A*STAR Research Attachment Programme (ARAP) — allgemeines Programm (aktive Partner: Manchester, UCL, Surrey, Warwick)

A*STAR Research Attachment Programme (ARAP)

You spend 1 to 2 years doing research at an A*STAR institute in Singapore during your PhD. You get a monthly stipend (a living-cost allowance) plus a housing allowance, a one-time flight grant, a one-time settling-in allowance and an IT allowance. Medical insurance, visa costs and a conference allowance are also covered. An older brochure listed the stipend as S$2,500 per month (about 1,700 EUR) and the flight grant as S$1,500 (about 1,020 EUR). The amounts are reviewed from time to time, so confirm the current figures with your university office or A*STAR. You work under two supervisors at once: one from your home university and one A*STAR researcher. The programme is run by A*STAR, Singapore's national research agency, which operates around 20 institutes in biomedical sciences, physical sciences, engineering and infocomm. Your PhD tuition at your home university is not paid.

Who can apply

• Level: You are a PhD student. If you are on an integrated MSc-PhD programme, you can only join once you reach the PhD phase.
• Where you study: You study at one of the four active partner universities in the UK: Manchester, University College London (UCL), Surrey or Warwick. Students at other universities can apply through the separate ARAP-Individual route.
• First degree: You hold a bachelor's degree with at least a Second Class (Upper) Honours or equivalent.
• Research record: You have a solid track record in research and strong reference reports.
• Nationality: Open to any nationality.
• English: You need basic English, since it is the main working language in Singapore. No formal English test is required.
• The link: Your home supervisor and an A*STAR researcher must agree on a joint research project. You cannot apply on your own.

How to apply

You do not apply directly. Your home supervisor and an A*STAR researcher first agree on a joint project, and the A*STAR researcher submits the nomination by 1 June or 1 December each year. If you study at Manchester, UCL, Surrey or Warwick, contact your university's doctoral office to start the process.

How realistic are your chances?

This is narrowly cut. You must already be a PhD student at one of four named universities, and a working link between your supervisor and an A*STAR researcher has to exist before any nomination happens. That collaboration is the real hurdle, not your paperwork. If the research partnership is genuine and your project fits an A*STAR institute, your prospects are good, since the eligible pool is small.