SINGAPORE - More degrees from Australia and Singapore universities will be recognised under a new agreement to strengthen the partnership between both countries.
Key among the moves is the recognition of the Juris Doctor (JD) degrees awarded by the 10 Australian universities, which have already been approved for their law degrees.
Likewise, Australia will recognise the undergraduate and JD law degrees of Singapore universities, subject to applicable conditions in the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement.
The JD programme is a postgraduate course after doing a bachelor's degree in some other discipline.
Singapore will also recognise postgraduate medical degrees from the University of Queensland and the Australian National University, as well as 15 additional allied health qualifications in Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Speech Therapy.
In addition, a pilot internship programme will be rolled out, aiming to give 100 Singaporeans studying in Australia more internship opportunities with leading Australian companies.
Both countries will also deepen cooperation among their universities that have overseas campuses. In addition, based on its prevailing policy, Singapore will allow Queensland-based James Cook University to refer to its Singapore campus as "the Singapore Campus of James Cook University" by July this year.
Last year, the institution was the first private commercial school to win the EduTrust Star, the highest quality mark given to private schools by the Council for Private Education.
Melbourne Law School's dean Carolyn Evans welcomed the move to recognise Australian JD degrees.
"Singaporean students have long been an important part of the higher education landscape in Australia. We have a great deal of respect for the quality of students from Singapore and it is wonderful to see this official recognition by Singapore of the quality of Australian legal education."
There were approximately 1,050 Singaporean undergraduate law students studying at recognised overseas universities, based on latest available estimates from Contact Singapore.
