Postgraduate Studies in Physics

The Department of Physics, NUS, offers full-time and part-time graduate studies by research leading to the degrees of Master of Science (M.Sc.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). APart-time M.Sc. programme by Coursework in Physics and Applied Physics are also available under the Department's graduate studies programme.

Graduate students in the Department have a choice of a wide range of research fields. Now, the department has 74 faculty members in which many of them are also members of one of the research centers – “Center for Quantum Technologies”, “Graphene Research Center”, “Nanocore” and “Mechanobiology Institute”, as well as the “Center for Ion Beam Application” and the “Center for Computational Science and Engineering”. It is supported by over 40 research staff, 54 technical/clerical staff and a well-equipped workshop. The Department has extensive facilities with state-of-the-art instrumentation suitable for both fundamental and applied research. Currently the graduate community numbers at about 200 with a good mix of local and foreign students. A friendly and informal atmosphere exists among staff and students as collaborative work with other disciplines and industrial R & D abound.

Research Programmes (Part-Time or Full Time)

Candidates enrolled in the Graduate Programme by Research will pursue a rigorous course of study and research leading to a M.Sc. degree or a Ph.D. degree. The M.Sc. programme has a maximum candidature of three years and Ph.D. programme has a maximum candidature of five years.

Admission Requirements: GRE (General Test) score, TOEFL score for applicants from universities where English is not the main language of instruction, at least a Bachelor's degree (or expected to obtain by the time of admission) in Physics or its equivalent.

Graduation Requirements: Graduate level coursework, seminar attendance, dissertation, and an oral examination.

• Ph.D. by Research
• M.Sc. by Research

Coursework Programmes (Part-Time or Full-Time)

Candidates enrolled in the Graduate Programme by Coursework will pursue a rigorous course of study leading to a M.Sc. degree in Physics or a M.Sc. degree in Applied Physics. These programmes comprise two study tracks, catered to candidates with different levels of qualifications: Track 1 which is a 40-modular credit programme and Track 2 which is an 80-modular credit programme.

Admission Requirements:

• Track 1: An Honours degree (or expected to obtain by the time of admission) in Physics or its equivalent.
• Track 2: A Bachelor's pass degree or completed three-years study in physics or related discipline.

Graduation Requirements: Coursework or coursework and a project.

• M.Sc. by Coursework in Physics
• M.Sc. by Coursework in Applied Physics

Research Areas

The Department of Physics at the National University of Singapore promotes excellence in a wide range of research areas, including condensed matter physics, surface physics, materials science, high energy physics, atomic physics, superconductor, solid-state ionics, astrophysics, infrared spectroscopy, laser optics, x-ray fluorescence, ion-beam applications, optics, acoustics and computer simulations.

Our aim in research development is not only to acquire new knowledge in fundamental areas, but also to tackle problems of relevance to Singapore's Industry development. The Physics Department sees a major role in itself in the national effort to advance Singapore into a high-tech era. To this end, many staff members are now carrying out collaborative research work with industry, overseas universities, and government ministries, and engaged in multi-disciplinary research.

The Physics Department has a number of first-rate laboratories which are equipped with excellent and modern research facilities. Among them are the Surface Science Laboratory, the Centre for Nuclear Microscopy, Centre for High-Temperature Superconducting & Magnetic Centre, the Laser Spectroscopy Laboratory and the Image & Signal Processing Laboratory. In addition, the Department has a well-equipped workshop to support the research activities, and three Computer and Applications Laboratories with 200 high-power workstations and PCs, and scientific and advanced visualization software. There are 35 staff members who are actively involved in research work besides their primary teaching duties. The number of postgraduate students is 120. The amount of annual funding, from the university, industries and government agencies, for new and ongoing research projects exceeds 2.5 million dollars, exclusive of equipment costs. The Department's excellence in research has been evidenced by the presentation of plenary/invited talks by its staff in international conferences and by their service as referees for internal journals.