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Colleges Ranking 2023

UniversityThe 2023QS 2023US World 2023
National University of Singapore - NUS191126
Nanyang Technological University - NTU361930

Study in Singapore

Why Study in Singapore?

Studying in Singapore offers students a whole bunch of attractive opportunities such as a wide range of courses, top universities, quality education, and high employability. Around 30,000 students study with various universities in Singapore. As recorded for the academic year of 2018, 2000 Indian students chose to study in Singapore (MoEA). 

Here’s why studying in Singapore is one of the most ideal and considerable choices of international aspirants:

  • Cost of Study: The tuition fees, cost of living, and other additional costs related to studying abroad are relatively lower when your choice of study destination is Singapore. As compared to other popular study destinations like the USA, Canada, UK, Singapore Universities offers you world-class education at cheaper rates
    • UG Degrees Cost: 15,000 SGD (~11,000 USD)
    • PG Degrees Cost: 28,000 SGC (~21,000 USD)
Cost of Living in Singapore vs Other Destinations
  • Safety: Singapore’s no tolerance towards racism and strict law enforcement policies with a politically stable environment offer a student with safer living conditions. It is globally ranked as 7th safest place in the world by QS. 
  • English-taught Programs: A number of courses in all universities that are exclusively available in English. Language is not a barrier for an international student looking forward to studying in Singapore.
  • International University Hub: There are 16 leading foreign universities with their centers being set-up in Singapore. Along with this, Singaporean Universities offer a variety of student-exchange programs with Australian, UK, and US universities. 
  • Employability: Some of the top universities in Singapore enjoy employability ranking among top 50 universities in the world. Additionally, Singapore is rising as the Asian financial hub and its connectivity with other Asian countries brings in a lot of opportunities. Hence, the employability opportunities are in their prime in Singapore. 
  • Immigration Policies: You get your student visa as soon as you get accepted by a university.
  • Funding: There are immense scholarships available for both international and domestic students. The tuition grant by the Singaporean Ministry of Education is one of the most popular grants for which you can apply as soon as you have received your acceptance letter.

Among some of the most popular courses opted while studying in Singaporean Universities and Polytechnics are given below are as per the enrollment data available for the year 2018. (Department of Singapore Statistics);

Popular Courses to study in Singapore

As per the given graph, it can be considered that business administration and engineering studies are among two of the most popular streams.

Degree Courses to Study in Singapore

  • Undergraduate Programs: Bachelor’s degrees are usually 3-4 year programs offered by most of the universities in subject areas like business, medicine, engineering, creative arts, and more. You are usually required to have a high school leaving certificate to apply for these programs. 
  • Various Certificates and diploma programs are also available for undergraduate applicants.
  • Postgraduate Programs: Master’s degrees are often one-two year programs available as both coursework and research programs. You are usually required to have a relevant bachelor’s degree and English language proficiency to pursue a master’s degree in Singapore. There are no additional test requirements to study in Singapore (IELTS/TOEFL) for most of the courses.
  • PhD/Doctorate Programs: A number of universities offer Ph.D. programs to international students. Alongside a master’s degree, language proficiency test scores (like IELTS/TOEFL, etc), you are required to submit a research proposal which if accepted results in your admission with Singapore Universities. 
  • Exchange Programs: Singapore is a hub to many international universities and their center. Several exchange students study in Singapore each year. Some of the popular universities having campuses/centers in Singapore are the University of Nottingham, Durham University, MIT, Zhejiang University, and more.

Generally, the two Semester system is followed across Singapore universities and institutes. However, some universities observe a Trimester system as well.

  • Semester 1 (August Intake)
    • The August semester lasts for 18 weeks. 
    • The deadline for international students interested in an undergraduate program is March. 
    • The deadline for graduate programs extends till Mid November.
  • Semester 2 (January Intake)
    • January semester is completed within 17 weeks’ time.
    • International students can apply till July for the undergraduate program. 
    • For graduate applicants, the deadline is in May. 
  • Semester 3 (October Intake)
    • The deadline for the third-semester undergraduate program is in June.
    • The deadline for the postgraduate program is in July.

As mentioned earlier, Singapore offers 50% of its international students scholarships to afford their educational expenses. Scholarships in Singapore are usually offered on the basis of academic merit, home country, and other factors.  Some of the popular scholarships for international students are:

  • Singapore International Graduate Awards: Available for international students with excellent academic records at the undergraduate level, and who are also interested in research work. Offers financial support for up to 4 years of Ph.D. studies including full tuition fees waiver, monthly stipend, settlement allowance, and airfare grant.
  • INSEAD-Syngenta MBA Scholarships for Developing Country Leaders: Available for students from an emerging economy pursuing MBA. Offers award money of 32,000 SGD
  • ADB-Japan Scholarship Program for Developing Countries in Asia and Pacific: Offered to international students from ADB borrowing member country pursuing masters or doctoral program in a university at Singapore. Waivers full tuition fees, a monthly subsistence and housing allowance, allowance for books, medical insurance, and travel expenses for a period of one year.
  • Singapore Government Scholarships for Southeast Asians: Offered to meritorious students from ASEAN countries enrolled in undergraduate programs at a University in Singapore. Awards full tuition fees waiver, a living allowance of 43000 SGD per annum, and accommodation fee.
  • SIA Youth Scholarship: Offered to students from ASEAN countries pursuing their pre-university degrees. SIA Youth Scholarships offer hostel allowance, medical cover expenses, airfare, and school fees. 
  • NUS Science and Technology Scholarships: Offered to Asian freshmen at NUS, wavering full-tuition, 6000 SGD for living allowance, and 2000 SGD one-time allowance. NUS Science and Technology Scholarship is limited in number.
  • Tuition Grant by the Ministry of Education: The grant covers complete tuition fees. However, one of the major conditions on this grant is, the graduating student has to sign a bond that they will work in Singapore for three years.

The average income in Singapore is 8450 SGD/month. The annual salaries offered in Singapore range from 25,600 to 453,000 SGD. The salary distribution in Singapore is:

  • 25% of employees earn less than 59,000 SGD
  • 50% of employees earn less than 105,000 SGD
  • 75% of employees earn less than 290,000 SGD
  • 100% of employees earn less than 453,000 SGD

Additionally, the male-female wage gap is 5%, where men earn an annual average salary of 104,000 SGD while women earn around 99,200 SGD. A similar gap is seen between the government and private sectors where you can earn 5% more in private sectors when compared with public sectors. 

Top Recruiters in Singapore

Top Recruiters in Singapore

Some of the popular job roles and the salaries offered at those are:

Job RoleSalaries (SGD/yr)
Accountant63,000
CA82,600
Graphic Designer62,600
Architect116,000
Business Analyst123,000
Civil Engineer87,000
Mechanical Engineer95,000
Network Engineer80,400
Biomedical Engineer83,500

Singapore has a thriving art and culture, is a food-lovers paradise, and an efficient business city. Raising the bar of Asian education and getting it recognized across the world, Singapore has stepped up the ladder of study-abroad destinations and is becoming a new home to Indian students. Singapore is also popular for its transfer programs where students are offered an opportunity to study abroad with institutions in Australia, UK, China, USA, etc. Apart from acing the education sector, Singapore is home to over 7000 MNCs offering a huge employment market to fresh graduates from Singaporean Universities. 

Exams For Singapore

ielts

International English Language Testing System [IELTS]

International English Language Testing System(IELTS) is an international standardized test that measures the level.

Toefl Logo

Test of English as a Foreign Language [TOEFL]

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is an international standardised test conducted to assess the level of English.

pte

Pearson Test of English [PTE]

PTE (Pearson Test of English) is an English language proficiency test conducted by Pearson PCL group in association with Edexcel.

gre

Graduate Record Examination [GRE]

Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is an international standardized test required for admission into Graduate schools.

gmat

Graduate Management Admission Test [GMAT]

Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is conducted by GMAC for admission to nearly 5400 management courses.

sat llogo

Scholastic Aptitude Test [SAT]

SAT is an international standardized test required for admission into most of the colleges in the United States. It is also accepted.

Study In Singapore FAQs

The top 3 universities in Singapore as per the QS world university rankings 2023 are as follows:

Top UniversitiesQS World University Rankings 2023
National University of Singapore11
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore19
Singapore Management University561

According to Times Higher Education world university rankings 2023, the top universities of Singapore like the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University are ranked among the top 50 universities in the world.

The tuition fees for universities in Singapore are affected by the university you choose to attend, the programme you enrol in, as well as your nationality. The average tuition fees for international students in Singapore is around 22,500-43,320 SGD 913.79-26.55 lakhs INR). The estimated expenditure and cost of living in Singapore for an international student ranges from 1,164 SGD to 2,369 SGD (68,352 to 1,39,042 INR).

Some of the universities in Singapore provide free education, but only for national and local students of Singapore. International students are required to pay the mentioned tuition fees as per the choice of program. However, they can apply for various scholarships in Canada for international students. These scholarships can provide full tuition fee waivers (Full Funding), or cover a portion of the tuition fees (Partial Funding)

Yes, every undergraduate or postgraduate course will be taught in English since it is the official language of business and education in Singapore. The universities in Singapore demand English proficiency test scores such as IELTS or TOEFL to assess your proficiency in the language. If you are an international student, you need to fulfil the minimum English language requirements as per the respective university or program.

 

The admission requirements to study in Singapore are dependent on the university or program you want to enrol in. Some of the basic requirements are as follows:

  • Proof of identity i.e passport, EU Identity Card or any other forms of identification
  • Proof of Funds
  • Health Insurance
  • Student Visa
  • Acceptance letter from the University
  • Letter of Recommendation
  • Updated Resume/CV
  • Statement of Purpose (SOP)
  • English language proficiency test scores
  • Official Academic transcripts

Yes, you do not need IELTS scores to apply to multiple universities if you have a degree from an English-medium college or university. Your previous university will be able to provide you with an official declaration letter and a certificate of English proficiency. This letter specifies that you have completed all your courses/programs in English. This letter can be used as a substitute for IELTS certificates. Some of the universities in Singapore where you can study without IELTS are as follows:

  • National College of Singapore
  • Nanyang Technological University
  • Singapore Management University
  • Singapore University of Technology and Design

According to the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022, the universities in Singapore rank among the top 50 universities in the following categories:

  • Engineering and Technology (Chemical Civil, and Electrical Engineering etc)
  • Social Sciences and Management (Accounting, Finance, MBA, Law and Legal studies etc)
  • Arts and Humanities (Linguistics, Archaeology, Art and Design etc)

Some of the most popular and in-demand courses including both undergraduate and postgraduate programs are as follows:

  • MBA
  • Information Technology
  • Tourism/Hotel Management
  • Arts and Design
  • Architecture
  • Medicine

The public universities in Singapore majorly offer 2 intakes for admission. The first one begins in August (Fall Intake), and the second starts around February (Winter Intake). The private universities usually offer various intakes to students, in the months January, February, July, August, September, and October. For specific intake and admission deadlines, you should check the respective university's website.

Yes, Singapore provides various scholarships to international students which are classified into government, external and university-specific scholarships. Some of the most popular scholarships in Singapore are:

  • Singapore International Graduate Award
  • ADB - Japan Scholarship for Developing Countries
  • Commonwealth Scholarship for Integrated Science
  • Lee Kong Chian Graduate Scholarships
  • ASEAN Foundation Scholarships
  • Singapore Millennium Foundation Scholarships
  • SIA Youth Scholarship
  • GIIS Singapore Global Citizen Scholarship

You can apply for various part-time jobs while studying in Singapore and can earn around 1,000 to 2,500 SGD (61,382-1.53 lakhs INR) per month. Some of the most preferred part-time job roles along with the hourly pay is given below:

Part-time Job RolesHourly Pay (SGD)Hourly Pay (INR)
Receptionist9-10552-613
Waitressing11-14675-859
Sales Assistant7-10429-613
Tuition Teacher25-701,534-4,296
Food Delivery15-25920-1,534

Yes, you can stay and work in Singapore after completing your studies but you must apply for a work visa. If you are looking for employment in Singapore after graduating from a university on the list of Institutes of Higher Learning, you can apply for a one-year (non-renewable) Long-term Social Visit Pass (LTVP). Besides this, there are three kinds of work visas, open to all international students i.e Employment Pass, S Pass, and EntrePass.