Doctor of Philosophy [Ph.D] (Management)

at National University of Singapore

PhD Programme Structure

A doctorate is awarded for original contribution to a particular field of study. The contribution can be in the theoretical or methodological domain but should significantly add to an existing body of knowledge. The student needs a structure to the study in order to cope with the knowledge explosion that has taken place over the decades. The PhD programme at the NUS Business School is designed to meet these demands and prepare the students for a successful career. The programme consists of a summer paper, an extensive coursework component followed by a qualifying examination, proposal defence and dissertation. The courses and seminars help the students acquire the requisite skills and fundamental knowledge, and develop the intellectual independence necessary to be an effective researcher. Good language skills and strong analytical skills are essential in research-based professions. Students are expected to develop and sharpen these attributes by the end of the programme. On the average, students complete the degree requirements in four (4) years.

Departmental Affiliation & Committees

The Business School has seven departments: Accounting, Analytics & Operations, Finance, Management & Organisation, Marketing, Real Estate and Strategy and Policy. Students take their courses and conduct their research according to their departmental requirements and research orientation. Prospective students must indicate the preferred department of affiliation at the time of entry in line with their research interests. PhD students should try to identify and attach to a thesis supervisor during the first year of the programme. Students need to constitute a PhD thesis committee of one supervisor and two committee members within two years.

Year 1 and 2: Coursework, Summer Paper and Qualifying Examination

Coursework: PhD students take a total of 10-12 doctoral level courses. Each Departmental PhD coordinator sets the number of required courses for their respective programs i.e. 10-12 approved courses with a minimum total of 40 modular credits. Some of these courses are core courses conducted by the department. The remaining courses are electives conducted in other departments or faculties. For instance, students frequently take their electives in statistics, economics, sociology, psychology, computer science, and industrial engineering.

Summer Paper: To help the PhD students kick-start their research early, a summer paper requirement will be introduced into the programme. All first year students (starting from the AY06/07 cohort) will be required to submit a summer paper at the end of their study in Year 1.

Qualifying Examination: After finishing their coursework, the students appear for a qualifying examination, usually at the end of the second year. A qualifying examination is a comprehensive test of the student’s knowledge of the field and is made up of paper(s) set by the department. Passing the qualifying examination is the signal for the student to embark on the dissertation.

Year 3: Proposal Defence: After clearing the qualifying examination, the doctoral student begins to put together a proposal for the thesis. The proposal is an original idea for investigation put forth by the candidate, after an extensive study of the topic. The student is expected to detail the research question and also provide an outline of the study design. The proposal needs to be defended before the thesis committee and other examiners.

Year 4: The Dissertation: The doctoral candidate begins the final leg of the dissertation following the successful proposal defence. The dissertation is finally evaluated by internal and external examiners. Following this examination, there is an oral defence of the thesis before final submission. The PhD is awarded when the candidate meets all the requirements of the programme and the dissertation is certified for passing by the examiners.

* These requirements may change from time to time.

* An outstanding bachelors degree (in relevant discipline).

* Ability to pursue research in the candidate’s proposed field of advanced study.

Applicants who obtained their degrees from this University can submit certified copies of the official transcripts of academic records.

Applicants who obtained their degrees from universities other than NUS should submit original official transcripts after they are offered a place in the NUS PhD programme. Please use the attached transcript request form for this purpose. All documents must be in English or accompanied by certified copies of the English translated version.

All applicants should submit either the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) OR Graduate Records Examination (GRE) scores. The tests must have been taken within 5 years before the proposed date of admission. GATE results from India and similar tests are generally NOT accepted for admission to the school of business.

Applicants who obtained their degrees from universities where English was not the main medium of communication MUST submit certified Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score sheets. TSE and TWE scores are required as part of TOEFL. Applicants who do not have TSE and TWE scores will be assessed on spoken and written English by a faculty member, and this may delay processing of their applications. IELTS is also acceptable. Applicants either submit TOEFL or IELTS.

Recommendations from 2 academic referees should be submitted by using the referees report forms.

Applicants will typically be interviewed either in Singapore or overseas by our faculty arranged through the PhD Office. The interviewers will assess the conceptual and analytical abilities, and English language proficiency through written essays and conversation.

For International Students

• S$31,672 

Companies that have Hired at NUS Business School

• A.T. Kearney
• Gallup Consulting
• Nestlé
• Accenture
• General Electric
• OCBC Bank
• Accountant General’s Department
• GIC
• Oliver Wyman
• American Express
• GlaxoSmithKline
• Oracle
• ANZ
• Golden Agri-Resources
• Orient Express Lines
• Apple
• Goldman Sachs
• Pacific Alternative Asset Management 
• Auditor-General’s Office
• GroupM
• Panasonic
• Bain & Company
• Gucci
• Philips Electronics
• Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Harmony Capital
• PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Barclays Capital
• Hay Group
• Procter & Gamble
• Bloomberg
• HSBC
• Public Service Division, PM Office
• BNP Paribas
• IBM
• Robert Bosch
• BP
• ICAP
• Rolls Royce
• Burberry
• IMC Group
• RSM Chio Lim Stone Forest
• Cambridge Associates
• InterContinental Hotels Group
• Shell Eastern Petroleum
• CapitaLand
• J. P. Morgan
• Siemens
• Cargill
• JCDecaux
• SilkAir
• Central Provident Fund Board
• Keppel Land
• Singapore Airline Terminal Services
• Chanel
• Kim Eng Securities
• Singapore Exchange Ltd
• Citibank
• KPMG
• Singapore Power
• Coca-Cola
• Lenovo
• Société Générale
• Credit Suisse
• L’Oréal
• Sony Electronics
• DBS Bank
• LVMH
• Standard Chartered Bank
• DDB
• Marina Bay Sands
• The Royal Bank of Scotland
• Dell
• Markit Group
• Thomson Reuters
• Deloitte & Touche
• McKinsey & Company
• Toshiba
• Deutsche Bank
• Mediacorp
• UBS
• DHL Inhouse Consulting
• Ministry of Finance
• Unilever
• Economic Development Board
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• United Overseas Bank
• Ernst & Young
• Monetary Authority of Singapore
• UPS
• ExxonMobil
• Monitor Group
• Wilmar International
• FACTS Global Energy
• Morgan Stanley
• Wing Tai Holdings
• Foo Kon Tan Grant Thornton
• National Healthcare Group
• Frost & Sullivan
• Neptune Orient Lines