Master of Arts | Humanities

Master (Research)

Programme Type

Full-time, Part-time

School of Humanities (Graduate Programmes)

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NTU's School of Humanities (SoH) is home to six major programmes: Art History, Chinese, English, Linguistics & Multilingual Studies, History and Philosophy. The School offers Graduate Research Degrees in all of these disciplines. 
Master of Arts programme (MA) 

Gain an edge in your career with the Masters programme at SoH. Alongside courses, you will work on an approved thesis to further your understanding of the subject via research. Receive guidance from your supervisor and faculty members from a wide range of research interests. 

Our aim is to achieve excellence in education and research. Key aspects of graduate studies in the School of Humanities include:  

  • Global, regional, and comparative perspectives 
  • Interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary approaches 
  • Complex cultural awareness 
  • Contemporary Asian relevance 
  • International network of researchers 
  • Broad-based academic training 
  • Vibrant intellectual social life

Art History

Faculty in Art History have a wide range of research interests across different regions and time periods. 

[Please check faculty pages for specific areas of focus and potential supervisors: click here for individual faculty bio page]

We have particular strengths in contemporary exhibition histories, experimental new media practices, and transmedial approaches to the study of art histories and visual cultures. Other areas of interest include:

  1. Art and Architecture in Contemporary Asia
  2. Art and Technology
  3. Connective and Comparative Art Histories across the Global South
  4. Cross-Disciplinary Approaches to Art Historical Research and Pedagogy
  5. Curatorial Strategies
  6. Exhibition Histories
  7. Feminisms
  8. Gender Theories
  9. Histories of Collecting
  10. Inter-Asia Referencing and Decolonisng Art Histories and Canons in Southeast Asia
  11. Material Cultures in Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asia
  12. Modern Art and Architecture 
  13. Performativity and Performative Practices

Chinese (中文系)

Pre-Modern China: Literature, History, and Thought (古代中国:文学、历史、思想); Modern China: Literature, Culture, and History, (现代中国:文学、文化、历史); Linguistics and Chinese Linguistics (语言学与汉语语言学); Translation Studies (翻译研 究); Studies of Ethnic Chinese (华人研究)


English Literature

English Renaissance Literature; Eighteenth-Century Literature; Literature of the Romantic period; The Nineteenth-Century Novel; Victorian Literature; SE Asian Literature and Culture; Contemporary Fiction; 20th Century Irish Literature; Science and Literature; Contemporary Drama; Postcolonial Studies; Asian American Literature and Film; Film Studies and Asian Cinema; Literary and Critical Theory; Post-Jungian Psychology and Literature; Gender Studies; Creative Writing, Poetry; Medieval Literature; 19th Century American Literature; 20th Century American Literature; Elizabethan Literature; Shakespeare; 19th Century Austral-Asian Literature; Performance Studies; Magical Realism; Historical Materialism; The Long Eighteenth Century


History

Asia in Global and Transnational Perspectives; Modern and Contemporary China; Sino-Southeast Asian Interactions; Chinese Diaspora and Migration; History of Singapore; South Asia; History of Science, Technology, and Medicine; Business History; Environmental History


Linguistics & Multilingual Studies

Bilingualism and Multilingualism; Child Language Acquisition; Chinese Linguistics; Computational Linguistics; Language and Culture; Language and Gender; Language Attitudes and Identity; Language Contact and Language Change; Language Description, Documentation and Typology; Language Maintenance and Language Shift; Language Policy and Language Planning; Morphology; Neurolinguistics; Phonetics and Phonology; Pragmatics; Psycholinguistics; Semantics; Syntax; World Englishes


Philosophy

Metaethics and Normative Ethics; Social and Political Philosophy; Contemporary Issues in Philosophy; Classic Chinese Philosophy; New Confucianism; Philosophy of Science; Comparative Philosophy; Philosophy and Culture.


Interdisciplinary Research

SoH promotes interdisciplinary research, which is an exciting new area that involves collaborations between disciplines within the school. Our strategic interdisciplinary research clusters include areas such as Environmental Humanities, Medical Humanities, and more. Applicants are encouraged to apply to one of the six core disciplines best suited to their area of research.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must have Bachelor's degree with minimum Honours (Distinction) and its equivalent and the ability to pursue research in the candidate's proposed field of advanced study.

All programmes in SoH do not require a GRE. 

For applicants whose native language is not English, a good TOEFL or IELTS is necessary. For applicants whose native language is English but the medium of instruction of the degree is not English, TOEFL or IELTS is necessary. The TOEFL/IELTS scores must be attained within 2 years prior to date of application.  

We do not need any TOEFL or IELTS results from applicants who have Bachelor's degrees from universities (must be at least 3 years of study) where English is the medium of instruction. Documentary evidence must be provided for such cases.  

Candidates will be interviewed by the subject area postgraduate coordinator(s) to assess the applicant’s suitability for postgraduate studies and for a holistic assessment of his/her academic capacity. 

In addition, different subject areas may have specific requirements. Details are available at the subject areas websites. 


TOEFL/IELTS 

The following are the minimum score requirements for the above tests: 

TOEFL (Internet-Based Test - IBT) : Overall score of 105 with writing score of 23 

IELTS (IELTS is preferred over TOEFL): Overall score of 7.0 with writing score of 7.0 

For Chinese Programme: Minimum IELTS overall score of 6.5 with writing score of 6.5 and TOEFL overall score of 100 with writing score of 23 (Internet-Based Test – IBT).​ 

The above scores are a guide only and may vary slightly according to the number and quality of applicants in each admission exercise. Meeting the above scores does not guarantee admission to our programme. Admission to the Graduate Programme also depends on the quality of the research proposal and of the application as a whole. 

MA Students 

Coursework Requirement: 3 Courses or 9 AUS 

Submit a Thesis before graduation.

Period of Candidature can be found here.

Students on scholarship will usually submit their thesis one year before the maximum period of candidature. 

Art History

  • Coursework Requirement: MA students are required to take three (3) courses or 9 AUS
  • Submit a Thesis before graduation, of approximately 30,000 words (max. 40,000 words), including notes, but excluding bibliography and appendices.
  • Students on scholarship will usually submit their thesis one year before the maximum period of candidature. 

Chinese 

An MA candidate is required to complete three enrichment modules approved by his/her supervisor, to attend six seminars, and to submit a dissertation of not more than 150,000 Chinese characters. 

English

A MA candidate is required to complete three courses approved by his/her supervisor, to attend all designated events, and to submit a dissertation of between 30,000-35,000 words. 

(Specialisation in Creative Writing) 

Final submissions will include a minimum of 23,000 words of prose (or agreed equivalent in poetry or script), a minimum of 7,000 words of exegesis, and a list of works cited. Submissions for projects in other genres should be discussed with the creative writing coordinator.  

History

The MA has three basic requirements: 

  1. Completing 3 courses with a CGPA of 3.00 or more
  2. Passing the Confirmation Exercise 
  3. Satisfactory completion of a dissertation of approximately 30,000 words. 40,000 is the maximum word limit for an MA thesis at NTU. 

Linguistics and Multilingual Studies 

MA students are required to complete the following towards their MA degree.   

  1. Complete 3 relevant courses approved by their supervisors within the first year of enrolment. 

    (Students may be required to take additional courses subject to the discretion of their MA supervisor and depending on the nature of their proposed MA research) 

  2. Students must complete any remaining coursework by the end of the third semester. 
  3. Submit a dissertation. 40,000 is the maximum word limit for an MA thesis at NTU. 

Philosophy

MA students are required to take three (3) courses and complete a thesis (maximum of 30,000 words). 

Click here to find out our career prospect.

Application Deadlines 

 
Admission​​​s

Deadline for Submission of online application  

(with required supporting documents)​​ 

​August (Se​mester 1)​​ 

​15 December 

January (Semester 2) 

31 July​ 

 

Period of Candidature 

Students may choose to pursue the MA or PhD degree either on a full-time or part-time basis. 

You can check the period of candidature here​. 

So you’ve decided to embark on your post-graduate journey with us, here’s how:  

Step 1 – How to Apply


Please read through the above links in detail before you proceed to the online application website.​​​​​​ 

Feel free to email us​​ if you need help with your application.​​​​​​​​​​

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