Master of Science in Applied Biomedicine (MSc ABM)

Advancing Biomedicine Expertise in Vaccinology, Infectious Diseases, and Drug Development

Overview

The Master of Science in Applied Biomedicine (MSc ABM) at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine is a postgraduate programme with full-time (1 year) and part-time (2 years) study options. This coursework-based programme features specialisations in Vaccinology and Immunotherapy, Infectious Disease Management, and Drug Discovery and Development.

The programme aims to develop critical and analytical thinking skills, preparing students to be resourceful and adaptable leaders in biomedicine. Graduates are equipped to meet the demands of the healthcare and biopharmaceutical industries, ensuring a steady supply of skilled professionals to research institutes, ministries, and hospitals, particularly in areas such as infectious diseases, vaccine development, and drug discovery.

The MSc ABM provides students:

Intake: August 2025

Duration:

1 Year (Full-Time)

2 Years (Part-Time)

Application Start Date:

1 September 2024

Application Deadline:

30 April 2025

Outcome of Applications

Within 3 months of application

Ideal candidates for the programme

Local and international students with a life science, bioengineering, or medical Bachelor’s degree, and working professionals in local healthcare, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and health-related industries.

Graduates from this programme can pursue careers in roles such as:

Programme Faculty

A/Prof Kevin Tan Shyong Wei

Programme Director, MSc in
Applied Biomedicine (ABM)
NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine

A/Prof Zhang Yongliang

Co-Programme Director, MSc in
Applied Biomedicine (ABM)
NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine

Dr Jaishree Tripathi

Infectious Diseases Management
Specialisation Coordinator
NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine

Dr Png Chin Wen

Vaccinology and Immunotherapy
Specialisation Coordinator
NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine

Dr Sham Lok-To (Chris)

Capstone Project Coordinator
NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine

A/Prof Gautam Sethi

Drug Discovery and Development
Specialisation Coordinator
NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine

Dr Volker Patzel

Biomedical Innovation & Enterprise
Course Coordinator
NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine

The MSc ABM is available as a 1 year (full-time) or 2 years (part-time) degree. Students can choose to specialise in one of the 3 tracks offered; Vaccinology and Immunotherapy, Infectious Diseases Management or Drug Discovery and Development or remain in the general (unspecialised) track.

Graduation Requirements
Total Units Required: 40 Units

To graduate, students have to:

Complete the following 4 compulsory core courses (12 units)

ABM5001 Leadership in Biomedicine
ABM5002 Advanced Biostatistics for Research
ABM5003 Biomedical Innovation & Enterprise
BMI5101 Advanced Biomedical Informatics

+ Complete

ABM5004 Capstone Project (8 units)

MDG5229 Advanced Topics in Signal Transduction (4 units)
MDG5102 Techniques in Biomedical Research (4 units)

+ Choose and complete

5 courses from the Elective Courses list for each track (20 MCs), to achieve specialisation in a particular track

5 modules from the Elective Courses list across the 3 tracks (20 MCs), if no specialisation is intended

Please refer HERE for the proposed study plan for full-time and part-time students.

Full-time students are expected to complete the programme within 12 – 24 months. The maximum candidature is 24 months; excluding Leave of Absence (LOA).
Part-time students are expected to complete the programme within 24 – 36 months. The maximum candidature is 36 months; excluding Leave of Absence (LOA).

Important:

The University does not engage external agencies for student recruitment. Candidates should apply directly to the University and not through any agents. Applications submitted through agents will not receive any added advantage and the University reserves the right to reject such application without explanation.

Only online applications are accepted.

Before submitting your application:

Download and read the Applicant Guide to the Graduate Admission System (GDA)
Review the Checklist for Applicants. Please upload the relevant supporting documents according to the checklist when submitting your online application.

To be eligible for enrolment, applicants must meet the following requirements. However, please note that selection of candidates is based on a competitive basis and meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission into the programme.

Minimum Requirements:

Bachelor (Hons) degrees in M.B.B.S., Life Sciences (e.g., Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology), Bioengineering, Biotechnology, or a related health sciences discipline. Other qualifications and relevant industrial experience may be considered on a case-by-case basis, subject to approval by the selection committee.
International applicants from non-English speaking universities must demonstrate English proficiency with a minimum TOEFL score of 85 (Internet-based) or a minimum IELTS Academic score of 6.0. Scores must be valid for two years from the test date and should not have expired at the time of application. Expired scores will not be considered.

Tuition Fees:

Total Tuition Fees (for students enrolled in the Academic Year 2025/2026 only): S$57,700 (inclusive of Goods & Services Tax (GST))

The payment schedule is as follows:

Full Time Students

Part-Time Students

International Students

Year 1 Semester 1

S$28,850

–

Year 1 Semester 2

S$28,850

S$14,425

–

Year 2 Semester 1

–

S$14,425

–

Year 2 Semester 2

–

S$14,425

–

Acceptance Fee (Including GST):

S$5,000

Additional Fee:

In addition to tuition fees, students will be charged miscellaneous student fees each semester.

Miscellaneous student fees help meet costs incurred by the University in providing services to the student community that are either not covered or only partially covered by the tuition fees. These services include healthcare for students; facilitating student cultural, social and recreational programmes; and maintaining the shuttle bus service, IT network and other essential campus infrastructure and services.

For more information, please visit the Office of the University Registrar website.

Note:

All Singaporeans and Singapore PRs will receive a 40% tuition fee rebate.
All NUS alumni will receive a 20% tuition fee rebate.
Upon acceptance of offer, an acceptance fee of S$5000.00 (including GST) will be charged on the Graduate Admission System (GDA). Acceptance fees is non-refundable, non-transferable and will be credited towards the tuition fee once the programme starts.

Graduation Requirements
Total Units Required: 40 Units

To graduate, students have to:

Complete the following 4 compulsory core courses (12 units)

ABM5001 Leadership in Biomedicine
ABM5002 Advanced Biostatistics for Research
ABM5003 Biomedical Innovation & Enterprise
BMI5101 Advanced Biomedical Informatics

+ Complete

ABM5004 Capstone Project (8 units)

MDG5229 Advanced Topics in Signal Transduction (4 units)
MDG5102 Techniques in Biomedical Research (4 units)

+ Choose and complete

5 courses from the Elective Courses list for each track (20 MCs), to achieve specialisation in a particular track

5 modules from the Elective Courses list across the 3 tracks (20 MCs), if no specialisation is intended

Please refer HERE for the proposed study plan for full-time and part-time students.

Full-time students are expected to complete the programme within 12 – 24 months. The maximum candidature is 24 months; excluding Leave of Absence (LOA).
Part-time students are expected to complete the programme within 24 – 36 months. The maximum candidature is 36 months; excluding Leave of Absence (LOA).

Important:

Only online applications are accepted.

Before submitting your application:

Download and read the Applicant Guide to the Graduate Admission System (GDA)
Review the Checklist for Applicants. Please upload the relevant supporting documents according to the checklist when submitting your online application.

Minimum Requirements:

Bachelor (Hons) degrees in M.B.B.S., Life Sciences (e.g., Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology), Bioengineering, Biotechnology, or a related health sciences discipline. Other qualifications and relevant industrial experience may be considered on a case-by-case basis, subject to approval by the selection committee.
International applicants from non-English speaking universities must demonstrate English proficiency with a minimum TOEFL score of 85 (Internet-based) or a minimum IELTS Academic score of 6.0. Scores must be valid for two years from the test date and should not have expired at the time of application. Expired scores will not be considered.

Tuition Fees:

Total Tuition Fees (for students enrolled in the Academic Year 2025/2026 only): S$57,700 (inclusive of Goods & Services Tax (GST))

The payment schedule is as follows:

Year 1 Semester 1

Full Time Students

S$28,850

Part-Time Students

S$28,850

International Students

–

Year 1 Semester 2

Full Time Students

S$28,850

Part-Time Students

S$14,425

International Students

–

Year 2 Semester 1

Full Time Students

–

Part-Time Students

S$14,425

International Students

–

Year 2 Semester 2

Full Time Students

–

Part-Time Students

S$14,425

International Students

–

Acceptance Fee (Including GST):

S$5,000

Additional Fee:

In addition to tuition fees, students will be charged miscellaneous student fees each semester.

For more information, please visit the Office of the University Registrar website.

Note:

All Singaporeans and Singapore PRs will receive a 40% tuition fee rebate.
All NUS alumni will receive a 20% tuition fee rebate.
Upon acceptance of offer, an acceptance fee of S$5000.00 (including GST) will be charged on the Graduate Admission System (GDA). Acceptance fees is non-refundable, non-transferable and will be credited towards the tuition fee once the programme starts.

Frequently Asked Questions

The official application requires us to submit a documentary proof of financial support in English. What does this refer to? What document can I submit as financial proof?

You may submit a bank statement (original, certified true copy or electronically generated statements will be accepted) OR a certificate of deposit in English issued by the bank as a proof that you (or your parent) have the stated amount in the bank account. If you are not the account holder indicated in the bank statement, attach another document stating your relationship with the account holder.

The financial proof should certify your financial ability to make payment for the Miscellaneous Student Fees (MSFs) and full tuition fees.

What is the maximum candidature?

The MSc in Applied Biomedicine programme is a 1 year, full-time or 2 year part-time 40 units’ degree with 3 specialisations in either Vaccinology and Immunotherapy, Drug Discovery and Development or Infectious Diseases Management.

Full-time students are expected to complete the programme within 12 – 24 months. The maximum candidature is 24 months; excluding Leave of Absence (LOA).
Part-time students are expected to complete the programme within 24- 36 months. The maximum candidature is 36 months; excluding Leave of Absence (LOA).

What are the continuation and graduation requirements?

Continuation Requirement:

For continuation of candidature a student must obtain satisfactory progress during his/her candidature (Coursework), i.e., Student will be issued a warning for any semester in which his/her GPA falls below 3.00. If in the following semester, the student’s GPA again falls below 3.00 but is above 2.50, he/she will be placed on probation.

Student’s candidature may be terminated and refused re-admission if he/she obtains:

GPA< 1.5 in the first semester of study; or
GPA< 2.50 for two consecutive semesters of study; or
GPA< 3.00 for three consecutive semesters of study

Graduation Requirement:

Read and pass five core courses and five elective courses that are in the course list.
Obtained a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 out of 5.0 or equivalently, an average grade of at least B-.

Where can I find the list of courses?

Please refer to the programme website under “Curriculum” tab for the list of courses.

Please refer to NUSMods for more information regarding the courses.

Please note that the courses may only be available once per academic year (AY) and you are to refer to NUSMods or the programme website for more information.

How many courses am I allowed to take per semester?

The maximum workload for full-time and part-time students is 20 Units (5 courses) and 12 Units (3 courses) respectively.

The minimum workload for full-time and part-time students is 12 Units (3 courses) and 4 Units (1 course) respectively.

Students are highly encouraged to complete their course of study within the maximum candidature or earlier. Please pace and select your course choices across the semesters within the candidature.

Am I allowed to change my choice of specialisation?

Students are allowed to change their specialisation except in their last semester of study. Students are responsible for ensuring that they meet all course requirements for their desired specialisation.

How do I register for the courses?

Students would be required to register for the courses using Course Registration at Education Records System (CourseReg@EduRec), which is the University’s consolidated course registration platform.

Where can I find the lesson schedule?

Please refer to the programme website under “Study Plan” tab for the list of core and elective courses and the semesters which they are being offered. Actual course timetables can be found on the Canvas platform after you have successfully registered for the courses.

If you are unable to find the answer to your query in the list of FAQs, you can email us at mscabm@nus.edu.sg and we will reply to you within 3 working days.