SINGAPORE - The third batch of graduates from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) received higher starting salaries than their peers from three other local autonomous universities.
They also earned more than graduates from the previous year, the university said on Thursday (March 22).
According to a survey of 228 out of SUTD's third cohort of 267 graduates, the median gross monthly salary among its graduates employed in full-time permanent positions was $3,700 in 2017, compared with $3,650 in 2016.
This is higher than the median starting salary of their peers from National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU) that was reported last month, which was $3,400.
Graduates from these three universities number about 10,000 in total.
The results also showed that more than nine in 10 SUTD fresh graduates were employed within six months of completing their final examinations. But what was significant was that 86.2 per cent of the graduates secured full-time permanent employment in 2017, an increase from 84 per cent in 2016.
In particular, for engineering graduates, the full-time permanent employment rate was 89.6 per cent in 2017.
In comparison, for NUS, NTU and SMU, the proportion of their graduates who secured full-time permanent employment fell from 79.9 per cent in 2016 to 78.4 per cent last year.
More went into freelance work, or part-time or temporary jobs.
SUTD reported that top hiring sectors included information and communications, finance and insurance, and scientific research and development.
For example, its information systems technology graduates achieved 100 per cent full-time employment and their median salary increased to more than $4,000.
SUTD's acting president and provost Chong Tow Chong said SUTD students have been carefully nurtured within the university's multi-disciplinary technology and design ecosystem, as well as through internships and overseas exposure.
"SUTD graduates are industry, region- and future-ready," said Professor Chong, adding that employers continue to recognise these qualities.
