ASC Singapore

Study in Singapore

Despite its cosmopolitan population, its history as a centre of trade and entrepreneurialism positions it closer to the West than its neighbours. While Chinese, Malay, and Tamil are also official languages, English is widely spoken and understood by 75% of the five million population, and is the officially designated language for the education system.
Although dented by the recession in the early part of the century, the economy has rebounded strongly and it is described as the world’s fourth financial centre, while its port is one of the five busiest ports in the world. The International Monetary Fund has rated it the third highest country in terms of per capita income,
Contrary to international trends, Singapore is aiming to restrict the number of international students at its universities in the face of local anxiety that too few places were available for nationals. Foreign enrolment at Singapore’s universities will be capped while 2,000 new university places will be added for local students by 2015, so that the proportion of foreign students will come down from 18% of the student body to about 15%.

Successful applicants will be issued with an in-principle approval (IPA) letter. Applicants need not apply for a separate visa as it is incorporated in the IPA letter, which can be used at entry checkpoints.
On arrival in Singapore, complete formalities on production of a range of documents including passport, disembarkation/embarkation card, and a medical report in the prescribed format (available on ICA’s website).

For applicants whose mother tongue is not English, the individual universities will set their required IELTS/TOEFL scores. Do not expect to be admitted without high scores.

These universities each have in excess of 30,000 students and provide a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes including doctoral degrees. Both are also established research universities with thousands of research staff and graduate students.
The government supports three other public institutions: the Singapore Management University offering programmes in business management, accountancy, economics, law and the social sciences; Singapore University of Technology and Design; and the Singapore Institute of Technology. Many private universities exist, including the SIM University which caters only for part-time students, offering part-time degree programmes to working adults, although plans are in train to add full-time degree programmes.
A number of foreign universities have established campuses in Singapore such as the Chicago Business School and Technische Universität München.
Applications for entry and visa formalities are handled by the university to which you are applying. Each university has minimum entry requirements.
The closing date for normal applications is in February of the year of entry.

International students can apply for a tuition grant which is administered by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and offered to all admitted students. Students who are approved for the tuition grants need only pay subsidised fees.
While the tuition grant is not repayable, international students who have received it are – in common with Singapore nationals – required to work in Singapore after graduation to contribute to repayment. The period of the employment bond is longer for international students than for nationals.
For medicine and dentistry students from overseas the service bond with the Singapore Ministry of Health is either for six years (medicine) or five years (dentistry). For other courses international students will be required to work for a Singapore-registered company for three years after graduation.

Hostel fees range from S$12 a night upwards.
Long-term accommodation ranges from on-campus residencies to student hostels and private rented accommodation.

While inflation for much of the past five years has stayed around 4%, the cost of food, transport, and eating out has risen faster.

Typical costs in Singapore (GBP, March 2015) are:

Full-time undergraduates are allowed to work part-time of up to 16 hours per week during term, and work full-time during vacation as the Ministry of Manpower has exempted them from applying for work permits.