Singapore

• Country name : Republic of Singapore
• Divisions: Five districts  
• Form of Government: Parliamentary republic
• Capital : Singapore
• Largest City : Singapore
• Population : 5.8 Million
• Language : English, Mandarin, Tamil, Malay
• Currency : Singapore Dollar (SGD)
• Religion : Majority are Buddhists or Christians
• Land Area: 721.5 Square Kilometer
• Popular sports : Football, Basketball, Cricket
• Country code : +65
• National day : 9 August, in commemoration of Singapore’s independence from Malaysia in the year 1965

Singapore also known as Four Asian Tigers is an amazing island nation with leaning skyscrapers, diverse communities, home to 100+ multinational companies, diverse cultures, languages and one of the best education system and hub in the world despite of its young age. Singaporeans university offers international students quality education at an affordable cost compare to other major destinations such as UK, USA or Canada. Therefore studying in Singapore is not just an opportunity to spend few years in an exciting location, it is also a change to study and gets some work experience within vibrant, forward thinking intellectual culture from high –tech innovation.

Other reasons to choose Singapore for further study are:

• Excellent education system and global recognition
• Cheaper then UK, USA or Canada
• English is widely spoken therefore No Language Barrier
• Very clean, green and safe country
• Multicultural society
• International business hub

Singapore’s higher education is managed and administered by the Ministry of Education (MOE) from the age of 17. The academic year runs from July to April. English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil are main four languages in practice however English is the primary language in colleges and university.

Students can choose pretty much all type of courses from their interest field from popular universities in Singapore

Singapore has six local universities (six public and one private). In addition to local universities, many world leading universities has their presence in Singapore offering graduate program by them or collaborating with local universities.

Local Universities:

• National University of Singapore (NUS)
• Singapore Management University (SMU)
• Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT)
• Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)
• Nayang Technology University (NTU)
• Singapore Institute Of Management (SIM) – Private

Ten branch campus of International higher education institutes such as:

• University of Nevada (LA)
• New York University
• Duke University
• University of Chicago
• SP Jain centre of Management
• Digipen Institute of Technology

Many other International universities have collaboration with local universities in Singapore:

• New York University – School of law
• German Institute of science and technology
• John Hopkins University
• Standford University
• Indian Institute of Technology
• University of Pennsylvanian
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology

In addition, Singapore’s local universities, the National University of Singapore and the Nayang Technology also have joint program with nearly 20 Internal Educational Institutions around the world. This reflects how Singapore is becoming educational hub in Asia.

International students must be 17 + years of age to pursue higher education in Singapore according to Ministry of Education (MOE). Further to this each student must full fill their eligibility criteria set out by institute such as Academic certificates, English Language Proficiency ( TOEFL : Min 80 for Undergraduate, Min 90 for Postgraduate) or ( IELTS – 6.5 for Undergraduate or Min 7.5 for Post Graduate), GRE, GMAT scores as requires. Once students meet all criteria they will receive acceptance letter “Letter of Acceptance” from the Institute then application for Student Visa commence.

The general cost of living and accommodation varies depending on where students choose to stay and study. Studying in Singapore is relatively chipper option compare to UK, USA, Australia or Canada.

Estimated Tuitions Fees:

• Pre-university / Foundation : 12-15k SGD$ P.A
• Diploma : 6-15k SGD$ P.A
• Undergraduate Bachelors Degree : 10-15k SGD$ P.A
• Post Graduate Masters Degree : 20-30k SGD$

Estimated Living Expenses

• 700-1500 SGD$ Per month

Each international student must meet eligibility criteria set out by Institute before they offer you a “Letter of Acceptance”. Then only students are eligible to apply for Students Visa. To get the visa, completed application form for “Student’s Pass” needs to be submitted to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA). Visa application has to be done through the students pass online application and registration system (SOLAR) which the institute at which you have been accepted will register. To apply online for your student pass, you can log on to the SOLAR with registration details your institute has provided and fill in and submit eForm 16. You must have Passport detail, Address of your institute, email ID and recent photo to complete this process.

Following few documents are mandatory for Student Visa.

• Acceptance Letter from Institute
• Completed Student Visa Application Form
• Certified copies of higher education certificates
• TOEFL/IELTS, GRE/GMAT/SAT score
• Birth Certificate, Valid Passport, PP size photos
• Visa application fees bank draft
• Proof of education fund
• Medical Reports

Even though Singapore is geographically small island country, there are many professional job opportunities for International students after completion to their degree especially in Manufacturing, Construction, Tourism & retail, Healthcare, Information Technology and Digital marketing. Having said that getting a job will entirely depends upon student’s personal initiative, their skills, previous experience etc. As you know many multinational companies’ headquarters are located in Singapore and the opportunity they provide are huge.

Many universities have a separate ‘Career Service’ department whose role is to assist students with part time, full time employment. Bear in mind after completion of your degree you are eligible for ‘Long Term Visit Pass’ that will allow you to stay in Singapore for further one year that gives you extra time to seek employment. Then once you find the job you need to obtain ‘Work Pass’ that allows them to live and work for multiple years.