Study In Singapore

Singapore is an island-city state just off southern Malaysia and although it is quite small geographically, it a global hub for education, finance, healthcare, innovation, entertainment, technology, manufacturing, tourism, trade, and transport. Recognized as a “Global Schoolhouse,” this island nation is famous for its universities and student-friendly climate. With its name featuring pretty regularly in global surveys on research and innovation, Singapore lays a great emphasis on maintaining the highest standards of teaching, and scientific research.

Having a multicultural population, studying in Singapore won’t just be an opportunity to spend a couple of years living in a new country and exploring, it would also be a chance for you to be among some of the most forward-thinking, open-minded and intellectual people.

If you take up a Masters in Singapore, whether finance or business or management, you’ll be able to learn from high-tech innovations or study a fascinating and unique cultural heritage.

Cost of Living

Unfortunately, the cost fo study in Singapore is one of the highest in Asia. However, when compared to say Australia or UK it is still relatively low and the good news is that 52% of international students in Singapore are eligible for financial aid from top Singapore banks.

The average annual tuition fee to study in Singapore is approximately 16,500 SGD (Singapore Dollar), although it differs from course to course or institute to institute. Along with that, the living expenses would come to a total of about 10,000 SGD including everything from stay to transport to food.

Visa and Immigration

After receiving the acceptance letter from an institute, the students need to apply for Student Pass to enter Singapore which is issued by Singapore immigration and Checkpoint Authority (ICA). The process can be done mostly online through the Student’s Pass On-Line Application and Registration (SOLAR) system, which both universities and students use to submit the relevant documentation. Successful applicants will be issued with an in-principle approval (IPA) letter by ICA which your university will send directly to you within 2-3 weeks of your application.

Working while studying in Singapore

Part-time work is allowed to students but it is subject to approval by the university that they would be studying in. Therefore, before looking for a job, it would be better for you to ask the relevant university office if you would be allowed to work. Only local employers are allowed to offer part-time employment to overseas students from local universities, so your options for growth might not be there but the opportunity to gain work exposure sure is.

But on the plus side, during studies, several colleges and universities in Singapore offer internships as part of their curriculum so you can gain hands-on experience of working in big organizations then.

Working after studying in Singapore

After studying in Singapore, if a student wants to stay in the country to look for jobs, they need to obtain a Visit Pass to stay, which would be valid for a maximum of 12 months. After getting a job, you can apply for anEmployment Pass.

Beware though that Singapore has been blocking visas for IT professionals for a while, so the employment scenarios are not too clear, but, opportunities are there in Management, Business, ICT, Finance, and Hospitality.

Top 5 Universities in Singapore

National University of Singapore

NUS or National University of Singapore is a comprehensive research university, offering a wide range of courses, including Business, Engineering, Medicine, Environment, Law, Arts and Social Sciences, Design, Computing and Music in both undergraduate and postgraduate levels and is the oldest higher education institution in Singapore.

It is one of the world’s most prestigious universities, being ranked 1st in Singapore and the Asia Pacific, and 11th and 22nd in the world by the 2019 QS World University Rankings and 2018 Times Higher Education World Rankings respectively. Along with that, NUS was named the world’s 4th most international university, while it’s 2018 reputation rankings placed it at #24 globally.

Nanyang Technological University

The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is an autonomous research university in Singapore and is known for its eco-friendly and smart technology garden campus, which was named as one of the most beautiful school campuses in the world. It has over 33000 students organized into eight colleges and schools for Business, Engineering, Science, Medicine, and Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. NTU is also home to several autonomous institutions with it’s strongest faculties being in engineering and business.

NTU has been ranked 11th in the world and 1st in Asia in 2018s QS World University Rankings and also came in overall 1st in the world in the ranking of young universities for four consecutive years in the QS Top 50 Under 50 rankings from 2015 to 2018. In 2011, NTU became the first university in Asia to receive the maximum five stars under the QS Stars evaluation system, and the only one in Singapore to date. NTU’s Nanyang Business School is Singapore’s top business school, having emerged 24th globally (1st in Singapore) in the Financial Times ranking and 1st in Singapore for 13 consecutive years in The Economist rankings. The NTU College of Engineering was ranked 2nd and 4th in the world by both the Academic Ranking of World Universities and QS World University Rankings respectively, and 1st in Singapore.

Singapore Management University

SMU or Singapore Management University is a university that aspires to generate leading-edge research with global impact as well as to produce broad-based, creative and entrepreneurial leaders for the knowledge-based economy. The university provides an American-style education modeled after the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. It has a city campus with a total enrollment of about 10,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students and comprises six schools offering undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. programmes in Business Administration, Business Analytics, Financial Services, Accountancy, Economics, Information Systems Management, Law and the Social Sciences.

SMU was the first university in Asia to be accredited by Ashoka, a global non-profit organisation supporting leading social entrepreneurs worldwide, as a Changemaker Campus and the first in Singapore to be accredited as a research organization by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc. headquartered in Washington, D.C. SMU also is ranked #11 worldwide according to the 2017 Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings. SMU Specialized Masters have also made the Financial Times, QS and Eduniversal list on various occasions.

Singapore Institute of Management

The Singapore Institute of Management or SIM is Singapore’s largest private organization for education and professional training. It offers certificates, diplomas, along with undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and executive education courses. SIM provides its education through three different brands; SIM International Academy, SIM Global Education, and SIM Professional Development.

SIM has been in the top 3 Best Private Institute Award by AsiaOne People’s Choice Awards for 8 years and was voted a Preferred Private Education Institution in the JobsCentral Learning Survey 2015. It has also topped the Fastest Growing 50 list and is ranked at #9 in Singapore.

Singapore University of Technology and Design

SUTD or Singapore University of Technology and Design is another autonomous university in Singapore and aims to provide advance knowledge and nurture technically grounded leaders and innovators to serve societal needs, with a focus on design and through a multi-disciplinary curriculum and research. SUTD has collaborations with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Zhejiang University (ZJU), and Singapore Management University (SMU) to provide their students with more opportunities with an advanced curriculum, research and exchange programmes.

SUTD ranks at #4 in Singapore with its Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Architecture degree programmes receiving full accreditation from the Engineering Accreditation Board (EAB) and the Board of Architects (BOA).

Along with that, various universities from areas like Australia, United Kingdom and The United States of America have also opened satellite campuses in Singapore which enables students to have the best education at a lower cost.

Therefore, having not only a relatively easy visa process but also some of the best schools providing Masters in the fields of Business, Management, Engineering, Law and Arts makes Singapore an education hub and an amazing destination to study in. Studying in Singapore will provide you with a plethora of opportunities to interact with people from all over the world and enable you to gain a once in a lifetime experience that would also provide a positive push towards your career goals.