NUS Museum is launching the NUS Museum Student Research Fellowship to provide opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at the National University of Singapore (NUS) to pursue research with a focus on engaging with the collections at the Museum. The fellowship offers access to the resources housed within the NUS Museum as well as opportunities to actively engage with the museum environment and our related programmes.

• Students who will be in the third or fourth year of undergraduate studies or pursuing graduate studies in NUS for Academic Year 2024/2025. 

• Honours (Distinction) and above (4.0 GPA) in academic performance. 

• Interested applicants are expected to have an academic supervisor who has agreed to supervise the project to be considered for the fellowship 

The NUS Museum Student Research Fellowship is open to students interested to embark on research focused on NUS Museum’s collections, exhibition histories and/or archives. A few resources which potential applicants may wish to consult to ideate research topics from include: 

• The NUS Museum’s Prospectus, focusing on selected collections of artefacts 
• The NUS Museum’s Collections Online, a searchable online database of NUS Museum’s collections

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• Fellowship will be offered a stipend of $4000, disbursed in four parts after each of the following milestones through the entire duration of the fellowship:
  
  • Acceptance of the fellowship 
  • Submission of the finalised workplan 
  • Midpoint Check-In 
  • Final submission of research findings 

• Fellows will be assigned an Advisor from NUS Museum to assist the student fellows with relevant content knowledge and accessing the Museum’s resources. 

• Fellows will be expected to participate in activities and programmes organised in conjunction with the NUS Museum’s Summer Internship Programme (more details to follow upon acceptance of the fellowship position).  

• Fellows will be given access to collections and archives of the Museum on for the duration of research fellowship. 

• Fellows will be given a dedicated space of research at the NUS Museum’s Resource Library, which houses materials pertaining to the Museum’s collections, collecting interests and how these have developed. 

• Fellows will have the opportunity to materialise the results of their research into various outputs including but not limited to: 

• • Research Papers 
  • Public talks and presentations 
  • Exhibitionary formats of display and prep-room 
  • Creative responses 

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The evaluation criteria for the NUS Museum Student Research Fellowship are as follows:  

Methodology 

• Clear definition and articulation of the proposed project’s objectives 
• Robustness and strength of the methodology 
• Clarity in describing and explaining the methodology 
• Employment of interdisciplinary approaches and methodologies 
• Alignment with fellowship’s objectives 

Content 

• Originality of the proposed research project 
• Relevance to and use of NUS Museum’s collections and exhibitions

Other Considerations 

• Projects that orientate towards an Honours / Master’s Thesis or an ongoing research project under the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (UROP) will be favourably considered 
• Any other considerations not included in the above-mentioned criteria (e.g. synergies with NUS Museum’s outreach programmes, potential for continued collaboration, etc.) 

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• Fellows must be able to commit to the term of research from May 2024 to April 2025. 

• Fellows must propose suitable deliverables associated with their projects that must include a minimum of a research paper and accompanying documentation of the research project. 

• Upon notification of their award, fellows will work on and submit a workplan to be drawn up in consultation with the assigned Museum Advisor. Stipends will be arranged according to this schedule. 

• Fellows will be asked to share their experiences via a sharing and/or presentation of research progress in AY24/25 Sem 2 prior to completion of the project.  

• Fellows may consider pursuing creative or open-ended expressions of research findings, such as but not limited to presenting a mini-exhibition under NUS Museum’s prep-room or publishing of a micro-website. 

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Please prepare the following documents for your application: 

• Proposal for Research Project (see below for requirements) 
• NUS Unofficial Transcript (for Honours students) 
• Academic Transcript (for Graduate students) 
• A Writing Sample of 2,000 – 3,000 words in length (e.g. previously submitted essays or academic articles) 

In your Proposal for Research Project, please include the following details: 

• Choice of Fellowship you are applying for (i.e. NUS Museum Student Research Fellowship) 
• Abstract of your Research Proposal (250 – 300 words) that addresses specific research topic, objectives, backgrounds, purposes, significance 
• Research Questions  
• Relevant collections and exhibitions at NUS Museum that the research project will engage with 
• Proposed methodology 
• Timeline of your research project that describes key stages of your research (e.g. desk-top research, fieldwork, final submission) 
• A preliminary bibliography and/or literature review 

Proposals should be sufficiently self-contained for an assessment without further reference to other materials. 

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• Apply by filling up the form in this link. 
• Successful applicants must provide an email confirmation from an academic supervisor once accepted.

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