The SMU campus was abuzz all weekend, on 2-3 March 2019, as a record-breaking 10,000 members of the public, comprising prospective students, their families and friends gathered at the annual SMU Open House. This was 20% more than in 2018.
They all came to learn more about studying at SMU and were keen to ask questions at the various booths after attending some of the 72 highly informative talks, which provided an overview of SMU’s academic programmes, student life, scholarships and financial aid, the application process and more.
What made their visit extra special was experiencing student life through the vibrant co-curricular activity showcases, touring the campus on foot or by open-top bus, sampling delicious treats at the SMU Food Fiesta, getting sporty as spectators or participants in the SMU City Games and enjoying Singapore’s biggest samba festival, Viva O Samba.
Unique Curriculum
Visitors showed a great deal of interest in SMU’s new interdisciplinary programmes. These include two new degrees: the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science to be launched in August 2019 and the Bachelor of Science in Computing & Law(from August 2020). There is also a slew of exciting new majors: Sustainability, Data Science and Analytics, Health Economics and Management, Accounting Data and Analytics; and for Business students a new Maritime Business and Operations track.
SMU President Prof Lily Kong (centre) and Director, Admissions Strategy & Outreach Linette Lim (right) vising the School of Economics information booth during their tour of SMU Open House 2019.
For students who want to become medical doctors, SMU might not have been the obvious first choice. However, with the launch of the new SMU and Duke-NUS Medicine Pathway, talented and committed students who have achieved academic distinction can gain a conditional early acceptance to the Duke-NUS Doctor of Medicine (MD) programme, while allowing them to pursue an undergraduate degree in SMU prior to the MD.
Customised Learning
Talks by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Assistance and the SMU Schools pointed out SMU’s flexible curriculum which ensures that every student can take a second major from any of SMU’s six schools and that there are more than 300 unrestricted double degrees and double majors combinations – the highest number of double majors combinations amongst local universities in Singapore. In addition, there is now a new Exploratory Course Scheme to broaden students’ horizons, where students can take up to two ungraded modules at any time during their study at SMU.
These talks also outlined the exciting new SMU Core Curriculum, which forms the root intellectual experience that every undergraduate will undergo at SMU. It is based on three pillars of learning – Capabilities, Communities, Civilisations – to equip students with the tools, knowledge and contexts they require on their journey to becoming fully realised SMU graduates who can make meaningful impact in society. As part of this Core Curriculum, students will undertake an internship, a global experience, and community service. They will also fulfil courses in Singapore Studies and Asia Studies.
Scholarships and Awards
Some of those who attended the talks on scholarships were surprised to learn that 1 in 3 incoming freshmen are given scholarships and awards every year. What’s more, under SMU Access, 100% of tuition fees will be paid by SMU for needy Singaporean students – and SMU is the only local university that funds needy students’ tuition fees in full. Visitors also learned about many new scholarships, including the SMU Global Impact Scholarship, which is based on a Global Learning Opportunities Worldwide (GLOW) framework.
Global Exposure for every SMU student.
The opportunity for global exposure is also guaranteed for every SMU student, with SMU pledging financial assistance for needy students to go overseas.
In fact there are exciting new opportunities for global exposure, including SMU-X Overseas to countries like Thailand, Taiwan, Israel, Laos, Philippines, in addition to existing student exchange programmes, overseas study missions, overseas internships and community service projects. SMU-X is SMU’s award winning experiential learning pedagogy, based on tackling organisations’ real-world challenges through collaborative teamwork.
The Global Innovation Immersion (GII) programme sends students to an innovation hotspot for a 12-week internship, with coaching by industry titans, hands-on experience in an actual start-up and the opportunity to take master classes.
Graduate Employment Survey 2018
With the recent Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey (JAUGES) conducted by SMU and the other Autonomous Universities recently hitting the news, there was much discussion at the schools’ booths about career prospects for SMU graduates. Highlights of the survey were that 7 in 10 SMU graduates received job offers before graduation; 1 in 2 SMU graduates received 2 to 5 job offers; 1 in 2 received full-time job offers after their internships, and; SMU graduates have one of the highest mean monthly starting salaries amongst graduates of local autonomous universities, at $3,977.
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Read the SMU Undergraduate Prospectus 2019/20.
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