I hold a UTAR degree with CGPA 3.75, and relevant research experiences (Research assistant, conference, co-authored)

Any opinions if I should give it a try?

Blofeld

Of coz u should try.

But try to look for scholarships, research assistantships, funding first. Write to the potential supervisors there and ask them as well.

Otherwise, you can do it MPhil locally first.

Then only later try again to register at NUS for a PhD.

Thanks for the info! If I may ask, are you also from UTAR? If so, would you mind to share your postgrad pathway?

No, i'm not. I did my undergrad in IPTS and then my PhD in IPTA.

There's another forumer here who did his undergrad in an IPTA and his PhD in NUS. But he has not logged in here for over 5 years.

I see, have you finished you PhD? I heard it's way challenging to graduate from IPTA, is it true?

yes i have completed.

Ppl have always said that it's harder to pass a PhD in IPTA compared to IPTS.

Probably, there's some truth in it because an IPTS lecturer cannot afford to be nonchalant and unconcerned about their students. If there are complaints, the lecturer will be in hot soup.

On the other hand in IPTA, there are so many complaints against a particular lecturer and yet no action is taken against the lecturer.

But then again, the research facilities in IPTA universities have always been superior compared to IPTS universities.

I think I'm eligible to answer this .. because I went through this ..

You can try but the chances is rather low .. very competitive to get a scholarship .. it took me 3 years to secure one .. and I have quite a number of publications .. I had had about 10 before I secured a spot .. and now they require the stupid GRE requirement .. making it more competitive ..

The easiest way to get in is by doing so ..

Get up an RA position in NUS .. show how capable you are .. you will need a solid support from your supervisor .. else the chances is almost non-existent .. because you have to compete with many Chinese students that are from top PRC University .. and most importantly they are willing to self-fund .. scholarship is close to non-existent too because they are mostly given to Chinese students because of co-funding from China ..

In short .. scholarship is hard unless you can build your cable .. I went through the hard way .. by proving myself with strong publications .. a fren of mine .. went through the easy way .. as aforementioned .. but he didn't secure a scholarship .. but his supervisor was willing to fund him

I would say .. don't think PhD in NUS is all high up .. nth special here except money

This post has been edited by malz89: May 16 2023, 11:51 PM

I appreciate the sharing! And it's discouraging to know it's way more competitive than I would have expected.

Yes, I do consider to work as an RA first there, hopefully I can get one as I saw there are many positions advertised on Careerjet.

Did you apply to University in Hong Kong (eg. HKU) back then? Cause I heard one will automatically awarded with the Postgraduate scholarship (which is 18,000 HKD per month) once they get accepted. Is it as competitive as in NUS?

Well, you have to compete with a pool of talents, especially for PhD. Frankly speaking, neither NUS nor NTU are their first choice, usually these Unis are their 2nd/alternative option when they get rejected by the Ivy Leagues

But, don't be discouraged, you can just proceed to submit your application. Chances may be slim but not to none. They may offer you a Master instead of PhD (no scholarship for this).

To secure an RA, never apply through portal because those job posted on portals are for the sake of procedure (someone has already filled that posiiton). Instead, google up a supervisor of your interest, send an email to him/her ask for a position.

I have never applied to other universities aside from NTU (which I was working as an RA), but surprisingly got accepted by NUS.

I did a Master in IPTA before I worked as an RA in Singapore. So, I had quite a long history of research prior securing a position.

This may sound a little harsh.

Frankly speaking, in UTAR, the facilities available for research is close to non-existence, I was there, so I know, unless you did your research in Sg. Long campus (yet still suffer from consumables). I was at both campuses so I had the privilege to compare.

Pursuing a Master/PhD in IPTA is not a bad option either, the top 4 RU in Malaysia have quite strong fundings (if you can't secure an RA/PhD position in Sg).

My best suggestion is to try out RA in either Sg (which could be very demanding) or in Msia (more relaxing). Decide if you would like to pursue of master/PhD. I have seen many drop outs .. too many students to be frank ..

Don't pursue a postgraduate if you are only interested with the title. It will bring you no where, do it only if you're into research. If you're a protocol person, I would say just forget it. If you're a person who always try to make protocol simpler by understanding the fundamentals, yes you're on the right path.

even JIJAN SEMAN that previously claimed to have 7 "PhD"s before and Kantoied numerous times by netizens can get "PhD" from IPTS (ASIA E "UNI") AeU... joker.. lost any respect for that so-called 'Uni'.

Its proof enough IPTS easily passes PhD candidates:

https://www.bharian.com.my/bisnes/usahawan/...ri-ipt-tempatan

U want to do Masters/PhDs - do it in IPTA/Govt Unis (Malaysia or Abroad)... Malaysian IPTA's PhD degree more respectable than Malaysian IPTS PhD degree...

I'm also surprised he could pass his PhD

But then who knows if he is really good in writing.

NUS would be a good phd.

You can try but you should prioritize choosing a good supervisor instead.

A good supervisor will have consistent publications in top tier journals and conferences. So, he/she knows and can teach you how to do proper and good research.
He/she most probably has a lot of good connections, including other professors from other universities, industry, etc. You will need his/her help in the future where he/she will leverage his/her connections to help you.
He/she will definitely have multiple fundings secured and continue to do so to support his/her laboratory. This is important because attending conferences cost a lot of money. Some will hire you as RA or tutor to support you financially with the fundings. Some fundings even pay you allowance just to do research that is aligned with the sponsor's target.

"Top" universities usually have more fundings and the ranking will make your resume looks good. But the competition will be very high to secure a scholarship. Meanwhile, as long as you performed well and published in some good journals and conferences, you should still be able to pave your own way for a bright future even though you are not attending those "top" universities.

Knowledge and experience are still the most important thing for employers, either in academia or industry. In order to gain as much knowledge and experience as possible during your phd, you don't want to have financial problems that will distract you from focusing on your research. So, instead of getting into a top university but unable to secure a scholarship and your supervisor cannot help you financially, it is probably better to look for other supervisor that can help you, even though he/she is not in a top university. Sometimes, these non-top universities have so many scholarships and the chances of getting one is so high because of less competition there. Some of these scholarships might be sponsored by private organizations, which may ask you to join some of their events as their scholarship holder. It is actually a good way to know more people from the industry. Building your own connections is always good.

Still, I think you should still try to apply to NUS or any universities you are interested in. But do your own research on which supervisors are doing the research that you are interested in, then contact them. Make an appointment and talk to them either physically or via video call. Ask questions that concern you. There is not stupid questions here as you are new. So, it is normal that you don't understand a lot of things in the field. If they think you are not suitable for their laboratory, but they like you and have suitable connections, they usually are willing to recommend you to their peers.

Good luck!