Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1981, it is also the second oldest autonomous university in the country.
The university is organised across numerous colleges and schools, including the College of Engineering, College of Science, Nanyang Business School, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, College of Computing and Data Science,[16] Graduate College, National Institute of Education, and S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. NTU is also home to two Research Centres of Excellence – the Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, and Institute for Digital Molecular Analytics and Science, and many University Research Institutes such as Earth Observatory of Science (which was a Research Centre of Excellence from June 2008 to June 2023, and transitioned to a University Research Institute in July 2023). [17][18]
NTU's main campus covers 200 hectares (490 acres) of land, making it the largest university campus in Singapore.[19]
The main campus is located in the western part of Singapore. Apart from its main campus, NTU also has a medical campus in Novena, Singapore’s healthcare district. As a large, comprehensive university, it has 37,458 enrolled students, and 7,997 faculty and staff as of 2024. [20][21]
In 1955, prior to Singapore's independence from the British, Nanyang University was established south of the current Nanyang Technological University campus, with the centre of the present Yunnan Garden as its heart. Its administration building currently houses the Chinese Heritage Centre, a national monument.
Renaming and merger (1980)
As NTU subsequently grew into a full university, various efforts were made to have it claim the Nanyang University mantle. In 1996, the alumni rolls of Nanyang University were transferred from NUS to NTU. In 1998, the prominent local calligrapher and poet Pan Shou, who had been the first vice-chancellor of Nanyang University, called for NTU to be renamed Nanyang University, as a way to "quieten the hearts of many" NU alumni.[22][bettersourceneeded]
Nanyang Technological Institute (1981–1991)
In 1980, Nanyang University merged with the University of Singapore to form the current National University of Singapore. Nanyang Technological Institute (NTI), a tertiary institution affiliated to the National University of Singapore, was formed to take over Nanyang University's campus in 1981.[23][24]
Present form
In March 1991, the Singapore Parliament approved the formation of Nanyang Technological University. It was officially established on 1 July 1991, with the National Institute of Education (NIE) incorporated into it.[25][26] The alumni rolls of the former Nanyang University were transferred to NTU in 1996. Historically, Nanyang Technological University admitted students jointly with the affiliated National University of Singapore and charged the same fees. Students made only one application, and they would be accepted by either university. This arrangement ended in 2004 as both universities began to distinguish themselves with an end of its official affiliation. Currently, students apply separately to both universities.[23][24] NTU became autonomous in 2006 and stands as one of the two largest public universities in Singapore today.[27]
NTU is currently a collaborative member of Singapore International Graduate Award for PhD applicants worldwide, which comprises Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR), the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).[28][citation needed]
In 2013, there was a debate over academic freedom in Singapore when Cherian George, an outspoken academic at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communications and a government critic, did not get tenured.[29] Although George had been recommended for tenure by the Wee Kim Wee School, his application was turned down by a university-level committee which included representatives from the Government of Singapore.[30] Despite a petition against the tenure decision by students at the Wee Kim Wee School, George's appeal against the tenure decision was subsequently rejected by the university.[31]
In 2021, some applications for on-campus hostel accommodations in NTU were rejected due to COVID-19 isolation protocols.[32] The university claimed that the rejections were due to a shortage of housing facilities, which at full capacity was still unable to house every applicant, as rooms were oversubscribed.[33] Such rejections resulted in concerns, especially among international students, as it resulted in many returning second-year students enrolled in for 2020 to 2021 not being granted campus accommodation despite the university's much-publicised policy of guaranteeing all incoming students with a minimum of two years of on-campus accommodation.[34] NTU eventually reversed their decision on 2 July 2021, prioritising on-campus accommodations for international students that resided on campus at the time, students under scholarship programmes with guaranteed housing, and all Year 1 and 2 students under the guaranteed hall stay policy.[35]
NTU has a diverse range of students and faculty stemming from distinct foreign nationalities. 65% of faculty and staff are foreign nationals, ranking it 3rd (tied with National University of Singapore) in terms of foreign representation among faculty across the top 100 universities according to QS.[36] It remains one of the few top 100 universities with more than 60% of foreign faculty. Likewise, 31% or 8,089 of students are foreign nationals, with 58% them being post-graduate students.[36]
Coat of arms
On its foundation in July 1991, NTU adopted the Coat of Arms granted to NTI (by the College of Arms of the United Kingdom in November 1982) as its coat of arms.
The Coat of Arms consists of a heraldic shield divided into two sections: the lower portion shows a stalking lion facing the spectator on a white background and the upper portion two atomic symbols, one on either side of a cog-wheel above a battlement on a red background.[37][38]
Argent a lion passant guardant proper on a chief embattled gules a cog-wheel between two conventional representations of an atom argent.
The lion represents close links between NTI and NUS, the battlement represents School of Civil and Structural Engineering, the atoms represents School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and the cogwheel represents School of Mechanical and Production Engineering.
Campuses
Landscape and architecture
NTU has been listed as one of the World's Most Beautiful Universities, featuring the ADM building in the report.[39] It has also been listed in "The 10 most beautiful universities in East Asia", featuring the Learning Hub building.[40] During NTI period between 1981 and 1982, the main campus layout including the building complex, the so-called North Spine, has been designed by Kenzō Tange,[41] world-renowned Japanese architect and 1987 winner of the Pritzker Prize. The North Spine has been officially opened in 1986.[42]The ADM building, featured in "Travel + Lesiure" report,[39] has been designed by a young Singaporean architect Lee Cheng Wee. [43] The Learning Hub building, also called the Hive, featured in "Times Higher Education" report,[40] has been designed by a British designer Thomas Heatherwick.[44]
Yunnan Garden Campus
Yunnan Garden Main Entrance
The former Nanyang University administration building was restored into the Chinese Heritage Centre and was gazetted as a national monument in 1998 – now overlooking the Yunnan Garden. As of 2019, the Yunnan Garden is undergoing major renovations that will be completed in 2021. However, some of it has been partially opened to the public in early 2020.[citation needed] The Nanyang University Memorial and original Nanyang University Arch were also declared national monuments of Singapore in 1998. The NTU Art & Heritage Museum is an approved public museum under the National Heritage Board's Approved Museum Scheme; benefactors who donate artworks and artefacts to NTU enjoy double tax deductions. There is a small lake between the Chinese Heritage Centre and Hall of Residence 4 called Nanyang Lake. Only members of NTU Anglers' Club permit holder, the fishing club at NTU, are allowed to fish in this lake.[45]
The campus also served as the Youth Olympic Village for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010.[46]
Undergraduate halls
NTU has 23 Halls of Residence for undergraduates, each with a capacity of between 500 and 659 residents. They accommodate 12,000 local and international students,[47] with every freshman guaranteed a hostel room. All halls are co-ed by floor or wing and offer single and double occupancy rooms. Double rooms are shared by residents of the same gender. Every hall has communal facilities like lounges, air-conditioned reading rooms, pantries and laundry rooms with washing machines and dryers. Presently, freshmen students will be guaranteed a room for two years.[48]
Transportation
Transportation to and around NTU is provided by means of campus shuttle buses.[49] The Campus Loop Red and Blue services circle the campus, while the Campus Rider service connects the campus to the Pioneer MRT station.
Architecture/Facilities of NTU
Administration Building of Nanyang Technological University.
Chinese Heritage Centre, formerly the Administration Building of Nanyang University.
Nanyang Lake
The Hive
Interior of The Hive
North Spine
South Spine
School of Art, Design and Media
Business School
Business School
Hall of Residence 5
Student Accommodation
Hall of Residence 9
NTU shuttle bus on Campus Weekend Rider
Colleges and schools
NTU is organised into several colleges and schools, each corresponding to different fields of study.[50] The founding colleges include the College of Engineering, Nanyang Business School, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, and the National Institute of Education, which have been part of NTU since its inception in 1991. More recently, NTU has established additional schools for the Biological Sciences (2001), Humanities and Social Sciences (2004), Physical & Mathematical Sciences (2005), S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (2007), and Art, Design and Media (2009). In 2013, NTU and Imperial College London jointly established a new medical school, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, on the Novena campus along 11 Mandalay Road.[51][52] In October 2016, the university announced that Humanities and Social Sciences would be expanded into two separate schools, namely the School of Humanities and the School of Social Sciences.
Nanyang Business School
Nanyang Business School (NBS) is the largest business school in Singapore.[53][54]
NBS also houses the 165-square meter Centre for Applied Financial Education, the largest finance lab in Singapore. The new lab is equipped with 60 dedicated Thomson Reuters Eikon terminals with Datastream, along with 24 Bloomberg terminals that will allow business school students to access all kinds of real-time financial, economic and business news information.[55]
The School of Art, Design and Media is Singapore's first professional art school and offers an undergraduate programmes in Art, Design, and Media, as well as graduate degrees in arts research. Its building, which features a sloping grassy roof surrounding a central courtyard, is frequently featured in NTU's promotional materials.[56]
In 2016, NTU announced that they will be splitting the School of Humanities and Social Sciences to 2 separate colleges: the School of Humanities (SOH) and School of Social Sciences (SSS) – to accommodate the rising intake of students.[57]
The College of Engineering is NTU's largest subdivision. It has been ranked among the world's top 15 schools of engineering and technology by QS World University Rankings, and claimed to be the world's largest engineering college, with a student population of more than 10,500 undergraduates and 3,500 graduates.[59] It consists of five schools[60]:
School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (CCEB),
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE),
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE),
School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE), and
School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE).
In addition to the 12 single degree programmes, the college also offers double degrees, double majors and integrated programmes as well as the only aerospace engineering programme in Singapore.[61]
College of Computing and Data Science
In February 2024, a restructuring occurred within the academic framework, resulting in the separation of the disciplines of Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Data Science, and Artificial Intelligence from the College of Engineering, establishing them as an autonomous college. This transition was marked by the introduction of new program offerings, including Applied Computing in Finance and Artificial Intelligence & Society.[62]
College of Science
As of 2024, the college consists of four schools and is home to 257 faculty members, 578 research staff, 134 administrative and technical staff, 4,227 undergraduate and 1,078 graduate students.[63]
The School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences was established in 2005 and offers various disciplines in physics, applied physics and mathematical sciences. The school offers data science programmes together with the College of Computing and Data Science.[65]
The Asian School of the Environment is a new interdisciplinary School established in 2015 to focus on Asian environmental challenges, integrating Earth systems, environmental life sciences, ecology, and the social sciences to address key issues of the environment and sustainability.[66]
In 2010, NTU announced the formation of a pro-tem governing board to guide the establishment of the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, a collaboration with Imperial College London.[68] The medical college was established in 2013. Prior to its opening in 2013, the school received record donations of S$400 million, including S$150 million from the Lee Foundation.[69][70] The School's primary clinical partner is the National Healthcare Group.[71]
Graduate College
NTU's Graduate College was formed on 1 August 2018 and is in charge of graduate programmes in NTU. One such graduate programme is the Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme (IGP), which leverages on professors from multiple schools or colleges in NTU to undertake interdisciplinary research and to act as advisors for IGP PhD students.[72] Another graduate programme is the Industrial Postgraduate Programme (IPP), which leverages on partnering industry companies to undertake industrial research and to act as advisors for IPP PhD students.[73]
The National Institute of Education (NIE), occupying 16 hectares (0.16km2; 40 acres) in the western part of NTU's Yunnan Garden campus, is Singapore's main teaching college and is run in close collaboration with Singapore's Ministry of Education. Full-time teachers in Singapore's public schools are required to complete a post-graduate diploma course at NIE, sponsored by Singapore's Ministry of Education.[74]
Beyond its colleges and schools, NTU also hosts several autonomous and university-level units that anchor research, talent development and innovation: the new NTU Honours College (first intake of ~500 students in August 2025), SCELSE—a national Research Centre of Excellence and NTU autonomous institute—the Earth Observatory of Singapore (a University Research Institute since 2023), NEWRI (Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute), ERI@N (Energy Research Institute @ NTU), the NTU Entrepreneurship Academy (NTUpreneur)—formerly the Nanyang Technopreneurship Center—and the Nanyang Centre for Public Administration (NCPA) housed under the School of Social Sciences (HASS).
Research institutes and centres
NTU hosts three Research Centres of Excellence (RCE).[75]
The Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) is a unique[citation needed] interdisciplinary Research Centre of Excellence (RCE), funded by National Research Foundation, Singapore Ministry of Education, Nanyang Technological University and National University of Singapore. Hosted by the NTU in partnership with NUS, SCELSE is linking new insights from the Life Sciences with expertise from the emerging technologies in Engineering and Natural Sciences to understand, harness and control microbial biofilm communities. The union of these fields has established a new discipline of Environmental Life Sciences Engineering.
The Institute for Digital Molecular Analytics and Science (IDMxS) is an interdisciplinary RCE, funded by Singapore Ministry of Education, Nanyang Technological University and National University of Singapore.
NTU was #40 worldwide in 2024 in terms of aggregate performance across THE, QS, and ARWU.[82]
Young university rankings
NTU is #1 in both the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2023 and the QS "Top 50 Under 50" 2021.[83] NTU has been ranked as the world's #1 young university by QS since 2015.[83]
Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) has nurtured many alumni.
In March 1991, the Singapore Parliament approved the formation of Nanyang Technological University. It was officially established on 1 July 1991, with the National Institute of Education (NIE) incorporated into it.[84][85] The alumni rolls of the former Nanyang University were transferred to NTU in 1996. NTU became autonomous in 2006 and is today one of the two largest public universities in Singapore.
Nie Chenxi – Standing Committee Member, Deputy Director, 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, People's Republic of China
Low Yen Ling – Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry; Chairperson of Mayors' Committee & Mayor, South West District; Member of Parliament for Chua Chu Kang GRC
Masagos Zulkifli – Minister for Social and Family Development & Second Minister for Health; Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs; Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC
Teo Ser Luck – former Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, Mayor, and Minister of State; President, Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
↑ Office of Housing & Auxiliary Services. "Getting Around NTU". Nanyang Technological University. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
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