Study In Singapore

A diverse cultural heritage, a thriving modern economy, a global centre of commerce and trade, a business-friendly economy –make Singapore attractive to the international students. The country depicts a rare blend of Asian schooling and Western practices and ensures it a top-rank among global universities.

Many foreign universities based in US, UK, and Australia, have opened their satellite campuses in Singapore and their attraction brings the best Asian academic talent to Singapore. Another advantage of studying in Singapore is that the government pays 75% of the tuition fee for the student;and the student has to work for 3 years there. Indian students, with outstanding academic merit, are eligible for undertaking the 5-star program. Singapore is the top 11th country worldwide, and first in Asia, for its pursuing first grade higher education. Singapore Polytechnics bring a high degree of professionalism, competitiveness and improvement, and offer Quality Assurance.

The tuition fee is low and affordable, and the cost of living is lower compared to developed countries. Moreover there is a tendency to offer scholarships, bursaries and study loans on merit basis. There is a Student Protection Scheme in case PEI (Private Education Institutions) ceases to operate, become insolvent, do not pay penalties, or close shop. Voluntary EduTrust Certification Scheme is a prerequisite to be met by private education institutions that enroll international students.

Singapore has a safe environment where the Crime rate is low.

The choice of a course and the type of scholarship is important in Singapore. Scholarships help a student with academic excellence and prestige to further the journey of his/her career.

Scholarships issued by local universities, are popular and Business Administration remains the best option of study.

For graduates, banking finance services, airlines, and travel industry are hugely popular.

Being the hot spot for education in South East Asia;Singapore stands as a solid connecting bridge between the east and west of the world. The multi cultural diversity it has imbibed in itself because of inflow of different countries’immigrants to study, work and live has converted Singapore into a metropolitan nation. Education, among other industries in Singapore is a hot cake and all credit goes to its amazing infra structure and gleaming standards of the institutions located in there. Let’s take a tour of Singapore’s education!

Education System

Coming to the education system in Singapore and the type of institutions present in Singapore which offer higher education, it can be out in simple words.

Singapore’s educational institutions are of two types. They are Private Education Organizations and Universities.

Coming to Private Education Organizations, these are the institutions which operate under the supervision and affiliation of public universities. A single Private Education Organization can be tied up with different universities for different programs and the certificate awarding bodies will be those respective universities for the respective courses. This provides students with a great benefit to get the international universities’ accreditation by studying under the shady meadows of Singapore for affordable fees.

Hopping on to Universities, Singapore maintains Public Universities which are of utmost standards and maintain global quality in education. These are the universities which brought international recognition, notice and accolade to Singapore for its education. All the graduate, post graduate, certificate, diploma and doctoral programs are offered in universities in all areas of study ranging from Information technology to Fine arts and Languages.

Levels of education

As usual as anywhere round the world, Singapore offers Bachelors degrees, Graduate Diplomas, Masters Programs and Doctoral Programs. Let’s see at each of them in a brief detail.

Graduate Diploma

These diploma programs are usually for students who are seeking strong technical knowledge in their own areas of study so that they could invade the market for skilled jobs in the coming times. These graduate diploma programs usually last for 1 year of time but the range of academics covered will be confined to certain extent.

Master Programs

Like the master programs offered in many countries, Singapore also enriched its universities with diverse range of master programs to be offered to students. These programs will usually last for 2 years. The eligibility criteria will obviously be a little more tougher than that of graduate diplomas. All curriculums like MBA, MA, MS etc are offered in the universities. The students should be able to produce impressive academic performances in their previous studies, attached with a couple of years of real time work experience in the relevant areas of study.

Students are expected to take examinations like GRE, TOEFL/IELTS for their eligibility into the masters programs in Singapore universities. And for MBA program, they’re expected to have given their GMAT test.

Doctoral programs

Doctoral programs are usually the continuation of masters programs of students in their own areas of study which usually last for 3-5 years.

Doctoral programs include the submission of research along with a thesis and this happens after the completion of their master degree.

Like for the masters programs, students are supposed to take GRE, TOEFL/IELTS, GMAT etc to obtain an admission for doctoral programs in Singapore institutions.

Singapore’s Universities has contributed sound knowledge to the student’s globe wide. This has made its presence felt in the QS World University Rankings.

Amongst greatest Universities in Singapore, National University of Singapore (NUS) stood first. Many other universities have dreamt about this before and NUS have achieved.

Subjects in which NUS is now ranked within the global top ten include geography, mechanical engineering, computer science, law, materials science, accounting and finance, pharmacy, statistics modern languages, communication and media studies.

Singapore has more than one string to its bow; Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University are the other Universities which are maintaining quality standards.

The country has also collaborated with top universities in other countries to attract prospective students.

The newly established Singapore University of Technology and Design is one among them. It was in partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, and Zhejiang University, China.

Few are all set to inaugurate like Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, collaboration between NTU and the UK’s Imperial College London, and Yale-NUS College – the country’s first liberal arts college, established in partnership with Yale University, USA.

Tuition Fees

(A) For new students admitted in AY2013/2014 Faculties / Schools					Per Annum Amounts
(S$)
Fees payable by students not eligible for MOE subsidy2					Fees payable by students eligible for MOE subsidy1
Singapore Citizens			Singapore Permanent Residents				International Students3
Research Programmes
Programmes offered by:	Full-time	Part-time	Full-time	Part-time		Full-time	Part-time	Full-time	Part-time
Dentistry,	70,750	70,750	10,250	10,250		14,350	14,350	34,150	34,150
Medicine
Nursing	30,600	30,600	8,110	8,110		11,350	11,350	27,000	27,000
Computing,	33,000	33,000	6,400	6,400		8,950	8,950	21,300	21,300
Design & Environment (Building),
Engineering,
NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, Public Health, Science
Arts & Social Sciences,	24,850	24,850	6,400	6,400		8,950	8,950	21,300	21,300
Business,
Design & Environment (Architecture, Industrial Design, Real Estate),
Law
Coursework Programmes
Programmes offered by:	Full-time	Part-time	Full-time	Part-time		Full-time	Part-time	Full-time	Part-time
Dentistry,	78,850	39,450	18,350	9,200		25,700	12,850	61,100	30,550
Medicine, Public Health,
except:
– Master of Dental Surgery (Prosthodontics)	81,500	–	21,000	–		28,350	–	63,750	–
[includes Materials and Lab fees of S$2,650]
Computing,	35,000	17,500	8,350	4,200		11,700	5,850	27,800	13,900
Engineering,
Science,
Design & Environment:
– MSc (Building Performance and Sustainability) – MSc (Integrated Sustainable Design)
– Master of Architecture	36,900	–	8,350	–		11,700	–	16,700	–
– Master of Landscape Architecture	36,900	–	8,350	–		11,700	–	27,800	–
Arts & Social Sciences,	33,400	16,700	8,350	4,200		11,700	5,850	27,800	13,900
Law,
Design & Environment: – MA (Urban Design) – MSc (Environmental

Scholarships

Scholarship	Purpose	Level
Regional Studies Programme (RSP) Scholarships	To encourage academically able and linguistically talented students to pursue Malay (Special Programme) or Bahasa Indonesia as a third language under the Regional Studies Programme	Secondary Pre-University
Special Assistance Plan (SAP) Scholarships	To attract and nurture a group of highly able students who have the interest and capacity to engage China’s culture and contemporary society to pursue Chinese Language under the Bicultural Studies Programme (Chinese)	Secondary Pre-University
Language Elective Scholarships	French	Pre-University
	German
	Japanese
	Malay
	Chinese
	English
	Tamil
Art Elective Scholarships	To encourage academically able and artistically talented students to pursue the Art Elective Programme (AEP) at the ‘A’ levels H2 and H3	Pre-University
Humanities Scholarships	To encourage bright students to pursue Humanities subjects at Pre-U level under the Humanities Programme at the ‘A’ levels	Pre-University
Music Elective Scholarships	To encourage academically able and musically talented students to pursue the Music Elective Programme (MEP) at the ‘A’ levels H2 and H3	Pre-University

The Lee Kong Chain Graduate Scholarships (“Scholarships”) were established from donations received from the Lee foundation and are the most prestigious scholarship awards for graduate students in National University of Singapore. The scholarship is intended for students who would like to pursue PhD Programs at the University.

The scholarship covers a monthly stipend of $3,300;
Tuition, examination fees, and other approved fees at NUS;
An annual book allowance of $500;
A one-off air travel allowance of 2 return tickets of up to $4,000
A one-off laptop allowance of $1,500

The award is tenable for one year in the first instance, but subject to the scholar’s satisfactory progress, it may be renewed annually. The maximum period of award is four years.

Eligibility

The applicant’s should:

Have graduated with an under graduate degree with first class or second-upper.
Be an incoming new PhD student not currently matriculated;
At the time of award of the Scholarship, must have been offered admission as a candidate for a full-time higher degree by research at NUS and,
Students must be eligible for MOE subsidy. *Please click here for Eligibility Guidelines for MOE Subsidy.

Application Instructions:

This selection will take place twice a year, in August and in January.

Incoming PhD candidates will have to indicate their interest in the scholarship when they submit their application for admission. Apart from the other supporting documents required for PhD admission, candidates interested in the scholarship must also submit a personal essay and a record of co-curricular activities or community service. Short-listed candidates will be invited to an interview either in Singapore or their home country.

The above information is about to change at any time.

Employment Opportunities

Singapore is very particular about students’ employments who are studying in its institutions. Jobs are available to students who are enrolled only in universities and polytechnic institutions. But students who study in Private institutions aren’t entitled to work part time during their course duration.

Students who study in universities and polytechnic institutes are entitled to work for almost 16 hours a week during semesters, however they are allowed to work for full time during semester breaks.

Full time employment in Singapore is always precious for international students as it opens out a new world in front of them which extends its wings wide into global arena. Singapore, as earlier discussed, has become a center for South East Asia and this provides ample opportunities for Students who study in Singapore institutions to get employed more likely.