Duke-NUS Clinical and Translational Sciences Medical PhD application

Overview and Aims

The aim of the PhD Programme in Clinical and Translational Sciences (PhD CTS) is to educate and train medical doctors and other health science professionals to perform clinical and translational research. The proposed programme will focus on the interface between clinical, biological and social research methods by bringing together experts in quantitative sciences (biostatistics, epidemiology, and bioinformatics), biological basic sciences (genomics, immunomics, metabolomics), ethics, clinical therapeutics, health services and systems research.

The goal is that clinician scientists trained in this PhD programme will lead research efforts in Singapore in the future and will enhance Singapore’s international reputation in medical research.

Candidates may be admitted on a full-time or part-time basis. The programme is self-supporting and the candidates are encouraged to apply for NMRC Research Training Fellowship in November the year before application.

Admission Requirements

The minimum admission requirements are
Clinical Sciences Track:

1. A medical degree i.e. MD, MBBS, BDS (Bachelor of Dental Sciences) from an accredited institution. Candidates with a Master’s degree in Pharmacy, Nursing, Clinical Psychology, or other relevant clinical disciplines are also encouraged to apply. Minimum GPA requirement is 3.5.

2. Applicants with a medical degree who have completed clinical training.

3. With the exception of applicants with SMC recognized medical degrees, all other candidates are required to submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test or MCAT results. Minimum GRE score is 310. Minimum MCAT score is 508.

4. Test scores for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 85 or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score of 7 must be submitted for all international applicants except those whose undergraduate or graduate degrees are from NUS, NTU, SMU or SUTD, or from English-speaking countries such as Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

*Translational Track

1. Applicants with BSc or MSc in non-clinical disciplines, in particular the life sciences.

2. With the exception of applicants with SMC recognized medical degrees, all other candidates are required to submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test or MCAT results. Minimum GRE score is 310. Minimum MCAT score is 508.

3 Test scores for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 85 or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score of 7 must be submitted for all international applicants except those whose undergraduate or graduate degrees are from NUS, NTU, SMU or SUTD, or from English-speaking countries such as Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

*For more information on translational track, please contact Josephine Quek at jo.quek@duke-nus.edu.sg

Admissions Process

The start date of the PhD in Clinical and Translational Sciences is August 2025.

The application period is open from June 1, 2024 to May 1, 2025. Apply for PhD in Clinical and Translational Sciences

Suitable candidates will be invited for an interview.

Candidates are also required to provide the following supporting documents to complete their application:

Official Transcripts

Applicants should reach out to their respective institutions to request for their electronic official transcripts to be sent directly to Duke-NUS at admissions@duke-nus.edu.sg.

Letter of Reference

You are also required to provide at least 2 references in support of your application to the PhD (CTS) programme. Please fill in your referees’ details in your online application. Upon doing so, an email request with a link to the referee report will be sent to your referee.

GRE/MCAT Test Scores

You do not need to have your GRE/MCAT results before registering for an application account. Be sure to provide us with your GRE Registration Number/MCAT AAMC ID on your application, and notify us via email with your results as soon as they are available.
For GRE results, please have your scores sent directly to Duke-NUS with the Designated Institution (DI) code of 4915.
For MCAT results, please release the scores to Duke-NUS via the MCAT Score Reporting System.

Results of TOEFL or IELTS

Applicants who previously studied in a non-English speaking curriculum will be required to present documented evidence of their competence in written and spoken English by submitting their results of TOEFL or IELTS exams.

To meet the English requirement for our programmes, the following are the minimum scores that should be achieved:

600 (for TOEFL paper-based test) or
85 (for TOEFL internet-based test) or
an overall band score of 7.0 (for IELTS)

The TOEFL score or IELTS result is only valid for 2 years after the test and should be valid by the end of the application deadline for the programme.

Applicants should email a scanned copy of the official TOEFL/IELTS scoresheets to admissions@duke-nus.edu.sg during the online application period. IELTS scoresheets must display your Test Report Form Number.

For verification purposes, candidates are also requested to nominate our Institution to access your results online/electronically as follow:

TOEFL iBT: Designated Institution (DI) code of C974 through ETS Data manager
IELTS: Select IELTS Indicator ‘Duke-NUS Medical School’ through IELTS Test Report Form (TRF) Verification Service

There is no need to post the hardcopies of the results to us.

If you are still unsure on whether you are required to submit a TOEFL/IELTS test score, please contact the Admissions Office at admissions@duke-nus.edu.sg to seek clarification before the application period closes.

Apply for PhD Programme in Clinical and Translational Sciences now!