---
title: "President's Graduate Fellowship (NUS)"
description: "A university-funded PhD fellowship at NUS covering full tuition plus a monthly stipend of up to S$4,800. Open to all nationalities, awarded by nomination once a candidate has applied for PhD admission and indicated interest, rather than through a separate application."
url: "https://worldwide-scholarships.com/scholarships/presidents-graduate-fellowship-nus/"
type: "website"
---

[All scholarships](https://worldwide-scholarships.com/scholarships/)

National University of Singapore (NUS)

# President's Graduate Fellowship (NUS)

A university-funded PhD fellowship at NUS covering full tuition plus a monthly stipend of up to S$4,800. Open to all nationalities, awarded by nomination once a candidate has applied for PhD admission and indicated interest, rather than through a separate application.

Checked 23 Sept 2026

[See the official page](https://nusgs.nus.edu.sg/scholarships/presidents-graduate-fellowship/)

- **Deadline:** Deadline not announced
- **Study in:** Singapore
- **Level:** PhD
- **Covers:** Tuition fees, Living costs, Travel

**Why there is no date here.** There is no single fellowship deadline. The President's Graduate Fellowship is awarded by nomination once a candidate has been admitted to a full-time NUS PhD programme, so its effective deadline is whatever deadline the specific NUS faculty or department sets for PhD admission in that field, and those vary by faculty. NUS runs two main intakes, August and January, with award notifications going out around May for the August intake and around October for the January intake. Applicants should check the PhD admission deadline for their specific department, not a general university-wide date.

What you get

Monthly stipend of S$4,800 for Singapore Citizens, S$4,400 for Singapore Permanent Residents, or S$3,900 for international students, plus full tuition fees at NUS. International (overseas) recipients also receive a one-time settling-in allowance of S$1,000 and a one-off air travel allowance of up to S$750 for a single, one-way economy-class ticket to Singapore. Singapore Citizens additionally receive CPF contributions at the prevailing employer rate on top of the stipend. The University states it provides no additional assistance toward travel or other costs beyond those listed, and does not guarantee employment on completion of the programme.

Covers

-   Tuition fees
-   Living costs
-   Travel

## Who can apply

-   Admitted to, or applying for, a full-time PhD programme at NUS (not open to Master's candidates)
-   Nominated by the department or faculty after indicating interest and fulfilling any additional scholarship-specific requirements inside the same PhD application (through GradApp); there is no separate fellowship portal, form or essay beyond that
-   Demonstrated exceptional promise or accomplishment in research
-   Open to Singapore Citizens, Singapore Permanent Residents and international students alike; for the Fellowship funded by the Lee Kong Chian Scholarship specifically, preference is given to candidates who also show leadership ability and a commitment to community service

### You do not apply for this fellowship as its own competition

There is no separate fellowship-only portal, essay or form. The fellowship rides on top of a regular NUS PhD application: within GradApp, the same system used for PhD admission, applicants indicate interest and complete any additional scholarship-specific requirements the faculty asks for, and the department then reviews its incoming PhD candidates and nominates the strongest ones. NUS’s own Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences page states plainly that the award “is by nomination only,” which confirms the department, not the applicant, makes the final call. The practical task for an applicant is the same either way: put together the strongest possible PhD application to the chosen NUS department, complete with a well-argued research statement, references and a CV, rather than draft anything specific to the fellowship itself.

### The stipend has more layers than the headline figure suggests

The three-tier stipend (S$4,800, S$4,400 or S$3,900 depending on citizenship or residency status) is only the starting point. From the 2023/24 intake onward, NUS added its Research Incentive Award on top: an extra monthly allowance for the full four years, plus a one-time research allowance once a scholar passes their PhD Qualifying Examination in the second year of candidature. NUS reserves the right to adjust or revise that monthly allowance at any time. Singapore Citizens also receive CPF (Central Provident Fund) contributions at the employer rate in addition to the stipend. None of these additions are unusual for NUS but they are easy to miss if a reader only looks at the headline stipend number quoted by aggregator sites.

### What the fellowship asks of you in return

International recipients admitted from the 2014/2015 academic year onward are required to complete 312 hours of teaching duties under the Graduate Assistantship Programme over the life of the award, according to NUS’s own terms. Separately, NUS’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences states that recipients must remain in Singapore for the duration of the award, except during approved leave, and that a department may also ask a scholar to assist with teaching or departmental work more generally. None of this is a side note: it is real, unpaid service time layered on top of the PhD itself, and worth weighing against the stipend before accepting.

### Renewal is not automatic

The fellowship is initially awarded for one year, not four years up front, and may then be renewed each semester based on the scholar’s performance in previous semesters and the Faculty’s recommendation, with four years as the maximum total length. A scholar who falls behind on research milestones, in other words, can lose the fellowship partway through a PhD rather than having it guaranteed to the end.

### The real decision is which department to apply to, not whether to apply for the fellowship

Because the fellowship is not a separate competition, the meaningful choice for an applicant is which NUS PhD programme fits their research interests and academic background, since admission and nomination happen together through the same departmental process. Trying to time an application around a single “fellowship deadline” does not really make sense here. Instead, the right approach is to identify the department, check that department’s own PhD application deadline for the intake the applicant wants (August or January), and apply well ahead of it, since nomination decisions are folded into the normal admissions review.

### How it sits next to Singapore’s other flagship PhD fellowship

NUS is one of two Singapore universities offering a university-wide, all-fields PhD fellowship at a broadly similar funding level; the other is the [Nanyang President’s Graduate Scholarship (NPGS)](https://worldwide-scholarships.com/scholarships/nanyang-presidents-graduate-scholarship-npgs/) at Nanyang Technological University. Since both offer comparable stipends and both require nomination rather than a separate application, the more useful comparison for an applicant is not the funding amount but which university has the stronger research group and supervisor in their specific field, since that is what actually drives the nomination decision at either institution.

Where this comes from

Every fact above was read on **nusgs.nus.edu.sg**, the awarding body's own website, and last confirmed on **23 September 2026**. Nothing here is taken from another directory. Funding bodies change deadlines and eligibility rules without notice, and we are not affiliated with National University of Singapore (NUS). Always confirm on the official site before you apply.

Reviewed by the [Worldwide Scholarships editorial team](https://worldwide-scholarships.com/about/)

[Apply on the official site](https://nusgs.nus.edu.sg/scholarships/presidents-graduate-fellowship/)

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MonetaryGrant","name":"President's Graduate Fellowship (NUS)","description":"A university-funded PhD fellowship at NUS covering full tuition plus a monthly stipend of up to S$4,800. Open to all nationalities, awarded by nomination once a candidate has applied for PhD admission and indicated interest, rather than through a separate application.","url":"https://worldwide-scholarships.com/scholarships/presidents-graduate-fellowship-nus/","funder":{"@type":"Organization","name":"National University of Singapore (NUS)"},"sameAs":"https://nusgs.nus.edu.sg/scholarships/presidents-graduate-fellowship/"}
```

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://worldwide-scholarships.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"All scholarships","item":"https://worldwide-scholarships.com/scholarships/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"President's Graduate Fellowship (NUS)","item":"https://worldwide-scholarships.com/scholarships/presidents-graduate-fellowship-nus/"}]}
```