New SUSS degree programme takes aspiring pilots from classroom to cockpit in 4 years

SINGAPORE – Aspiring pilots can now enrol in a new university programme to simultaneously attain a bachelor’s degree and a commercial pilot licence within four years – two years sooner than achieving both qualifications separately.

Those enrolled in this programme will undergo pilot training while pursuing their studies, said Education Minister Chan Chun Sing on Oct 8 at the Singapore University of Social Sciences’ (SUSS) graduation ceremony. 

Like other integrated pathways such as work-study programmes, degrees and diplomas, this one encourages people to embrace lifelong learning, said Mr Chan. 

“This is so that they can continue to work and upgrade themselves at the same time because the two need not be mutually exclusive,” he said. 

Launched by SUSS and Singapore Flying College, this part-time undergraduate programme will welcome its first batch of 25 students in July 2025. It is the first such programme for anyone to get a degree and a pilot’s licence simultaneously.

They will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in their majors and a commercial pilot licence issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, truncating what would typically be a six-year journey into four years. It takes two years to obtain a commercial pilot licence without a degree.

Students can enrol for this programme with the following SUSS majors: business analytics, finance, human resource management, information and communication technology, logistics and supply chain management, marketing, public safety and security, and psychology. 

These majors have been selected by SUSS according to the attributes and skills required of pilots in the Skills Framework for Air Transport by SkillsFuture Singapore.

Students have to take a flight test before obtaining their licence. 

Applications for the programme opened on Oct 8 and will close in March 2025.

Largest graduating cohort

More than 3,200 SUSS students – the university’s largest graduating cohort – are receiving their degrees on Oct 8 and 9 at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre. This is 9 per cent more than the number of graduates in 2023, said the university. 

Graduates in 2024 include SUSS’ pioneer cohort from the Bachelor of Public Safety and Security programme, as well as those from master’s programmes in built environment and digital marketing. The Public Safety and Security programme was previously only for officers from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The oldest of them is 70-year-old Jeffrey Yan, who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in general studies on Oct 9. The general studies programme allows students to customise their curriculum by picking modules from various fields of study.

Getting a degree and travelling were among his retirement plans after he worked for about 50 years in the oil, pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries. He held different roles in his career, including in facilities management.

“Some of my friends and colleagues questioned why I wanted to return to studying. I told them, ‘It’s not studying, it’s gaining knowledge’,” said Mr Yan, who chose sociology, psychology and Chinese studies, among other modules.

“I can read these up on my own, but I thought that it would be better for me to go to class and listen to somebody who is an expert on the topics.”

Some of his schoolmates called him “uncle”, but he was unfazed, attending classes and participating in group projects like any other student.

“The only challenges I really faced were during (the Covid-19 pandemic), when I had to learn how to use Zoom, video editing, and (how to prepare) PowerPoint presentations,” Mr Yan said, adding that his 30-year-old son helped him with these.

What he loved most about his SUSS journey was the “experience of learning”.

“You can (apply) a lot of theory practically in your daily life,” said Mr Yan, who hopes to use what he has learnt to give back to fellow seniors, especially those with dementia.

He is currently volunteering with the Singapore Association for Continuing Education, where he curates courses for seniors. In 2025, he hopes to volunteer with Dementia Singapore.

Age should not be a factor for anyone deciding whether to return to school, he said.

“Don’t worry about anything... Go and study if you want to; there’s nothing to fear about it.”

Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said that graduates in 2024 include SUSS’ pioneer cohort from the Bachelor of Public Safety and Security programme. SUSS has clarified that these are graduates from the first public intake, as the programme was previously only for officers from the Ministry of Home Affairs.