The establishment of the interdisciplinary School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (SPMS) in 2005 - the centenary of Einstein's landmark year in 1905 which changed the map of the physical sciences in so many ways - serves to enlarge the academic landscape for tertiary science and mathematics in Singapore. Talented students now have an additional choice of university for innovative and effective study of interdisciplinary science and mathematics. SPMS, taking an interdisciplinary approach, have linkages with the rest of campus where science and mathematics have an influence on the disciplines, principally, the School of Biological Sciences, the College of Engineering, the National Institute of Education (NIE), the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Nanyang School of Business. These linkages facilitate the cross-disciplinary capacity in research and teaching at NTU, and address the next generation technologies and skilled manpower needs of Singapore in the global economy. The School of Physical & Mathematical Sciences offers PhD and MSc rogrammes in its three Divisions by research: Chemistry & Biological Chemistry, Physics & Applied Physics, and Mathematical Sciences. Research however, can be interdisciplinary.
Some of the research areas that are currently represented by the Divisions are as follows:
Division of Chemistry & Biological Chemistry (CBC)
- Synthesis, Methodology & Catalysis
- Inorganic; Organic; Analytical Chemistry
- Bioinorganic; Biorganic; Biophysical Chemistry
- Physical; Theoretical; Computational Chemistry
- Medicinal Chemistry
- Green Chemistry
- Total Synthesis of Natural Products & Drugs
To take a further look at more research areas, please proceed to the CBC website.
Division of Mathematical Sciences (MAS)
A broad range of areas in pure & applied mathematics as well as statistics, including:
- Algebraic Geometry
- Algebraic Number Theory
- Topology
- Computability Theory and Logic
- Coding Theory
- Computational Fluid Dynamics
- Finite Element Methods
- Optimization
- Bioinformatics and Biostatistics
To take a further look at more research areas, please proceed to the MAS website.
Division of Physics & Applied Physics
- Biophysics; Bioimaging; Soft Condensed Matter
- Nano-Science & Nano-Technology; Surface & Interface Science
- Laser Physics; Quantum Electronics; Photonics
- Semiconductor Physics and Spin Electronics
- Quantum Information Science & Technology
- Theory and Computation - Atmospheric Physics, Condensed Matter, Nonlinear & Complex Systems
To take a further look at more research areas, please proceed to the PAP website.
The graduate programme by research in the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences is based on the following features:
Supervised Research
The student will work under the supervision of an academic staff member whose research interests are in the area proposed by the student.
Graduate Coursework
Graduate coursework forms the basis of the intensive preparation for research work.
The students are also required to attend classes and pass the examinations in a certain number of graduate Courses. Selection of Courses is made after consultation with the research supervisor.
The coursework requirements for the two degrees are as follows:
- M.Sc. - 3 coursework Courses
- Ph.D. - 6 coursework Courses
For more details about the coursework requirements for the Divisions, please click here.
Exemption from the coursework Courses may be granted by the Chair of the School if the candidate is deemed to have already done sufficient coursework in the relevant area in a Master's degree program at a recognized university.
At the end of the tenure of the programs, the student is required to write and submit a thesis, which will then be examined by internal and external examiners.
For further enquiries, please email spms-grad@ntu.edu.sg