SMU is a research-intensive university that offers the Visiting Graduate Student Programme (VGSP).
As a global university in Asia, SMU welcomes PhD students from worldwide academic institutions and selected universities in Singapore where they are given the opportunity to spend one or more academic terms at SMU as non-graduating students.
SMU sees these interactions as a two-way learning process, where we all learn from each other.
Postgraduate Research Courses | Research Projects |
| Inbound PhD students may enrol in our postgraduate research courses through one of the VGSP schemes indicated below. | Inbound PhD students who would like to work on research projects under the supervision of our internationally-renowned SMU faculty members should contact the Programme Administrators at the respective SMU Schools to find out more about such opportunities. |
*Interested applicants from NTU, NUS or SUTD, please refer to the SUSEP webpage.
Eligibility Requirements
As an applicant of VGSP, you should be:
A matriculated student of another academic institution or university at the point of application, and would have completed at least one term of graduate studies in your home academic institution or university. SMU Research Staff are welcome to apply to the VGSP if you are interested to take courses from SMU PhD programmes, subject to the approval of your Reporting Officer and/or Supervisor.
Proficient in English as it is SMU’s medium of instruction. If your mode of study is in a non-English medium of instruction, you are required to submit a copy of your TOEFL or IELTS test result with your application.
Academic Requirements
For International Students who require a Student’s Pass that is supported by SMU | For Local or International Students* who do not require a Student’s Pass that is supported by SMU | SMU Research Staff |
| Required to take a minimum of 4 Credit Units (CU) of courses in each academic term. This would translate into approximately 12 contact hours per week, over a period of 12 weeks each for Terms 1 and 2. Students are not allowed to take more than 5 CUs per term. | Required to take a minimum of 1 Credit Unit (CU) of course in each academic term. This would translate into approximately 3 contact hours per week, over a period of 12 weeks each for Terms 1 and 2. Students are not allowed to take more than 5 CUs per term. | |
*Refers to students who are currently holding a Student Pass that is supported by the home university.
Timeline for VGSP – International Students Who Require a Student’s Pass that is Supported by SMU
Term 1 (August Intake) | Term 2 (January Intake) | Activity |
13 May 2025 | 29 September 2025 | VGSP student’s school administrator to email cgrs@smu.edu.sg to request for a list of courses offered during the academic year. |
By 26 May 2025 | By 13 October 2025 | VGSP student’s school administrator to submit nomination list. |
26 - 30 May 2025 | 13 - 17 October 2025 | SMU College of Graduate Research Studies (CGRS) will inform the students to complete the application submission process by the stipulated deadline. *We regret that late applications will not be accepted. |
9 – 13 June 2025 | 23 – 27 October 2025 | CGRS will inform students on the application outcome, and provide acceptance letters. Students need to complete Student’s Pass (visa) application in ICA SOLAR system. *The general processing time for a Student's Pass application is within 1 week from submission, if you do not require a visa to enter Singapore. If you do need a visa, the general processing time is within 2 weeks from submission. However, some applications may take a longer time to process. |
13 June – 18 July 2025 | 27 October – 27 November 2025 | Students to complete formalities and await ICA issuance of Student’s Pass. |
30 June - 2 July 2025 | 12 - 14 November 2025 | CGRS to send finalised class schedule to students. Students need to indicate if they could take up the course(s). |
By 2 July 2025 | By 14 November 2025 | Students to indicate if they could take up the course(s). |
By 18 July 2025 | By 28 November 2025 | Students to matriculate / register online as per CGRS’s instructions (to be communicated via email). |
28 July - 8 August 2025 | 5 December 2025 - 1 January 2026 | CGRS to inform students to make post-matriculation fee items. |
18 August 2025 | 12 January 2026 | Term starts. |
Timeline for VGSP – Local or International Students Who Do Not Require a Student’s Pass that is Supported by SMU
Term 1 (August Intake) | Term 2 (January Intake) | Activity |
13 May 2025 | 29 September 2025 | VGSP student’s school administrator to email cgrs@smu.edu.sg to request for a list of courses offered during the academic year. |
By 26 May 2025 | By 13 October 2025 | VGSP student’s school administrator to submit nomination list. |
26 - 30 May 2025 | 13 - 17 October 2025 | SMU College of Graduate Research Studies (CGRS) will inform the students to complete the application submission process by the stipulated deadline. *We regret that late applications will not be accepted. |
30 June - 2 July 2025 | 12 - 14 November 2025 | CGRS to inform students on application outcome and send finalised class schedule to students via email. |
By 2 July 2025 | By 14 November 2025 | Students to indicate if they could take up the course(s). |
By 18 July 2025 | By 28 November 2025 | Students to matriculate / register online as per CGRS’s instructions (to be communicated via email). |
28 July - 8 August 2025 | 5 December 2025- 1 January 2026 | CGRS to inform students to make post-matriculation fee items. |
18 August 2025 | 12 January 2026 | Term starts. |
Timeline for VGSP – SMU Research Staff
Term 1 (August Intake) | Term 2 (January Intake) | Activity |
13 May 2025 | 29 September 2025 | VGSP student’s school administrator to email cgrs@smu.edu.sg to request for a list of courses offered during the academic year. |
By 26 May 2025 | By 13 October 2025 | VGSP student’s school administrator to submit nomination list. |
26 - 30 May 2025 | 13 - 17 October 2025 | SMU College of Graduate Research Studies (CGRS) will inform the students to complete the application submission process by the stipulated deadline. *We regret that late applications will not be accepted. |
30 June - 2 July 2025 | 12 - 14 November 2025 | CGRS to inform students on application outcome and send finalised class schedule to students via email. |
By 2 July 2025 | By 14 November 2025 | Students to indicate if they could take up the course(s). |
By 18 July 2025 | By 28 November 2025 | Students to matriculate / register online as per CGRS’s instructions. |
18 August 2025 | 12 January 2026 | Term starts. |
Programme Fees
VGSP applicants are required to pay the full non-subsidised tuition fee for each course. There are also fees relating to application and post- matriculation processes.
*The Programme Fees are waived for SMU Research Staff.
Application (Non-Fundable) | SGD$150 |
Post-Matriculation Fee Items: | |
Tuition | SGD$3,200 (Per course) |
Miscellaneous | SGD$230 (covers IT services and SMU Student's Medical insurance) |
Notes
1. All fees shown here are inclusive of prevailing Goods and Services Tax.
2. SMU reserves the right to alter fees as appropriate.
How to apply?
Students will have to obtain prior approval from their supervisor and School before submitting the application. Applications for enrolment will be accepted on the basis that both the supervisors and Schools have provided the students with approval to take up the course(s) at SMU.
SMU CGRS will inform nominated students on the application submission processes, and they will need to prepare the following softcopy documents during application.
A scanned copy of the personal particulars page in the passport.
Official PhD Transcripts *To have a minimum of one term of grades.
GMAT or GRE report *Only if taking course(s) in School of Economics.
Research interest(s) & publications (Combined into 1 PDF file) *Only if taking course(s) in School of Social Sciences.
- A copy of TOEFL/IELTS report *Where English is not the medium of instruction in the applicant's home academic institution or university.
Academic Matters
Students who would like to transfer course credits back to their home academic institution or university may arrange to do so, ensuring that the courses they select are approved for credit transfers, as well as for fulfilment of the graduation requirements of their programme. Approval for transfer of credits is at the discretion of their home academic institution or university.
SMU will issue one copy of the academic transcript approximately two months from the completion of the VGSP. SMU transcript is in the form of OpenCerts and will be sent directly to the VGSP students’ SMU email addresses. Students will be required to bear the courier or postage cost for SMU to send the transcript to an overseas address.
Dropping/ Withdrawing from VGSP Course
SMU Academic Calendar is available here.
Course Drop Window | Implications on Transcript | Remarks |
Before end of Week 2 (By Academic Term) | Nil | If you intend to withdraw from VGSP, please do so before end of Week 2 (By Academic Term) |
From start of Week 3 to end of Week 7 | “W” grade | |
From Week 8 of term onwards | “F” grade |
Contact Information
For enquiries or clarifications, please email at: cgrs@smu.edu.sg.
