and the Nanyang President's Graduate Scholarship (NPGS)​. All applications received after 15 December will be processed for the next intake instead.  

Applications for the January intake will begin on 01 June and end on 15 July prior to the admission period. The application portal closes on 15 July for the Nanyang Research Scholarship (same portal for self-financing students).

Candidates who would like to be considered for Scholarship should meet the stipulated deadlines. Candidates applying for the Nanyang President's Graduate Scholarship (NPGS), need not submit an additional application for the Nanyang Research Scholarship (RSS). However, RSS candidates will not be considered for the NPGS unless application has been made directly for the NPGS.

All graduate research applicants will have to pay an application fee of S$50.00. Only the first choice of the application will be processed. Candidates who wish to be considered to more than one subject area will have to make separate applications. 

Incomplete applications will not be processed by the School. Please ensure that your referee is aware of your application and is prepared to make the referee report submission as soon as he/she receives the automated official email from NTU. Applications will only be considered upon the receipt of the referee reports.

Applicants have to ensure the accuracy of all data before submission is made as no amendments are permitted once the application is submitted.

Admission depends on the quality of the application as a whole, including the academic record, relevant experience, and research proposal​​. The research proposal is the essence of the application. Applicants need to design their proposal with clarity and sound judgement on the scope of the research in the subject area that they want to undertake. Please use this template to input your research details. 

Decisions on admission to the University are made on academic merit, the availability of an appropriate supervisor and/or availability of scholarship. Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed to ascertain their holistic suitability for graduate studies. The School considers every application carefully before making recommendations for admission. Successful candidates will receive the offer from the University’s Office of Admissions. Candidates shortlisted for admission will be notified of the outcome anytime between March to May for the August intake and November to December for the January intake (if applicable).

​The Research Programmes in the School of Social Sciences are MOE-subsidised​.

For more information, please visit the Research Programmes Admission Guide page.

Enquiries can be sent to [email protected].

Typically, Ph.D. students must complete the coursework requirement within the first three semesters (recommended two semesters for Economics students). They should maintain a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.50. Students on scholarship might have additional requirements to fulfil such as teaching and service requirements. Students are encouraged to work closely with their supervisor and the graduate co-ordinator to ensure timely completion of all the requirements. 

Ph.D. students will have to submit and defend their thesis proposal as part of the Qualifying Examination (also known as the Confirmation Exercise). The Qualifying Examination should be completed within 12 months from start of candidature. The final completed thesis will be examined by a panel of internal and external examiners, after which, an oral examination (viva) will be held. 

Thesis submission is made at the end of four years which dovetails with the expiry of the scholarship. Candidature expires at the end of five years.