The Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) has a four-year fellowship scheme for new doctoral students at either Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore Management University (SMU) or Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), who will conduct their research at the SMART Centre.
The Fellowship Programme is intended to attract to NTU, NUS, SMU and SUTD the best and most talented doctoral students from Singapore, the region and beyond, and educate them to be future leaders in science and technology for Singapore and beyond. The Fellowship will provide an opportunity to be involved in the strategic research programmes at the SMART Centre and provide the opportunity to be co-advised by an MIT faculty member. The student may spend up to six months doing research at MIT.
- up to four years of full tuition and school fees at the student's home university;
- a monthly stipend of S$3,500 (CPF contribution for Singapore citizen);
- eligible to conduct a one-time research residency at MIT for up to six months;
- and co-supervision by an MIT and NTU/NUS/SMU/SUTD faculty.
There is no bond associated with this fellowship.
NOTE: If you are awarded the SMART Graduate Fellowship, and you have a tuition bond from MOE, you will be required to provide a Banker's Guarantee.
- A student must be successfully admitted to NTU, NUS, SMU or SUTD.
- A student who applied to one university will only be considered for that university.
- If the student is admitted to more than one university, the student has the option to select the university through which to accept the SMART Graduate Fellowship.
- If a student has identified more than one potential SMART IRG, the student has the option to select which IRG he/she would like to work for provided he/she has been awarded the SMART Graduate Fellowship to both IRGs.
- If a student has more than one potential research advisor from SMART-NTU or SMART-NUS or SMART-SMU or SMART-SUTD, the student has the option to select the advisor provided the SMART-MIT advisor has a collaborator with that particular university.
- A student who is not awarded the SMART Graduate Fellowship will be considered for other fellowships within the university provided that they indicated this on their application and applied directly to that particular fellowship.
- SMART will notify the student who have been awarded the Fellowship via e-mail.
- SMART will provide the Terms and Conditions of the Fellowship when the student attends the SMART Orientation provided the student has already matriculated.
- The university will provide to the student the status of their admission. Students should contact the University directly.
A student must:
- have graduated with an undergraduate degree with first class or second-upper (or equivalent);
- be an incoming new PhD student not currently enrolled in a PhD programme;
- have a research interest that fits within one or more of the projects currently being carried out in a SMART Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG).
In order for your Fellowship application to be reviewed by the Selection Committee, your application must include the documents listed below. Failure to adhere to this may jeopardize your application.
If you have any questions regarding the application process or the Fellowship, send an email to smart_phd@smart.mit.edu.
If you have any questions regarding the university admission requirements, send an email to admission_research@ntu.edu.sg (NTU); or gdhelp@nus.edu.sg (NUS); or sis_phd@smu.edu.sg (SMU); or phd@sutd.edu.sg (SUTD).
Fill out the Fellowship application form from the SMART online portal.
NOTE: You must also fill out a university admission form. Please visit the university's website.
Select the SMART Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) that you would like to work with.
Select a project from the IRGs Project List that fits your research interest.
Provide a research statement based on the research project you selected.
NTU/NUS/SMU/SUTD requires your referee to submit an online referee report form. The deadline to submit the form is 20 December 2023. Recommendation letters will NOT be accepted in lieu of the referee report.
If you are applying to NTU/NUS/SMU/SUTD, and choose to provide the same referee, your referee must fill out four (4) separate referee report forms; one (1) for NTU, one (1) for NUS, one (1) for SMU, and one (1) for SUTD.
NOTE: It is the student's responsibility to inform their referees they must fill out four (4) separate forms.
Provide the name and institutional e-mail address of two (2) academic referees. Your referee(s) must either be a faculty member from your undergraduate university or a faculty member from where you obtained your most recent degree.
If you are currently employed, your principal investigator, senior academic advisor or supervisor can serve as your referee.
NOTE: We strongly encourage you to contact your referees at least one (1) month prior to filling out the application form to ensure your referees have sufficient time to fill out the referee report form.
Documents must be in English. Submit the supporting document in PDF format except for the passport photo (JPEG).
Provide a scanned copy of your academic transcript(s). If your transcript is not available, submit a copy of your degree audit or latest academic record. [Once you receive confirmation of your admission to the University, you will be required to submit a certified true copy of your transcript(s) directly to the University.]
If you are applying to NTU/NUS: Submit a copy of your GRE/GATE (or an equivalent) score. GRE score is valid for 5 years and GATE score is valid for 2 years from the date you took the test.
If you are applying to SUTD: GRE is required for Architecture and Sustainable Design (ASD), and Engineering Systems Design (ESD). Optional for Engineering Product Development (EPD), and Information Systems Technology Design (ISTD).
Required if your native language is not English. TOEFL and IELTS score is valid for 2 years from the date you took the test.
[Note on items b and c: A student who received their undergraduate degree from NTU or NUS is exempt from this requirement.]
If you are scheduled to take the GRE/GATE/TOEFL/IELTS test after the application deadline, you must indicate the name of test and date of the test on the academic qualifications page of the application form.
Submit your score sheet(s) on or by 20 December 2019. Submit your score sheet(s) to smart_phd@smart.mit.edu if you are scheduled to take the test after the application deadline.
Upload your most recent passport-size photograph in JPEG.
- Master/Degree certificate(s) or Diploma certificate(s);
- Resume/CV/Biodata;
- Copies of awards (not more than 3 awards and not more than 3 pages); and
- A chronological list of research publications/journals, stating all the authors, titles, publishers/journals, first and last page number (DO NOT send copies of the entire publications).
NOTE: For questions regarding the SMART Graduate Fellowship, send an email to smart_phd@smart.mit.edu.
Notification of admission to the university will be sent directly by the university you applied to. Please check with the university directly.