Overview
About Singapore Management University (SMU)
Established in 2000, the Singapore Management University (SMU) is among the top 11 specialist universities in the world and has received five-star ratings by QS World University Rankings for overall excellence, employability, facilities and internationalisation, among other categories.
SMU is a global university, given that 61 per cent of its student population is comprised of international postgraduate students. Home to over 2,000 postgraduate students, SMU set up an Office of Postgraduate Professional Programmes (OPGPP) in 2011, focusing on master’s programmes and postgraduate student support.
Based in Singapore, SMU offers a variety of programmes at postgraduate level across its seven schools – covering subject areas such as business; accountancy; economics; computing and information systems; integrative studies and law. The university ranks among the top two in Asia and 14th in the world for its Master of IT in Business and Business Analytics degree (QS Business Analytics Ranking). Furthermore, it has 28 research-specific institutes to augment the quality of research in its schools.
SMU has over 200 student clubs, which enrich student life experience on campus. Specific activities for postgraduate students promote networking skills and executive development. With over 100 recruitment talks and career development workshops, the university enhances the employability of students. The postgraduate career service team assists students in charting their career paths and building industrial connections. In 2018, 100 per cent of MBA graduates secured internships, and 93 per cent of Master of IT in Business (MITB) students were employed within six months of graduation.
SMU provides global exposure owing to its partnerships with over 200 universities from around the world. It has a 365-strong faculty of which 40 per cent are international faculty members from 30 countries. The quality of teaching at postgraduate level is tailor-made with emphasis on innovation, research and academic excellence.
Admissions
Campus and facilities
In the dynamic, cosmopolitan hub that is Singapore, students will find a vibrant city-state that pulses with the diversity of both East and West. Situated at the crossroads of the world, Singapore is home to multinational companies and thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises, all flourishing in a smart city renowned for its business excellence and connectivity.
Outside classrooms, SMU provides numerous facilities such as a sports hall, arts and culture centre, gym and a running track. The gym is new and has three floors – one for cardio, one for weights and circuits and basement floor for dance fitness. The sports hall is a multipurpose facility where students can play basketball, badminton and volleyball, as well as practice martial arts and archery, to name a few. The hall also features an 11-metre-high wall for rock-climbing. On level six of the administration building is the swimming pool, which comes with a sauna and shower/locker rooms.
Tapping into the energy of the city is a university with a difference – the Singapore Management University. SMU boasts halls like the Mochtar Riady Auditorium that’s equipped with modern facilities which can seat up to 300 students at once. SMU’s unique pedagogy involves a seminar-style approach which allows greater contact between students and lecturers. Its classrooms and seminar rooms are customised to achieve this purpose.
SMU also features the basement studio, whose soundproofed walls make it a perfect place to rehearse music, produce music and hold jamming sessions.
Graduate outcomes
SMU takes special interest in enhancing the employability of its postgraduate students through its postgraduate career services centre. The university hosts over 50 career development programmes and recruitment talks. It also organises career fairs with participation of over 340 employers.
Students at the university are also each assigned a specific career coach to assist in mapping their career. The coaches constantly connect with the network of employers to expand the career options of students. This is implemented by organising recruitment talks, where employers share their work experience and talk about the companies’ recruitment processes and corporate cultures.
Students at SMU benefit from various initiatives including partnering with employers and connecting with the alumni. MBA students of SMU are assured of internship. This provides them an ideal platform to gain field/industry experience, helping them build their networks.
In SMU, 93 per cent of Master of IT in Business students were recruited within six months of graduation in 2021. The career services team also brings industrial professionals to interact with postgraduate students. In these sessions, students gain deep insights into their industries of interest.
Entry requirements
SMU looks for students with leadership and intellectual qualities for its postgraduate programmes. Besides the programme-specific admission conditions, there are other requirements to determine the academic and personal aptitude of students. On the academic front, the applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree from a reputed institution, a competitive GRE or GMAT score and a good TOEFL/IELTS score (if the undergraduate degree was not taught in English).
Entry requirements for study at SMU may vary according to the student’s country of origin and the existing qualifications that they hold. Prospective students can find detailed information around the minimum academic grades that they need to get a place at SMU on the university’s website.
On a personal front, applicants are required to hold a resume with academic and professional achievements, two reference reports and an interview session with SMU admission officers.
Scholarships and funding
SMU offers the SMU Masters-ASEAN Scholarship for postgraduate students hailing from ASEAN member countries. The recipient of the scholarship must have enrolled for a postgraduate professional programme at SMU, must have a commendable academic record and must not be a recipient of other SMU scholarships. Scholarships are also available at programme level.
Average tuition fees per year for courses at SMU are SG 51,000. There is a wide range of scholarships available to students studying at the university, allowing them to cover the costs of their studies and achieve improved academic outcomes.
Many Chinese, Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian and Indian banks like Maybank, State Bank of India, CIMB and OCBC offer education loans to study in Singapore.