FAQs

SMU was established in collaboration with The Wharton School. SMU now has about 200 agreements with other partner universities. Some of the key highlights of the SMU Executive MBA (EMBA) include:

• The opportunity to study in and from Professors of four top-tier Business Schools within a span of 12 months.
• Designed by leaders for leaders – The EMBA Programme and curriculum has been designed with inputs from more than 100 corporate leaders across Asia.
• Asian-centric emphasis – The curriculum is designed to provide business leaders with an in-depth understanding of doing business in Asia, coupled with a global perspective.
• Distinctive curriculum – We offer 8 courses that are unique only to the SMU EMBA. These are courses that have been designed with input from business leaders in Asia during a roundtable meeting.
• Strategic Initiative Project –You will engage in a hands-on project over the duration of the Programme investigating an issue of strategic importance to a selected company.
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – The Programme highlights the importance of CSR and advocates for its integration as part of a company's culture and DNA.
• Compact duration – 8 residential segments over 12 months yet ensuring academic rigour.

During the curriculum design stage of our Programme, we conducted roundtable discussions with senior leaders across Asia and the following surfaced consistently as a necessary requirement for the EMBA Programme:

• Singapore's experiences in corporate governance, business ethics and efficiencies.
• Doing business and accessing networks in China (Antai School of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University)
• Doing business and accessing networks in ASEAN (Sasin School of Management)
• Understanding happenings in the West and in particular, USA (Stern Business School, New York University)

In addition, industry insights from experts, practitioners and academics are to be included in the Programme through company visits.

Yes, you will be spending a week each in USA, China  and an ASEAN member country to interact with the local leading professors and industry leaders. You will also get the opportunity to visit some of the leading organisations in these countries.

The MBA is for candidates with a more than two years of work experience post graduation while EMBA students will have a minimum of 10 years of work experience. Our EMBA Programme is designed for top prospects in senior management positions of their respective organisations, who intend to update their skills and knowledge with a global perspective and an Asian focus, and are interested in leading their organisations forward in business innovation.

Our EMBA Programme has been designed to impart the latest knowledge and skills in the following areas identified as key skill sets, traits and knowledge for the future leaders of Asia:

1. Leadership and vision
2. Global perspective
3. Business acumen & integrity
4. Resource development
5. Managing change & agility
6. Sustainable performance
7. Corporate social responsibilty

For information of the upcoming information session, please click here.

You can look forward to your graduation after spending approximately 9 weeks over 12 months in our Programme. Do look into the Programme calendar, as it is conducted over 8 residential sessions across Singapore, USA, ASEAN, and China.

CSR encompasses the aspects of corporate philanthropy, compliance and business sustainability. It is growing in importance as one of the platforms for companies to reach out to their customers. As such, companies are adopting novel and innovative ways of approaching CSR as part of their corporate outreach, and are actively redirecting resources from traditional advertising into CSR campaigns. CSR is embraced by firms in a broad spectrum of ways from ad hoc activities, to strategic partnerships and business model integration.

The Strategic Initiative Project (SIP) is an issue-based learning where you will adopt a hands-on approach over the duration of the Programme to investigate, discuss and critic issues of strategic importance to a selected company.

You will need to be away from your office for about 40 days spread over two calendar years. For the Executive MBA, the estimated number of days away from office is as follows:

• Approximately 3-4 weeks for the 1st year & 2-3 weeks for the 2nd year.

You will be taught by a faculty team carefully chosen for the SMU EMBA Programme from SMU’s 300-strong academic team. You will be also be taught by distinguished Professors from our partner universities in the overseas segments, as well as guest speakers. At SMU, only our top 5% ranked faculty members from across SMU’s six schools teach in the programme.

Networking and interaction are integral elements of the Programme. You will get the opportunity to meet and interact with current and future leaders in the public and private sectors. Our company visits are structured as part of each residential segment to encourage the building of deep and lasting relationships across economies. You will also get the opportunity to network during your stints in the overseas segments. These opportunities extend beyond graduation, where EMBA alumni are welcome to audit EMBA courses to keep themselves abreast of the current business landscape and to stay connected with SMU. This is part of the life-long learning initiative in place for our EMBA graduates.

You should aim to spend at least one hour on the course material outside of class for every hour of study.

Our student profile include business owners, top executives, and government officials from around the world. With an average age of 42 years and 18 years of work experience from over 11 countries and with more than 60% of them as directors and C-suite executives.

As the Programme is designed for executives with extensive senior management experience, we strongly recommend a minimum of 10 years work experience to benefit from it.

No. Candidates may opt to sit for the SMU Admissions Test which is taken in place of the GMAT. Please write to us at emba@smu.edu.sg for more details.

A bachelor's degree or equivalent professional qualification is recommended. Should you have any doubts on the admission criteria, please send us your CV for a pre-application assessment so that we can advise you accordingly on your suitability.

Please visit /emba/apply-now for a list of documents required for the application and details of the online application process.

There are three rounds for application. The first round closes on 30 November, the second closes on 30 March and the final round closes on 30 May. Kindly call +65-6808 5269 / 5191 if you need more information. Given the limited seats available for the Programme, early submission is recommended. You will receive an official letter within 2-3 working days after your interview informing you of the outcome of your application to the SMU EMBA.

Interviews are conducted on a rolling basis. We will schedule your interview after we have received your online application and test scores.

Our SMU EMBA admissions committee takes a number of factors into consideration, including international exposure, academic history, company or professional recommendations, personal interview and the body of the application itself. Most importantly, however, is a candidate's work experience, work history and current role and responsibilities in his or her company as these indicate the extent and depth of experience through which they can contribute to and benefit from the discussions in class.

The application fee of S$100 (inclusive of GST) is payable upon submission of your application. It is non-refundable and non-transferable.

You will need to have a scheduled phone conversation with the Academic Director of the EMBA Programme before reapplying. Following this phone call, should reapplication be recommended and the time of reapplication discussed, you will be sent a reapplication packet. We are not able to offer in-person meetings to review admission decisions.

The total tuition fee is S$117,720 including Goods and Services Tax (GST). A  S$400/ S$500 (Singaporean or PR/ International) Registration Fee is payable upon acceptance. 

The fees (after GST) are payable as follows:

 1st  payment of S$12,000 upon acceptance + S$400/ S$500 Registration Fee
 2nd billing of S$34,870 by August
 3rd  billing of S$34,880 by December
 4th  billing of S$34,880 by April

In addition to all lessons, coursework, and networking events, the tuition fee covers:

1. Tuition
2. Academic services
3. Required readings and teaching materials
4. E-learning resources
5. Web-based information services
6. Meals during residential segments
7. Accommodations in USA, ASEAN, and China
8. Lifetime access to “Industry Insights” - Seminars, Workshops and Forums at SMU
9. Attending future EMBA classes after graduation

For non-Singapore residents, you should budget for an additional S$20,000 for economy airfares to Singapore, the USA, ASEAN, and China and accommodation in Singapore.

For Singaporean residents, you should budget for an additional S$5,000 for economy airfares to USA, ASEAN, and China.

There are no requirements to apply for a Student/Study visa for the SMU EMBA Programme. As such, we are unable to support any applicants' request for relocation or employment. You will have to be responsible for obtaining the necessary travel documents for the different countries in each segment. Please ensure that you have a social/tourist visa of not less than 14 days in the respective countries. In order to ensure unnecessary delays, do check the time required for visa applications in your country and apply early. As the visa requirements change from time to time, please visit the following sites or contact the consulate offices in your country for the latest travel visa requirement.

Singapore - http://www.ica.gov.sg
United States -https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en.html
China - http://www.chinaembassy.org.sg/chn/

Should you choose to leave the Programme for any reason after you have been accepted and enrolled, we will not be able to refund any of the Programme fees.

Many organisations allow their staff to join the Programme as they see the benefits when their employees complete the Programme. The opportunities for networking and learning the necessary skills more than compensate for their time away from the office. Many organisations also see such Programmes as an avenue to access the Universities’ resources in research and to tap on expertise normally inaccessible to their business