GRADUATE DEGREES – RESEARCH (M.ENG & PH.D)

The goal of our postgraduate education through MEng and PhD process is to nurture researchers/managers with the follow characteristics:

• Ability to identify, formulate and solve technical problems encountered in academia and in industries.

• Develop a creative and strategic mind for the management of engineering and technology.

• Develop an entrepreneurial spirit to lead innovation which will impact academia and industries.

Students will be administrated by the Faculty of Engineering through the Division of Engineering and Technology Management. It is envisaged that the Division will have its own administrative set-up to administer its research students, similar to that of the other departments in the Faculty of Engineering.

Admission Requirements

The prevailing requirements for admission to research degrees shall apply. The minimum requirement for admission is a Bachelor's degree with honours (at least 2nd Class Lower) or its equivalent. Candidates applying for direct admission to the PhD programme are expected to obtain at least a Bachelor's degree with honours (at least 2nd Class Upper) or its equivalent.

International candidates are expected to submit their TOEFL and GRE (or equivalents) test scores in support of their applications. Candidates are also expected to have the ability to pursue research in the candidate's proposed field of advanced study.

Candidature

The minimum andminimum residency requirements and maximum periods of candidatures of the regular MEng and PhD programmes shall also apply to graduate students of this Division:

Programme Requirements

The MEng degree requires:

(a) at least 16 MCs, of which at least 12 MCs must be at graduate level within the subject or in related disciplines and the remaining credits may be from other levels in the same or other disciplines subject to the approval of the Division. Students must obtain an average grade of at least a Grade B-; &

(b) a satisfactory grade in the Graduate English Course (Intermediate Level), for students who do not qualify for wavier of English Language requirement; &

(c) obtain a satisfactory grade for the graduate seminar; &

(d) pass the MEng thesis.

The PhD degree requires:

(a) at least 24 MCs, of which at least 18 MCs must be at graduate level within the subject or in related disciplines and the remaining credits may be from other levels in the same or other disciplines subject to the approval of the Division. Students must obtain an average grade of at least a Grade B; &

(b) a satisfactory grade in the Graduate English Course (Intermediate & Advanced Level), for students who do not qualify for wavier of English Language requirement; &

(c) obtain a satisfactory grade for the doctoral seminar; &

(d) pass the Qualifying Examination comprising of a comprehensive examination and oral defence of the PhD thesis proposal; &

(e) pass the PhD thesis and the oral defence.

Graduate Coursework Modules

Unless otherwise indicated, each graduate module listed consists of 39 hours of lecture and is assigned 4 modular credits.

To complete coursework requirements, the MEng candidate is to read 4 modules, at least 2 of which should be core modules while the PhD candidate is required to read 6 modules, at least 4 of which should be core modules.

Core Modules:

MT5007/BMA5115– Management of Technological Innovation
MT5001 – IP Management
MT5002 – Management of Industrial R&D
SDM5001 - Systems Architecture
SDM5002 - Systems Engineering
SDM5003 - Knowledge Management

Elective Modules:

MT5003 – Creativity and Innovation
MT5004 – User-centred Engineering & Product Development
MT5005 – IP Law for Scientists and Engineers
MT5010 – Technology Intelligence & IP Strategy
MT6001 - Research in Tech & Innovation Management
IE5003 - Cost Analysis and Engineering Economy
IE5208 - Systems Approach to Project Management
IE5203 - Decision Analysis
IE5211 - New Product Management
IE5121- Quality Planning and Management
IE5401 - Industrial Logistics
BMA5108 - Technopreneurship
BMA5004A - Management and Organization (2MCs)
BMA5010A - Managing Operations (2MCs)

PhD Qualifying Examination (QE)

The PhD qualifying examination shall consist of a written comprehensive examination and an oral defence of the PhD thesis proposal.

The comprehensive qualifying examination is typically taken after the 1st year of studies. The PhD oral qualifying exam should usually be taken within the 2nd year of studies, after taking at least 4 modules (16 MCs) out of the 6 module coursework requirement.

MEng candidates may apply to upgrade from MEng to the PhD programme upon completing specified requirements. Students are to pass the PhD qualifying examination (identical to doctoral students) to be considered for upgrading to the doctoral programme.

Ph D QE: Comprehensive Examination

The aim of a QE exam is to assess a student's aptitude to conduct independent research, in particularly the student's analytical ability to critique research findings reported, and to test the general competence of the candidate in his/her discipline(s).

•  PhD comprehensive qualifying examination (QE) comprises written and oral components.

•  An examination panel consisting of three members will be formed. The panel should include the supervisor(s) of the student.

•  The panel will select either a journal paper or a conference paper for the student to read and critique. The topic of the paper should be related to the discipline that the student will work on. The student should not have read the paper beforehand.

•  A student will be asked if he/she has reviewed the selected paper in the past. If the answer is yes, another paper will be given to student. If student is found to have lied, candidature will be terminated.

•  A student will be given a week to review the selected paper and prepare a written report. Guidelines on the preparation of the written report will be given to students, e.g., a report of up to 1200 words to highlight at least 5 strengths and 5 weaknesses of the paper with substantiation, etc. The student will sign an honour pledge that the report is his/her own work.

•  The panel will evaluate each student in both the written report and oral presentation on the selected paper. In addition, the panel will ask fundamental questions that test the general competence of the candidate in his/her discipline/area of research. At the end of the session, the panel will provide a written assessment of the student, based on a “pass” or “fail” grade, to the department.

•  If a student fails a Ph D Comprehensive QE, he is allowed to make only one more attempt in the following semester.

•  There will be two Ph D Comprehensive QEs in each academic year, these will be done during the 1st two weeks of the semester.

PhD QE: Oral Defense of PhD proposal

•  A PhD Thesis Committee will be formed, consisting of supervisor(s) and 2 other external members. This committee should also be the same members as the Examination Panel for the oral defense.

•  Main supervisor recommends the composition of the Thesis Committee and submits to the Division Head for approval. Once approval is obtained, supervisors arranges for the time and venue for the oral defense of the PhD proposal.

•  PhD proposal (of about 30 to 40 pages) should be submitted to the Thesis Committee/ Examination Panel at least 1 week before the Oral Defense.

•  Thesis Committee submits Report of Examination Panel together with Project Proposal to Graduate Studies Office, through the Division.

Graduation Requirements

For graduation,

MEng students must:

- obtain at least 16 MCs, from the list of coursework modules above; &

- obtain CAP > 3.0 in best 4 modules (or equivalent of 16 MCs); &

- obtain satisfactory grade in the Graduate English Course (Intermediate Level), where applicable; &

- obtain a satisfactory grade for Graduate Seminar module; &

- pass the MEng thesis.

PhD students must:

- obtain at least 24 MCs from the list of coursework modules above; &

- obtain CAP > 3.5 in best 6 modules (or equivalent of 24 MCs); &

- obtain satisfactory grade in the Graduate English Course (Intermediate and Advanced Level), where applicable; &

- obtain a satisfactory grade for Graduate Seminar module; &

- pass the Qualifying Examination comprising of a comprehensive examination and an oral defence of the PhD thesis proposal; &

- pass the PhD thesis and Oral Examination.

For more information about the programme, please visit the Graduate Studies Office website HERE or email etmcyy@nus.edu.sg.