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Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme

 

The Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme (IGP) at NTU seeks to tear down old barriers and drive research into areas that need a multi-disciplinary approach.

In keeping with global trends and needs, students at the Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme at NTU will concentrate on two or more disciplines, instead of one.

The establishment of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme is an exciting development for both NTU and Singapore. Today, fresh thinking is urgently needed to mitigate many global challenges, not least in environmental sustainability, the creation of viable alternative energy solutions, future healthcare, new media and many other wide-ranging and complex issues.

The Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme is expected to integrate innovative and interdisciplinary thinking across the university, and strengthen NTU's role as a vital player in catalysing the development of breakthrough ideas and technologies out of the university and into the world. 

Interdisciplinary PhD research combining scientific excellence and innovation

The Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme will seek to leverage thinking from across academic disciplines in its approach to PhD research.

The PhD students at the Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme will be required to complete two out of their six graduate courses in a second discipline, as compared to a regular PhD student that does all six courses in the core discipline. In addition to taking courses beyond one core discipline, the Graduate Programme’s PhD students can choose to complete one year of academic research in top universities overseas.

 International Impact

In today’s increasingly complex world, problems are often multifaceted. To effectively address these challenges, it calls upon reflective and multidimensional insights into various disciplines. Spurring innovative ideas and paramount discoveries, IGP aims to transform the world today while shaping tomorrow.

Interrelated Focus

IGP champions research that is interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary in nature. It features research that spans from humanities to science and technology. Much unlike conventional discipline-based programmes, IGP provides a broad yet tightly interrelated learning experience.

Interesting Research

At IGP, opportunities for meaningful research abound. Beyond a choice of the centres and institutes under Sustainable Earth, New Media and Future Healthcare, an intensive seminar culture with ample interaction opportunities characterises the research journey at IGP. Fuelling the research passion of our students, IGP adopts the same best practices as that of leading overseas institutions.

International Reputation

Supported by a team of experienced professors lauded as top international researchers in their respective fields, the IGP environment is one of dynamism and intellectual stimulation. The opportunity to work alongside some of the brightest in the industry makes IGP the preferred ground for interdisciplinary research.

 Interdisciplinary Mobility

Empowered to cross the boundaries between disciplines, IGP candidates can look forward to more possibilities for breakthroughs as they undertake cross-disciplinary research and graduate studies from different schools and colleges in NTU. Solid academic progression aside, interdisciplinary research opens doors to wider career opportunities in various strategic and emerging fields that are vital in our global world.

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Scholarships may be available for high quality candidates.

Click here for the Research Projects you can apply to for AY2024/25 intake.

Our Students

IGP Student - Sarah Chan

My research focuses on human-environment and human-technology interactions. Using various platforms (e.g., Virtual Reality, video conferencing, smartphones), my work examines how computer-mediated nature experiences influence human well-being and our relationship with the natural world.

Sarah Chan Hian May ([email protected])
IGP Student - Luis

The main focus of my research is to model and apply diverse aspects of linguistic knowledge (i.e. syntax and semantics) to Error Detection and Intelligent Tutoring Systems. Before joining this program, I was a Research Associate at the Computational Linguistics Lab, also at NTU. I am also a published researcher with a broad range of interests, ranging from Natural Language Parsing and Generation, Lexicography, CALL, Corpus Linguistics, Memory and Neural basis of Learning, as well as general Mandarin Chinese and Japanese Linguistics. Even though I work mainly with English, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese, I’m also currently working on projects involving other languages such as Kristang, Portuguese, Indonesian, Cantonese and Abui.

Luis Morgado da Costa ([email protected])

I am interested in understanding how Singaporeans speak through the lens of phonetics and phonology and how speech technology applications can better tailor to underrepresented linguistic communities. My research focuses specifically on the prosodic characteristics of spontaneous emotional Singapore English speech with the purpose of applying to the field of automatic emotion recognition.

Koh Jia Xin, Rae ([email protected])

My research interests lie in the intersecting areas between health, populations, and science and technology. Before pursuing this PhD, I was a Sociology research associate in the area of population genetics. In this program, I am focusing on the development of knowledge models in the area of digital health literacy.

Zoe Ong ([email protected])
IGP Student - Chloe Cai Mengxuan

I am interested in computational communication, transnational migration and issues of gender and parenting education. Specifically, I investigate the impact of mobile phones and social media in healthcare and transnational migrant mothers. Before joining this program, I received interdisciplinary training from the disciplines of communication studies and political science..​

Chloe Cai Mengxuan ([email protected]​​)
IGP Student - Feng Siqi

My research interests mainly focus on the antecedences and consequences of prejudice based on gender and sexual orientation. Specifically, I am interested in how intergroup contact via media affects people’s attitudes towards gender and sexual minorities, as well as the dispositional and situational factors that may play bolster or hinder the effect of intergroup contact.

Feng Siqi ([email protected]​du.sg)

I am intrigued by the interrelations between desire, sexuality, and gender. Currently, I am interested in exploring how people in Singapore understand, practise, and experience monogamy. I draw inspiration from various social and political theoretical traditions (such as phenomenology and psychoanalysis) that emphasize affective, embodied, and potentially irrational aspects of human experience.

Ang Ming Wei ([email protected])
IGP Student - Phoebe Tay

I am interested in sociolinguistic variation, historical change, linguistic typology, multilingualism, sociology of language, and language ideologies. Of particular interest to me is investigating how social structures influence language structures and variation. I am interested in researching this in the context of Sign Language Communities found in multilingual settings in Southeast Asia, specifically Singapore. Before joining the IGP-Global Asia program, I received graduate training in sign language linguistics and international development.

Tay Wen Jun Phoebe ([email protected])
IGP Student - Zhang Heng

My research interest mainly lies in the intersection of video games, mass media, and education. Before coming to NTU, I received interdisciplinary training in Mass Media and Education. In this program, my focus is using video games to develop positive social relationships, e.g. fostering prosocial behavior for people.

Zhang Heng ([email protected])
IGP-GA Student Dominic Koek

My research focuses on how digital technologies can be utilized to influence people’s social and psychological wellbeing. Specifically, I seek to examine how virtual reality and video games can improve people’s intergroup and self-perceptions. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies, along with an interdisciplinary education under the NTU-University Scholars Programme.

Koek Wei Jie Dominic ([email protected])
IGP-GA Student Li Ye

My research mainly focuses on the interdisciplinary encounter between Irish contemporary innovative fiction and drama. In this project, I investigate the formation of both meaning and aesthetic significance across different narrative and performative formats by specifically studying the variations of genres in Irish novelists and dramatists like Sebastian Barry, Dermot Healy, and Marina Carr.

Li Ye ([email protected])
IGP-GA Student Janet Liang

I am interested in understanding youths’ everyday digital practices through the interdisciplinary lens of sociology and education. Specifically, my research focuses on the development of youths’ critical understanding and use of digital media technologies in both formal and leisure contexts. Before joining this program, I received graduate training and worked as a research associate in the areas of language education and learning sciences.

Liang Wei Jhen Janet ([email protected])
IGP-GA Student Luo Yin

My research focuses on understanding the interplay between social network structure and individuals’ attitudes. Today we are embedded in massive interconnected social networks - though the convenience of the internet certainly opens a door to a world of diverse information and insights, the information we are exposed to is still largely filtered (and sometimes altered) by our social networks. Our attitudes are, as a result, influenced by the information we are exposed to in our social networks, which will in turn affect our future information-seeking and networking behaviors. The aim of my research is to decipher this dynamics.

Luo Yin ([email protected])
Ma Mengzhong

My research interest is mainly about behavioural finance, NFT, contract theory, users’ behaviour on online platforms, and blockchain economics, in which case I am trying to examine human’s behaviour in the context of cutting edge technologies. Since blockchain and those relevant techniques are just starting to burst some prominence, its potential has been far away from being fully exhausted. Unlike the case of traditional financial market, all the information on blockchain is publicly released and free to retrieve, thus leaving great opportunity to us.

Ma Mengzhong ([email protected])
Ma Zhaoyi

My interest lies in digital cultural heritage, which uses digital technology to organise and uncover the knowledge and values in cultural heritage. Before joining this programme, I received my training in architecture and spent years doing research in the field of digital humanities.

Ma Zhaoyi ([email protected])

My research focuses on the integration of healthcare and technology. Before pursing my PhD, I completed my master’s degree at the School of Art, Design & Media at Nanyang Technological University focusing on the design of Cinematic Virtual Reality Experiences (CVRE) to induce empathy. In this program, my focus is exploring how CVRE can be used as a form of non-pharmacological intervention for healthcare and well-being.

Chew Keng Hao ([email protected])

My research interests lie in human-computer interactions and consumer behavior and psychology. I am interested in users' interactions with AI, and their sharing behaviors on social media such as online music streaming platforms. Before joining this program, I received training in both communication and business.

Ge Jiayi ([email protected])