Joint PhD

The four-year joint PhD programme will be conducted on a full-time basis with full scholarships.

PhD candidates are required to fulfill a minimum residency of 7 months each at NTU and WU. It is expected that PhD candidates would spend about half of their candidature period at NTU (including fulfillment of coursework requirements) and the other half at WU. However, the actual period spent at each campus may deviate, depending on the nature and progress of the research project and as agreed by both supervisors.

Upon successful completion of the program, the candidate will receive a joint PhD degree that is conferred by both universities and is recognized internationally as a PhD degree from both universities.

To be formally admitted to the joint PhD programme, the following requirements must be met:

a) Proficiency in the English language.

For applicants, not being NTU / WU graduates, whose mother tongue is not English and who have not completed higher education with English as the language of instruction, WU and NTU require an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. Minimum required scores:
• TOEFL internet-based 90, with minimum sub-score 23 for speaking;
• IELTS 6.5, with minimum sub-score 6.0 for speaking;
• Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE) with minimum grade B; or
• Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) any grade.
Test results must be dated within 24 months prior to the application.

b) Applicants to achieve a very good GRE test score.

Applicants from India may use the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) score of at least 95% in place of GRE.

c) Evaluation of the PhD applicant’s diploma(s) and academic records.

All applicants without a Dutch MSc degree must have their diplomas evaluated by the Academic Boards of WU and NTU. In case needed, the Academic Boards decide, together with the supervisors of WU and NTU, whether a qualifying examination is required and, if so, what it should consist of. If a qualifying exam is required, the candidate will not be formally admitted until he/she has passed this exam.

d) Approval of the Training and Supervision Plan (TSP) by the joint admission committee (“JAC”).

The TSP shall at least meet all minimum requirements as set by both Parties. The focus of the TSP is the PhD research project, which leads to a thesis and associated publications. PhD candidates are also required to spend up to 15% of their time on training and education activities, such as courses, seminars, conferences and workshops to broaden their skills, deepen their knowledge and increase their exposure to the international scientific community.

e) Approval of the research proposal by the JAC.

Within 9 months after the start of a PhD trajectory a research proposal will be submitted to the JAC and the JAC arranges that quality control of these proposals is evaluated according to the procedures in place at both institutions, the evaluation focuses on the scientific quality and the feasibility of the proposed research work.

f) Evaluation of the PhD candidate’s progress and performance after approximately one year (or 18 months at the very latest).

This evaluation (the ‘Go/No-Go decision’ or ‘Qualifying Exam’) is done by the 2 supervisors and needs approval by the JAC

• PhD candidates will be waived from paying tuition and registration fees at the host universities reciprocally.

• PhD candidates admitted to the joint PhD programme will be eligible for the Nanyang President Graduate Scholarships (NPGS) or the NTU Research PhD candidate Scholarships (RSS). During their residency at NTU, the terms and conditions of the respective scholarship scheme would apply.

• At WU, PhD candidates from whom the home institution is NTU, will continue to receive the scholarship stipend under the individual schemes from NTU. Their room rent in The Netherlands will be covered by WU.

• PhD candidates admitted at WU, serving residency at NTU, will continue to receive the scholarship stipend awarded by WU. Their room rent in Singapore will be covered by NTU.

• You will be waived from paying tuition and registration fees at the host universities reciprocally.

• There will be no bond attached to this scholarship.

There are many areas of research in NTU in the various fields of Food Science and Technology.

Applicants are encouraged to explore their research interests and identify a research topic that matches with the intended area of research from Wageningen University as shown below. You are also required to look for a supervisor in NTU which correspond to your area of research in order to embark on your PhD program.

​Areas of Research from Wageningen University