Introduction

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programme provides students with the solid grounding needed for high-quality research in the areas of communication and information. With supervision from experienced faculty, Ph.D. students are provided with a holistic education involving multi-disciplinary research and the cultivation of soft skills, adequately preparing them for research-intensive careers.

In the programme students are given ample opportunities to interact with faculty and other researchers while working towards the completion of their Ph.D. degrees.

Students typically conduct research in the following areas:

Information Studies

  • Human computer interaction, games and gamification, information retrieval and analytics, social media, mobile and ubiquitous computing, information behaviour, information literacy, knowledge organization, knowledge management applications and practices

Communication Studies

  • Health communication and information, marketing communication and public relations, media arts and cultural studies, computer-mediated communication, journalism, international/intercultural communication, communication law and policy, political communication.
Programme Structure

Coursework Requirement

  • 8 courses to be taken from graduate programmes offered by the School, other Schools in NTU or NIE
  • 6 Courses to be fulfilled by 18th month of candidature Courses to be fulfilled by 18th month of candidature
  • Student must attain minimum CGPA of 3.50 for courses taken during candidature
  • In addition, the School may require student to take additional courses after confirmation.

Confirmation and Qualifying Exam

  • The student is expected to pass a qualifying exam (QE) at the end of his 18th month of candidature. Upon passing QE, the student will be confirmed as a PhD student.
  • The qualifying exam comprises of submitting a confirmation report and giving a formal presentation to the review panel. The presentation is subject to a Q&A from the panel. The panel will evaluate the student’s progress, research work, and recommend his confirmation of candidature.
  • Upon successful confirmation, the student’s candidature is confirmed and be expected to submit his final thesis by end of 4th year of candidature.
  • An oral examination is required by student after submission of final thesis. The oral exam panel comprises of faculty members from the School.
Admission Requirements

To apply to Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programme, you need to meet these minimum requirements:

  • Good Master’s degree with academic grades of B+ and above or CGPA of 4.25/5.00 and above
  • Bachelor’s degree with minimum Honours (Distinction) and CGPA of 4.25/5.00 and above
  • Ability to pursue research in the proposed field of advanced study
  • English language competency*

*For degree not awarded by an English-medium university or is awarded by an English-medium university but the language of instruction was not English, you must meet the English Language Proficiency Requirement (ELPR) of having at least an IELTS (academic) score of 7.0 (min sub-score of 6.5) The score must be obtained within the last 2 years at point of application. TOEFL is not accepted in place of IELTS.

GRE Requirement

GRE is not a mandatory requirement for both local and international applicants. An interview will be conducted for applicants who have graduated from overseas universities to assess the applicant’s language competency and potential to pursue independent research.

Applicants whose Masters are completed in 1 year or less, a sample of works or writing has to be submitted.

Dates & Fees

Dates
For more information on Application Dates, click here.

Fees
For more information on Fee, Scholarships and Finance matters, click here.

Contact Details

Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information
Nanyang Technological University
31 Nanyang Link, #04-39
Singapore 637718

Programmes by Coursework
Tel: +65 6790 4602 or +65 6790 5779
Email: wkwsci_coursework@ntu.edu.sg

Programmes by Research
Tel: +65 6790 5779
Email: wkwsci_gradresearch@ntu.edu.sg