A fast-changing world needs bold, new ideas and innovative solutions to complex problems. It requires individuals who are adaptable and able to think holistically. The Singapore Management University (SMU) has been prescient in pioneering highly successful, world-class undergraduate degree programmes that prepare graduates to thrive in such a world.

Today, as a top specialist university in Asia, SMU is known for its cutting-edge interactive pedagogy and interdisciplinary curriculum that equips students with skills and experiences, along with a focus on real world issues.

As a result, according to the 2022 Graduate Employment Survey (GES) conducted by SMU and all the other autonomous universities, SMU graduates are highly sought after by top employers. Year after year, SMU graduates have emerged with the strongest graduate employment outcomes amongst other Singapore government-funded universities participating in the same survey.

The survey found that 95.1 per cent of SMU graduates from the 2022 cohort secured employment within six months of graduation, which is the highest across other local universities in the same survey. In addition, SMU graduates secured the highest mean monthly starting salary of $4,896, which is a record-breaking high.

Shaping world-ready individuals

SMU graduates are much sought after because the school has been preparing its students to be future-ready since day one. Since its inception, SMU has been a leader in the local education landscape. Having been the first university in Singapore – 23 years ago – to recognise and place emphasis on the importance of experiential learning and skills beyond the classroom by mandating internship and community service requirements for all graduates.

SMU is also the first and only university in Singapore to make global exposure a graduation requirement starting in 2018. The school recognises the value of global experience in developing intercultural sensitivity and a deeper understanding of different perspectives. As a result, global experience is required for all SMU students in order to ensure that they benefit from it and become confident, world-ready individuals.

With a wide range of experiences from student exchanges, summer programmes, study missions, international internships and many others, they can take advantage of the opportunities by participating in one or more activities.

Another distinct feature of the SMU undergraduate experience would be that active discussions and interactions form the cornerstone of the academic experience. Unlike other traditional universities, there are no large lecture theatres at SMU. Instead, students are taught in semi-circular and acoustically-optimised seminar rooms of small class sizes. This way, everyone gets to speak up, be heard, interact closely with professors, and have a more active and immersive learning experience.

In another first, SMU guarantees a second major for every student. This ensures that SMU graduates will have an edge over their peers. By having meaningful exposure to various fields of study outside of their primary degree programme through a second major and/or the interdisciplinary SMU Core Curriculum, the students will be better equipped and more versatile in the careers of their choice.

The university’s career preparation for students is also a rigorous process, spanning from internships to personal career coaches and industry talks, which contributes to why SMU graduates are highly sought after by top employers.

SMU also encourages their students to nurture their business journeys. The SMU Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship has a robust platform and a comprehensive ecosystem to incubate and mentor student start-ups. To date, it has led 421 incubated start-ups and raised $613 million* in funding with many success stories.

In 2023, SMU became the first university in Singapore to introduce an integrated co-curricular management system and co-curricular transcript that all graduates from 2025 onwards will graduate with, on top of the usual academic transcript.

This underscores SMU’s emphasis on the importance of developing skills beyond the classroom, such as intellectual and creative skills, interpersonal skills, global citizenship and personal mastery. This reinforces the school’s ethos of nurturing the students holistically and will give SMU graduates another head start in the working world.

Global alumni who make meaningful impact

Twenty three years on and over 38,000 graduates later, SMU alumni continue to make an impact on the community. These changemakers dedicate themselves to effecting a positive change in our world. The story of SMU continues beyond its seminar rooms, campus, and well beyond Singapore’s shores. Most will attribute this to the close-knit community, strong support and unique mentoring culture that can be found in the school’s network of alumni here and around the world.

Cutting-edge programmes and pathways

As the economy evolves, so do the requirements of industries. This is why SMU designs Fast-Track Bachelors-Masters Programmes and exciting pathways to create more career opportunities for their graduates. These cutting-edge programmes give them a head start by equipping their students with in-demand skills that are highly sought after by exciting growth industries and more.

Many of their students have also gone on to do prestigious Masters and PhD programmes in SMU and at some of the world’s most renowned universities. If that is your goal, you can be assured that an SMU education will prepare you well for the next stage of your education in a top university.

*As of April 2023