NTU is a comprehensive national public research university with most students enrolled in full-time undergraduate and graduate degree programmes. It operates on a two-semester academic calendar, with the academic year typically running from August to May and an optional special term in between semesters.
Undergraduate program As of 2026, NTU enrolls over 25,000 undergraduate students across its colleges and schools. The College of Engineering constitutes the largest academic division, followed by the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, College of Computing & Data Science, Nanyang Business School, College of Science, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine and the National institute of Education. Undergraduate students are required to complete a set of Interdisciplinary Collaborative Core (ICC) courses, introduced as part of a university-wide curriculum reform. Most undergraduate courses combine lectures, tutorials, laboratory sessions and project-based assessments. Final-year students typically complete a capstone project or final-year project particularly in engineering and science programs, involving independent research or applied design under faculty supervision, industry partners or research institutes.
Undergraduate Research NTU places emphasis on undergraduate research, with students participating in faculty led projects through programmes such as the Undergraduate Research Experience on Campus (URECA) and overseas research attachments. Many undergraduates also engage in internships, industry-linked projects and/or overseas exchange programmes as part of their degree requirements.
Graduate program NTU offers a broad range of graduate programmes, including coursework-based and research-based master's degrees, as well as Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programmes across science, engineering, computing, medicine, education, business and the humanities. Doctoral education at NTU is research-intensive, with PhD candidates typically supported through scholarships, research assistantships or teaching assistantships. Graduate students are closely integrated into NTU's research ecosystem, which allows them to contribute to national and international research initiatives. NTU also offers professional graduate degrees, including the Master of Business Administration (MBA), specialized master's programmes in engineering and computing and joint or dual-degree programmes with international partner universities. The university also maintains over 50 joint, dual, and double-degree programmes with international partner institutions, particularly in Europe, North America, and Asia.
Honours education The NTU Honours College was established to provide an interdisciplinary, cohort-based honours education for high-performing undergraduates across the university. The programme admits students from multiple colleges and schools, with its first intake of approximately 500 students in August 2025.
Scholarships NTU is a participating institution in the Singapore International Graduate Award (SINGA), a national doctoral scholarship programme administered by the Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR). This programme supports PhD candidates worldwide and is jointly offered by A*STAR, Nanyang Technological University, the National University of Singapore, and the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
Awards NTU confers the
Nanyang Research Award annually to recognise exceptional research contributions by its faculty. It is considered the university's highest honour for research excellence, awarded across disciplines including engineering, science, medicine, business, and the humanities and social sciences. Recipients are selected by a committee of senior academics based on originality, impact, and international standing of their research.
Collaborations NTU maintains extensive global academic and industry partnerships to advance research, education, and innovation. Key collaborations include the CREATE campus with research centres alongside MIT, ETH Zurich, Technical University of Munich, Cambridge University, and others in areas like electromobility, sustainability, and AI. Notable joint initiatives feature the Centre for Lifelong Learning and Individualised Cognition (CLIC) with University of Cambridge, seed funds with Imperial College London for blue-sky research in health, AI, and urban resilience, and the Fraunhofer-NTU Research Centre. Industry ties span over 700 companies via corporate labs and NTUitive spin-offs (e.g., Nanofilm, Eureka Robotics), plus partnerships with P&G, Schaeffler, and the Millennium Technology Prize as Asia's first academic partner.
Research institutes and centres NTU hosts several national-level research entities, including Research Centres of Excellence (RCEs) and University-level Research Institutes. The university also hosts the
Singapore AI Safety Institute, formerly known as the Digital Trust Centre until its rebrand on 22 May 2024.
Research Centres of Excellence As of 2026, NTU hosts 2 Research Centres of Excellence. • The Institute for Digital Molecular Analytics and Science (IDMxS) is an interdisciplinary RCE supported by the Ministry of Education, Nanyang Technological University, and the National University of Singapore, with research spanning molecular analytics, data science, and engineering. • The Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) is a unique interdisciplinary RCE, funded by National Research Foundation, Singapore Ministry of Education, Nanyang Technological University and National University of Singapore. Hosted by the NTU in partnership with NUS, SCELSE is linking new insights from the
Life Sciences with expertise from the emerging technologies in
Engineering and
Natural Sciences to understand, harness and control microbial
biofilm communities. The union of these fields has established a new discipline of Environmental Life Sciences Engineering.
University-level Research Institutes NTU hosts several University-level Research Institutes that support interdisciplinary and applied research aligned with national priorities: • The Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI) focuses on sustainability-related research, including water technologies, environmental engineering, and urban solutions. • The Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N) conducts research on sustainable energy systems, clean energy technologies, and energy policy, serving as a platform for collaboration between academia, industry, and government. The Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS), which was previously established as a Research Centre of Excellence, transitioned to a University-level Research Institute in July 2023. EOS specializes in
Earth Sciences and conducts fundamental research on
earthquakes,
volcanoes,
tsunamis &
climate change in and around
Southeast Asia, towards safer and more sustainable societies.
Libraries NTU operates a network of 8 libraries: • Business Library • Chinese Library • Humanities & Social Sciences Library • Lee Wee Nam Library • Library Outpost • Art, Design & Media Library • Communication & Information Library • Library and Information Services Centre (NIE) They collectively house over two million print, digital, and audiovisual resources accessible 24/7 online for staff and students. The Lee Wee Nam Library supports engineering and science collections with study spaces including wellness areas like the 'Hygge'. Other key branches include the Business Library (finance and marketing), Chinese Library (Chinese literature and history), Humanities & Social Sciences Library (Singapore studies and research), Communication & Information Library (media and communication studies), and Art, Design & Media Library (visual and audiovisual materials). Additional facilities include the Wang Gungwu Library at the Chinese Heritage Centre, which focuses on the history of overseas Chinese, and the Medical Library at Novena. == Student Life ==