Admission Criteria & Application
A bachelor's degree with a minimum of 3.5 out of 4.0 or its equivalent in a field of study that is relevant to the proposed research topic from a recognized university.
Applicants whose native language is not English must meet the University’s English language proficiency requirement. A minimum IELTS score of 7.0 or TOEFL score of 105, obtained within the last two years, is required at the time of application. This requirement may be waived if the applicant has completed at least three years of tertiary education with English as the medium of instruction.
To demonstrate the ability to pursue research in the applicant's proposed field of advanced study, applicants should include with their application a 1,000-word research proposal; artistic portfolio, if applicable; samples of academic writing; and a personal statement on why they intend to pursue the proposed area of study.
For applicants whose master’s degrees are completed in 1 year or less, scholarly/academic writing samples in the English language should be submitted to demonstrate the level of English proficiency.
Nanyang Technological University's academic year commences in August and ends in July the following year. ADM has two intakes in January and August per academic year. The application deadline is shown below:
| Intake | Application Period (To submit online application with supporting documents) |
|---|---|
August 2026 | Between 3 November and 15 December 2025 |
January 2026 | Between 1 June and 31 July 2025 |
All supporting documents including referee reports need to be submitted by the stipulated deadlines for the application to be considered complete. The School will rollover late applications to the next intake.
Applicants are selected for interviews on the basis of their academic record, portfolio and research proposal. Your research proposal must show that you are ready to write a MA thesis with supervision at the School of Art, Design and Media, NTU.
Applicants are to submit online at NTU's Graduate Research System (GRAS) at:
http://venus.wis.ntu.edu.sg/GOAL/OnlineApplicationModule/frmOnlineApplication.aspx
Applicants are required to upload electronic copies of the following supporting documents via NTU’s on-line Graduate Application System. Documents uploaded must be in English. Otherwise, they must be accompanied by certified translations in the English language.
The code for ADM's Master of Arts (by Research) programme is [200].
- Academic transcripts and certificate for bachelor's degree (in English and original language, if applicable)
- A research proposal, with bibliography. Click to download template.
- Artistic Portfolio
An original and creative piece of work related to the proposed research area. It could be a drawing, computer animations, short films, etc. If you are shortlisted for an interview, please be prepared to share your artistic portfolio and introduce your research proposal through a brief PowerPoint presentation. - Report from 2 academic referees
Before you provide the name and official institutional email address of your referees, please ensure that they have already agreed to fill out the online referee report form for your NTU application. - Scholarly writing sample, if available
Please upload your scholarly writing and publications under the "Research Interests" section of the application portal. - Personal statement
A short essay on your aspirations and why you have identified ADM as the place to pursue your Master of Arts programme. - IELTS, if applicable (Please ensure a validity date within 2 years)
- Personal particulars page of your passport/Identification card
Application Fee
Please note that with effect from 1 June 2018, all applicants will need to pay an application fee of SGD $50 nett per programme.
The system only allows internet payment (VISA/MASTER).