Admission

As SMU practices rolling admissions, the Admission process (submitting of application, passing the interview with the Admissions Committee, and accepting the admission offer) will typically take about 3 - 4 weeks to complete. This is provided that candidates fulfills most of the admission critera stated below.

The admission criteria are:

• A good university degree in ANY discipline (Applicants in the process of earning a degree and are about to graduate are welcome to apply)
• A good GMAT/GRE or SMU Admission Test score
• IELTS or TOEFL (required if the medium of instruction of your undergraduate studies was not conducted in English)

The MAF programme is open to all Singaporeans, Singapore permanent residents and foreigners. Foreigners who are interested to apply for the Part-Time track must hold a valid Employment Pass (EP), Dependant's Pass (DP), S Pass, or valid visa to allow them to stay in Singapore during the study period.

Student visas will not be issued to international students taking the MAF Part-Time track.

We would expect applicants to have a good basic degree. However, we look at many other aspects of your application such as your drive and motivation. We also conduct interview sessions to select each cohort of students.

All the courses require no previous formal training. However, the pace builds up quickly, and is rapid and demanding. Preparatory classes will be available before classes commence.

Applicants from all backgrounds and working experience are eligible to apply for the MAF programme. In fact, some of our students are using their knowledge and skills learnt in the programme to enable them to enter the banking and finance industry.

You need to be numerate, rather than having particularly strong mathematical skills. You certainly do not need to have an undergraduate degree in mathematics or the pure sciences. Some calculus will be required for certain modules in the programme.

For the MAF Part-Time track, applicants with some work experience after graduation are preferred. Based on past intakes, students typically have, on average, four to five years of working experience. We are looking for individuals for whom the programme is a good career fit, and who are likely to have successful future careers. Above all, candidates will need to demonstrate that they have the commitment, experience, motivation and potential to benefit from, and contribute to the programme.

Applicants who do not have any work experience can consider taking up the MAF Full-Time Track.

In general, we regard sponsorship by current or future employers as an important additional piece of evidence of your value to the employer and future career potential, but the admissions committee will not place undue weight on this.

For the MAF Part-Time track, the average age of students entering the programme is 30. The students' professional backgrounds and work experience are varied as they work in a rich diversity of sectors and hold different job responsibilities. Hence, each student brings a wealth of experience to the programme.

For the MAF Full-Time track, the majority of the students come straight into the programme after getting their first degree, and the average age upon entry to the programme is 24.

There is only one intake per year, commencing in August for all MAF Tracks.

Supporting documents can be delivered to us either by hand or by mail. Our address is as follow:

SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business
50 Stamford Road
Level 4 Graduate Programmes Office
Singapore 178899
Office Hours: Monday to Friday, 9.00am - 5.45 pm.

To expedite your application process, applicants are encouraged to email a softcopy of their supporting documents after submitting their applications to maf@smu.edu.sg.

If your certificates are certified 'true copies', you do not need to bring the originals for verification.

You will have to translate all documents to English, and have them certified.

An application fee of S$100 is applicable.

Of the two personal references, one should typically be from a current or previous employer, a colleague, or someone else who knows you well at work; the other referee could be someone who taught you at university or college, or another person who knows you in a professional capacity.

For fresh graduates, both referees can be your professors.

Upon submitting your online application, a link will be sent to your referees via email to submit their recommendations online. You will be required to fill in your referees' particulars accordingly.

Applicants are encouraged to notify their referees before or after submitting their online application to complete the online recommendation form.

Only shortlisted applicants are invited for an interview.

The admission interview is about 20 to 30 minutes.

This is subject to the schedule of the interviewer(s).

Shortlisted applicants may check the status of the interview outcome via email from the Admissions Committee, and are encouraged to check their mailboxes regularly.

Admissions are done on a rolling basis. A typical applicant willl be notified of their application outcome within 2 weeks after applying.

You can check the status of your application online. Please logon to our Applicant Self Service function with your user id and password.

Alternatively, you may send an email to maf@smu.edu.sg.

You can apply again even though your previous application was rejected.

You have to submit two online application forms.

We require applicants to take the GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test). The GMAT measures general verbal and mathematical skills, and the score report gives separate scores for the quantitative and verbal sections of the test, as well as a total score. There is also a short analytical writing section. The GMAT is used to promote fairness, objectivity and validity in selection and provides supplementary information to that contained in the application form.

Please logon to the GMAT website. The website provides information about preparing and registering for the GMAT test.

There is no minimum GMAT/GRE score required. We will view your application for admission to this programme holistically to gauge your suitability.

However, to make your application more competitive, we encourage applicants to achieve the following:

• GMAT/GRE: 600 and above (with a strong Quantitative Score)

You can retake GMAT 16 days after your first attempt, but retaking the test is only recommended if you believe you have under-performed significantly. You are strongly encouraged to be well prepared for your test, as you will be allowed a maximum of five attempts within a calendar year.

If the rest of your application is complete, you can send it to us, even if you have not taken the GMAT. Do note that we will process your application only after receiving your GMAT score.

Email us the unofficial score report, which you will receive a hardcopy of immediately after the test. Please also arrange with the test centre for the official score report to be sent to SMU via the institution code F8D-7V-27.

All candidates are required to complete an admissions test for consideration. If you have not prepared for the GMAT or GRE, you may opt for the SMU Admissions Test instead. Please check with your Admissions Advisor for more details on the SMU Admissions Test.

A GMAT score is valid for five years after the test date.

GMAT can be taken at:

Pearson Professional Center
10 Anson Road, Level 30, Unit 3,
International Plaza, Singapore 079903
Tel: +65 6225 2027

SMU's GMAT institution code for the MSc in Applied Finance is F8D-7V-27.

You can submit your GRE score instead of GMAT. Your GRE score is valid for five years after the test date.

SMU's GRE institution code is 5757.

You should submit your highest score if the score is still within the 5 years validity period after the test date.

The TOEFL/IELTS test is required if the medium of instruction in your undergraduate education was not in English.

SMU’s institution code for TOEFL is 9014.

Your TOEFL score is valid for two years after the test date.

Applicants will receive an acknowledgement letter at least latest, by end June. Please notify the Admissions Team at maf@smu.edu.sg if you do not receive the letter within the stipulated period.