SG · PhD
School of Computing, National University of Singapore
PhD in Artificial Intelligence
School of Computing, National University of Singapore
Course Overview
NUS's PhD in Artificial Intelligence is delivered through the School of Computing — Asia's top-ranked computing department (QS by Subject #6 globally, #1 in Asia) and the home of NUS AI Lab, the NUS Centre for Trusted Internet and Community (CTIC), and the NUS-NCS Joint Lab. The 4-year doctorate is supervisor-led across research areas including machine learning theory, NLP and large language models, computer vision, robotics, reinforcement learning, AI ethics, and trustworthy ML. Faculty includes pioneers in adversarial ML, federated learning, and search-and-decision under uncertainty. NUS School of Computing produces more top-conference papers (NeurIPS, ICML, CVPR, ACL) than any other Asian institution.
Sri Lankan applicants typically reach NUS AI after a UoM Computer Science & Engineering or UCSC Bachelor's, often with industry research output (WSO2, IFS, 99X, MillenniumIT) or a strong NUS-aligned Master's first. Funding is fully covered: the NUS Research Scholarship covers full tuition + SGD 2,200/month stipend (rising to SGD 2,700/month after passing the Qualifying Exam) + medical insurance for 4 years. Sri Lankan returnees from NUS AI PhDs route into senior ML / data science leadership at WSO2, LSEG Tech, Virtusa, Dialog Axiata, IFS R&D, and into faculty positions at UoM CSE, UCSC, and SLIIT — and increasingly into AI roles at the Lanka AI hub (the IT/BPM Vision Lanka 2026 push).
Entry Requirements
Academic
- check_circle First-class Sri Lankan Bachelor's (Hons) in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering, or related quantitative discipline — GPA 3.7+ / First Class equivalent.
- check_circle Master's by Research (preferred) — NUS also admits direct-from-Bachelor's into a 4-year PhD with Year 1 acting as a coursework-heavy preparation year.
- check_circle Strong research output: top-tier conference papers (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, ACL) or substantial open-source contributions strongly preferred.
- check_circle Pre-approved supervisor match required — NUS uses a supervisor-led model; applicants should identify and contact prospective supervisors before the application window.
- check_circle GRE General is OPTIONAL but most admits submit Quantitative 168+ (98th percentile).
English Proficiency
- check_circle IELTS Academic: 6.5 Overall (no band below 6.0).
- check_circle TOEFL iBT: 92 Overall.
- check_circle Waived if your Bachelor's or Master's was taught and assessed entirely in English at a recognised institution — most Sri Lankan applicants from UoM, UCSC, IIT, or English-medium private universities qualify.
Estimated Cost of Study
| Expense Category | Amount (Fully) | Approx. LKR |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition Fee (per year, fully waived under NUS Research Scholarship) | SGD 0 (Waived) | Rs. 0 (Waived) |
| Monthly Stipend (Pre-Qualifying Exam) | SGD 2,200/mo | Rs. 528,000/mo |
| Monthly Stipend (Post-Qualifying Exam) | SGD 2,700/mo | Rs. 648,000/mo |
| Student Pass, Health Insurance & Setup | SGD 1,500 | Rs. 360,000 |
| Total Funding Package (4-year PhD) | SGD 140,000+ | Rs. 33,600,000+ |
*LKR conversion based on current bank rates. Subject to change.
Career Outcomes & PR
On graduation, PhD candidates qualify for Singapore's Personalised Employment Pass (PEP) or Employment Pass (EP) — both lead to long-term residence pathways. NUS AI PhDs are heavily recruited by Google Singapore, Meta Singapore, Apple Singapore, ByteDance / TikTok Singapore, Sea Limited, Shopee, DBS, OCBC, and the Singapore government's AI Singapore programme (SGD 130,000-180,000 starting; LKR 31M-43M/yr), or into faculty positions at NUS, NTU, SMU, MIT, Stanford, and Tsinghua. Sri Lankan returnees take senior AI/ML leadership at WSO2, LSEG Tech Colombo, IFS, Virtusa, 99X, Mitra Innovation, the Lanka AI Hub, and into faculty positions at UCSC, UoM Computer Science and Engineering, and SLIIT.
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