It may be small, but in the realms of higher education and research, Singapore is a big hitter. If you’re thinking about pursuing study in Singapore, read on to find out everything you need to know to get started on your Southeast Asian journey.
A whole series of global reports have recognized Singapore as a world leader in research and innovation over the past few decades. Most recently, it ranked seventh in the 2014 INSEAD Global Innovation Index, third in IMD’s 2014 World Competitiveness Rankings and second in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report for 2014-15.
Within this context of global competitiveness and innovation, universities in Singapore are also gaining growing recognition, as Asian nations more generally strengthen their position in the global education market. Singapore featured in 15th place in the 2015 QS Best Student Cities, reflecting the country’s combination of high-ranking universities, high quality of life, and diverse student community.
Universities in Singapore
Of the 34 universities in Singapore, six of which are national, two feature in the 2014/15 QS World University Rankings®. Both of these, the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University, are ranked within the top 50 in the world, offering courses in wide range of subjects to their student populations of over 30,000 each.
National University of Singapore
Singapore’s global superstar, the National University of Singapore (NUS) is currently ranked at 24th in the world and number one in the 2014 QS University Rankings: Asia. Within the QS World University Rankings by Subject, NUS displays a breadth of high performance few universities anywhere in the world can rival. The school is now ranked within the global top 10 for mechanical, chemical, civil and electrical engineering, architecture, biological sciences, chemistry, geography, environmental sciences, materials science, politics and linguistics. The school is also just outside the top 10 for business & management, computer science, statistics and modern languages.
Nanyang Technological University
Singapore has more than one string to its bow however, and the National University of Singapore is closely followed by Nanyang Technological University (NTU), ranked 41st in the world. Subjects for which NTU ranks within the top 50 globally include accounting and finance; art & design; chemistry; computer science; communications and media studies; education; engineering; environmental sciences; linguistics; materials science; mathematics; physics; psychology and statistics. Continuing to develop, the school enrolled its first batch of students at its new Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in the summer of 2013, as part of a collaboration with the UK’s Imperial College London.
Singapore Management University
Offering a more specialized range of subjects, the Singapore Management University is also among Singapore’s best known institutions, ranking among the world’s leading providers of education in the fields of accounting and finance, computer science, economics, law and statistics.
Other international universities in Singapore
Other relatively recently established colleges and universities in Singapore collaborating with leading global schools include the Singapore University of Technology and Design, developed in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US and Zhejiang University in China. Yale-NUS College is another international collaboration, launched in 2011 as the first liberal arts college in Singapore, and one of few in the whole of Asia. Yale-NUS College is established in partnership between the National University of Singapore and the US’s Yale University. These collaborations reflect the eagerness among universities in Singapore to globalize their higher education system, leading to a growing selection of exciting options for prospective students.
