SMA Graduate Programmes 1999-2000
Information
1
Introduction
Admission Procedures
Degree Information
Structure
Scholarships and Living Cost
The Campus
Student Life
Climate and Living Conditions
Information for International Students
Helpful Hints
Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)
National University of Singapore
10 Kent Ridge Crescent
Singapore 119260
Telephone no.
Fax no.
E-mail address
: (65) 874 4474
: (65) 775 2920
: smart@nus.edu.sg
Homepage address
http://www.eng.nus.edu.sg/SMA
Introduction
The Singapore-MIT Alliance was established in
November 1998 between the National University of
Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University
(NTU) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) to promote a collaborative effort in
implementing a new paradigm of global interaction in
research and education. Through this effort, the
Universities are desirous of setting up a world-class
centre for graduate education and research in
engineering, including its interface with business and
industry.
The two programmes that will commence in July 1999
are :
(1) Advanced Materials
(2) High Performance Computation for Engineered
Systems.
Both of these programmes are hosted by the NUS.
These programmes are selected for their relevance in
promoting and supporting the growth of high-tech
industries in Singapore and the region as well as for
their international importance. The SMA programmes
also aim to educate potential leaders of industry
supporting the knowledge-based economy of
Singapore.
Each programme will admit students for two categories
of graduate studies. They are the :
(1) Professional Master's Degree (S.M.)
(2) Master of Engineering (M.Eng) and Ph.D.
Approximately 35 graduate students will be enrolled
per programme in the Professional Master's Degree
study by coursework and about another 24 students for
the M.Eng and Ph.D. degree by research and course
work . All students admitted to both categories of
graduate studies will be awarded scholarships. Both
programmes will be conducted at the host institution,
viz. the National University of Singapore campus with
two weeks of intensive classes (Immersion Programme)
held at MIT. Both the research and coursework
supervision will be jointly conducted by the academic
staff of the host institution and MIT. The
state-of-the-art IT and communications technology will
be used extensively to supplement the face-to-face
interactions in teaching and research with MIT Faculty.
The Alliance students will experience first hand the
innovative and entrepreneurial spirit associated with
MIT.
Admission Procedures
Requirements
A graduate student admitted under the SMA Programmes may be registered for either the
(1) Professional Master's Degree (S.M.) by coursework or
(2) M.Eng or Ph.D. by research and coursework.
SMA Programmes accept only full-time students. A M.Eng. or Ph.D. graduate student may
concurrently hold an appointment as a laboratory instructor or teaching assistant.
To be admitted as a graduate student, an applicant must have earned a bachelor degree or its equivalent
from a college, university, or technical school of acceptable standing. Applicants are evaluated on the
basis of their prior performance and professional promise, as evidenced by their academic records,
letters of evaluation from individuals familiar with their capabilities, and any other pertinent data they
submit. While high academic achievement does not guarantee admission, SMA expects such
achievement or other persuasive evidence of professional promise.
Candidates who are unsuccessful in obtaining admission to the SMA Programmes may be considered
for Graduate studies at the Faculty of Engineering of the NUS, provided they concurrently submit
applications to the Graduate School of Engineering (GSE). Specific admission requirements to the
Graduate School of Engineering vary by department. Please consult the accompanying Application
Booklet for the requirements of individual departments.
Students can contact the SMA Office to request for the Application Package.
Successful applicants for the SMA Programmes are required to accept the offer by returning the
signed Acceptance Form to the SMA Office.
Degree Information
Structure
Degrees Offered
SMA Affiliation
Degrees for the Professional Master’s in
(1) Advanced Materials (Adv. Mat.) and
(2) High Performance Computation for
Engineered Systems (HPCES)
will be conferred by NUS which hosts
both the programmes.
NUS grants the following degrees:
Master of Science, S.M.(Adv.Mat.)
Master of Science, S.M.(HPCES)
The two-week Immersion Programme
is part of the minimum residency
requirements which are as follows:
Degree
Semesters
Required
Ph.D.
M.Eng
S.M.
6
4
2
1
Thesis
The following degrees, obtained by
research and coursework
Master of Engineering, M.Eng
Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D.
are conferred by NUS and NTU
depending on the University where the
candidate’s main supervisor comes
from.
All successful graduates, in addition to
receiving the degree awarded by NUS
or NTU as described above, will receive
a SMA Certificate for the completion of
courses conducted jointly with MIT .
General Requirements
All degree requirements for Ph.D. and
M.Eng include completion of an
acceptable
thesis
prepared
in
residence at its host institution, viz.
either NUS or NTU, with a period
spent at MIT unless special
permission is granted for part of the
thesis work to be accomplished
elsewhere.
Professional Master’s students are
required to submit a research or
industry project report.
Doctoral Degrees
The Professional Master’s Degree
generally requires one calendar year of
study, the Master of Engineering Degree
a minimum of one and half years and
the Doctoral Degree three or more years
beyond a bachelor’s degree in a relevant
field.
A Doctoral Degree requires the
satisfactory completion
of an
approved programme of advanced
study and original research of high
quality. Admission to SMA for the
Master’s Degree does not necessarily
imply an automatic commitment by
SMA beyond that level of study.
Residency
Course Co-ordinators
All SMA Graduate Degree programmes
have residency requirements, which
reflect academic semesters. There are
two semesters in a year. All SMA
students are required to spend a twoweek Immersion Programme at MIT.
The SMA Office will undertake the
travel and accommodation arrangements
and payment for the period of time at
MIT.
Assoc. Prof. W.K. Choi – Advanced
Materials Programme.
e-mail : choiwk@nus.edu.sg
[T : (65) 874 6473]
Assoc. Prof. L.W. Li – High
Performance
Computation
for
Engineered Systems Programme
e-mail : elelilw@nus.edu.sg
[T : (65) 874 6658]
The SMA Office will apply for the U.S.
visas for students who are Singapore
residents and permanent residents on
their behalf. International students
would however have to apply for this
visa in the country of origin. For details
please refer to the section on
‘Information for International Students'.
If you have enquiries on the two
programmes, please contact the
respective course co-ordinator.
All
graduate
students
admitted to the SMA
Programmes are entitled to
the facilities available at the
host institution where the
programme is conducted,
viz. either at NUS or NTU,
and enjoy the same rights as
would students registered
with either University. The
academic programmes and
rules governing award of
degrees are however distinct
from
those
of
other
academic departments in
either University. A student
is awarded a degree only
upon the recommendation of
the Governing Board of
SMA.
Academic matters
concerning SMA are to be
referred to the SMA Office.
Interdepartmental
Programmes
A SMA graduate student
may select electives from
other programmes offered by
SMA. Students are also
allowed to select electives
offered by other academic
departments of NUS or
NTU. However, this is
subject to approval by the
Governing Board of SMA.
Scholarships and Living Cost
Scholarships
Married Students
All candidates admitted to any one of the
programmes offered by SMA will be
awarded scholarships. The scholarship
will carry monthly emoluments of
S$1,400. Top-up grants will be available
for the M.Eng and Ph.D. programmes.
This amount is normally sufficient to
cover the accommodation and living
expenses. The tuition fee for all the SMA
Programmes is waived.
The scholarship offered is sufficient only for the student’s
expenses. A married student accompanied by a spouse has
to make arrangements to have sufficient means of
financial support. Students should not bring their families
to Singapore until they have secured suitable
accommodation.
The SMA Office will undertake the
arrangements and pay for the travel cost
(including the travel insurance) and
additional expenses for accommodation
and living cost at MIT above that
normally incurred in Singapore for
students to attend the Immersion
Programme at MIT.
Please note that international students will
have to make their own arrangements and
pay for their round-trip travel cost to
Singapore upon admission.
Additional Financial Aid
In addition to the scholarships, SMA
students may be appointed as laboratory
instructors or teaching assistants. They
are, however, not allowed to hold
additional employment on or off-campus.
Laboratory Instructors/
Teaching Assistants
Appointments as laboratory instructors or
teaching assistants are made only to
M.Eng and Ph.D. students upon
recommendation of the thesis supervisor.
A student who wishes to be considered
for appointment as a laboratory instructor
should complete a form to be submitted to
the prospective academic department
where the laboratory is located. Those
interested to join, as teaching assistants
should submit the application form to the
SMA Office. Such requests from new
students will be considered only after
he/she has completed a term of work
under the SMA Programme.
Living Cost
The table below provides an estimate of monthly/yearly
additional expenses that a student would incur.
Expenditure ( Per Month)
Off-campus housing
Rented Room
(Single)
Rented room
(Double)
Estimated amount
in S$
300-350
250-300
Food
(off-campus hawker stalls/
university canteens)
300-350
Books
(including photocopying)
100 - 200
Transport
Bus fare
Incidental expenses
toiletries, laundry,
recreation, hairdressing etc.
100
200 & above
Medical Insurance #
(mandatory)
120 per annum
Sports & recreation fee #
24.72 per annum
(inclusive of 3% GST)
Contingency
100
# Students must apply using prescribed forms before submitting it to the
Registrar's Office.
The Campus
A vibrant social and cultural scene on campus
complements the atmosphere of serious study in
the lecture halls. Students can develop their
appreciation for the arts or pursue their own
special interests in several ways.
The 26,000 staff and students are also able to
access Singapore ONE, the national broadband
width network of interactive, multimedia
applications and services.
NUS is the first university in the region to issue
all staff and students with a personalised cash card
which provides access to facilities such as
laboratories and to services such as library loans,
photocopying and booking of sports facilities.
Teaching Facilities
Classes will be conducted at the lecture theatres,
seminar rooms and distance learning clusters
available at NUS and NTU. Classes that are
conducted by SMA Fellows appointed from
amongst the staff of NUS and NTU or from MIT
when they are resident in Singapore will be during
the day. However, for classes that are conducted
by SMA Fellows appointed from MIT while at
MIT, will be conducted with the state-of-the-art
distance learning technology This will be during
the early morning or mid-evening hours to
coincide with the appropriate time difference
between MIT and Singapore. The campus
facilities at both NUS and NTU will be accessible
to SMA students.
Research Facilities
Research will be conducted at the academic
departments, Research Centres and Research
Institutes where the SMA Fellows are affiliated.
The research facilities belonging to NUS or NTU
are generally available to all SMA students,
regardless of specific degree programme, who
have legitimate academic needs to use them.
Computer Centre
The Computer Centre is involved in the
development of a computer-intensive environment
on campus and provides a comprehensive
computing networking infrastructure to support
the teaching and research functions in the
University. More than 4,500 workstations are
strategically distributed throughout the campus.
They are linked by a fibre-based campus net
known as NUSNET, which is one of the largest
and fastest campus-wide networks in the world.
The network is also connected to the Internet,
which links the University to more than 60,000
academic and research networks and over 30
million users. The University has facilities
including
the
Silicon
Graphic
origin
Supercomputer, which serves as an effective
research tool for researchers.
Library facilities
The Library System is made up of 6 libraries and
boasts a total collection of over 1.97 million
books and bound periodicals, 43,020 reels of
microfilms, 297,810 microfiches, 12,500 audiovisual programmes and 156 CD-ROM databases.
The library is fully-computerised and has the
reputation of being one of the best in the region.
Accommodation
Accommodation will be arranged through the
SMA Office, which will help students with the
housing search. Wherever possible, SMA will
arrange
for
on-campus
accommodation.
Otherwise, off-campus accommodation will be
secured.
Health and Counselling Services
The University provides on-campus medical
services for outpatient treatment at a nominal fee.
It is mandatory for every student to enrol in the
medical & personal accident (MPA) insurance
scheme unless they can provide proof that they
have an equivalent coverage through another
medical & personal accident insurance
programme.
The university offers many sources of academic
and personal counselling, including faculty
fellows and international student advisors.
Student Life
Centre for the Arts
Student are encouraged to join the 18 music,
dance and theatre groups under the wing of the
Centre for the Arts which seeks to promote an
appreciation of the major cultural streams in
Singapore – Chinese, Malay, Indian as well as
Western. One of its programmes, the NUS
Campus Concerts, won the Commonwealth
Youth Award for 1992.
The Centre also organises conferences and
seminars and has a publishing arm.
New facilities being added to the facility
include dance studios, soundproof music
rooms and a pottery-cum-sculpture area with a
firing kiln.
Museums
The NUS university has three museums, the
Lee Kong Chian Art Museum comprising
priceless Chinese objects, the South-east
Asian Art Collection and the Ng Eng Teng
Gallery which showcases some of the best
sculptures of Singapore’s finest sculptor.
University Hall Complex
A cultural hub for the campus, the University
Hall Complex, is under construction. When
completed, it will house a 1,800-seat hall, a
450-seat theatre and a two-storey museum
annex.
Sports & Recreation Centre
The outdoor and indoor facilities range from
an Olympic-sized swimming pool and an
eight-lane running track to a rock climbing
wall and a 25-station gymnasium. They allow
students to take up a variety of popular sports
from badminton to soccer and from sepak
takraw to the martial arts.
Students participate in national sporting events
as well as international student competitions,
notably the Universiade (World University
Games) and the Asean University Games.
Other Activities
Students can develop their interests in a variety
of areas through some 78 student organisations.
The major organisations are the eight facultybased clubs and the Political Association, the
Sports Club and the Cultural Activities and
Community Services Club.
Campus Services
Foreign Student Advisory Service which helps
international students with the application for a
Student Pass and orientation to life in
Singapore.
Student Counselling Service which counsels
students on personal, emotional or academic
problems. It conducts regular courses in study
methods and stress control.
Careers & Employment Service which
disseminates information about graduate,
vacation and part-time employment.
It
organises annual Recruitment Fair and
recruitment talks given by prospective
employers.
University Health Service which provides
medical and surgical care as well as health
education.
An internal shuttle bus services operates from
7.30 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. on weekdays and 7.30
am to 2.00 p.m. on Saturdays.
Climate & Living
Conditions
Information for
International Students
Situated almost on the Equator, Singapore
enjoys year-round sunshine and temperatures
that never fall below 22C. Short, heavy
downpours and the occasional deluge are a
blessing rather than a nuisance as they refresh
the hot and humid atmosphere.
English Language Proficiency
Refuge from the heat is easily available, as
most public buildings and public transport are
air-conditioned, as are all offices, lecture
theatres, laboratories and libraries in the
Universities.
The Universities are well connected with the
rest of the island. It takes about 30 minutes to
reach the main business and shopping areas by
bus or by the very efficient MRT (Mass Rapid
Transit) system.
Thanks
to
Singapore’s
multi-cultural
background, Chinese, Malay and Indian food
are staples found in every corner of the island.
The cuisine of a hundred other lands are at
hand, attesting to the cosmopolitan nature of
Singapore as well as to the “national pastime”
of Singaporeans: their passion for good food.
Tourist Attractions
Beyond campus, the international student will
find many sights and sounds to charm him. A
walk down the more picturesque quarters of
Singapore such as Little India or Chinatown is
a delight in itself. For those who love the sun,
sand and sea, there are beaches along the East
Coast and on Sentosa island, a resort near the
city. Other attractions include:




Haw Par Villa, a Chinese mythological
theme park
Underwater World, the largest tropical
oceanarium in Asia
Jurong Bird Park which has the largest
walk-in-aviary and tallest man-made
waterfalls in the world
Tang Dynasty City, a re-creation of the
Chinese city of Chang An at its zenith
English is the language of instruction in all subjects
within the SMA and at NUS/NTU, and all papers
and thesis must be written in English. All applicants,
whose first language is not English, must present
evidence of their ability to carry on their studies in
English by sitting for TOEFL and GRE/GATE tests.
The SMA expects a minimum TOEFL score of 577.
The following category of students may be eligible
for a waiver of the TOEFL and GRE/GATE
requirement by sending a written request to SMA:
a.
b.
c.
d.
those who have received instruction in English
in their primary and secondary schools.
those who have been in an English speaking
country for four years or longer.
those who have received a degree from an
American, British, Canadian, Australian or New
Zealand institution.
those who have received a degree from NUS or
NTU.
Passport and Visas
To enter Singapore and the U.S., each international
student admitted to the SMA Programmes needs a
valid passport issued by his or her government. The
Singapore Immigration Department will usually
issue social visit passes, that are valid for two weeks
to one month to international students upon their
arrival in Singapore. However, for students from
countries which require a visa to enter Singapore, the
SMA office will apply for the entry visa and send it
to the student concerned to enable him or her to
come to Singapore. The SMA Office will apply for
the U.S. visa on behalf of every admitted student
once the student registers with SMA.
Upon registration, the international students must
apply for a Student Pass (after obtaining their student
status letter) by going personally to the Singapore
Immigration Department.
Helpful Hints
Orientation Slide Presentation
A video tape entitled "Orientation Tour of the Campus" is available for viewing at the Media Resources
Department of the Central Library.
Central Library
Collect a copy of the NUS Library Guide. It is also available at
http://www.lib.nus.edu.sg/guidcont.html.
The Central Library caters to the Arts/Social Sciences, Architecture, Building and Engineering
students.
Contact : Tel : (65) 874 2034
Central Library Opening Hours :
During semester
During long vacation
: Mon-Sat
Sun/Public Holidays
: Mon-Fri
Sat
Sun/Public Holidays
8.00 am - 10.00 pm
9.30 am - 4.30 pm
8.30 am - 7.00 pm
8.30 am - 5.00 pm
Closed
Lockers
Full-time graduate students may ballot for the use of lockers at S$10.30 per year, for their entire
course. To apply, access NUS Webpage at http://www.nus.edu.sg and select "NUS Online". Go to
"Student Intranet Services and Resources" and select "Application for Lockers". Complete the form
and select "continue" to submit. For lockers at the Sports & Recreation Centre (SRC), apply through
the SRC Office.
Typing services
A list of typists for thesis and project reports is available at the Office of Student Affairs.
General Information
Students are advised to read notices posted on notice boards for their general information.