Established in honour of Singapore's former Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew, this scholarship is synonymous with prestige and a commitment to serving Singapore. It recognises outstanding individuals with strong academic aptitude and the inclination to serve and contribute to the Singapore society at large.

Eligibility criteria:

1. A Singapore citizen with at least a Second Upper Honours Degree or equivalent Degree
2. Excellent track record of leadership and service within or beyond applicant's profession

Applicants who wish to pursue a Master's Programme in General Management should preferably have at least four years of working experience. Public Officers are required to submit their applications through Chief Executive Officers or Permanent Secretaries.

In addition to the one-off sum of S$10,000, private sector awardees will receive an annual allowance of S$50,000, while public sector awardees will receive S$10,000 if they are concurrently sponsored by their organisations.

For more information and application form/procedures, please click here.

Funded by the Singapore Ministry of Education, this bond-free scholarship is awarded annually to deserving Full-time SMU MBA candidates from APEC member economies (excluding Singaporeans).

The scholarship package includes:

1. Monthly stipend of S$1,350
2. Book allowance of S$500
3. Tuition fee, health insurance, examination fee and other approved fees, allowance and expenses
4. Cost of one overseas Business Study Mission undertaken within the tenable period of the Scholarship
5. Cost of travel from home country to Singapore on award of the Scholarship
6. Cost of travel from Singapore to home country upon successful completion of the SMU MBA Programme

Eligibility criteria:

1. Citizen of an APEC member economy (Singaporeans and PR not eligible to apply)
2. Good academic results (e.g. good Honours degree)
3. At least two years of management or professional experience
4. Proficient in English
5. Good GMAT score
6. Has not studied abroad previously

Applicants will be notified if they have been shortlisted for this scholarship and if they have been offered admission into the SMU MBA Programme.

• SkillsFuture Funding for Singapore Citizens. Click on this link for more details.
• The SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme provides Singapore Citizens aged 40 years and above the opportunity to receive the SkillsFuture Credit (Mid-Career) top up of $4,000. This credit is intended to offset out-of-pocket tuition fees, starting from Academic Year 2024/25 intake, commencing on or after 1 May 2024. Please visit https://www.skillsfuture.gov.sg/level-up-programme for further details.

Learn more and apply for the CIMB ASEAN Scholarship here.

This loan carries a low interest rate of 3.02% p.a. For more information, please call 6333 7777.

For enquiry, please contact:
Yvonne Tan
Contact details: 9646 8808 / (65) 6661 2157
Email: Yvonnesg.tan@cimb.com

This study assistance loan carries an interest rate of 4.60% p.a.For more information please call 6333 0033.

The application must be with a joint applicant who is a Singaporean or Singapore PR.

Cheong Yu Shan / Sandy Chenxu,
Direct Sales Management, Community Financial Services
DID: (65) 9691 5134 / 9221 5148
Email: yscheong@maybank.com.sg / wpchenxu@maybank.com.sg

The Part-Time programme is designed for working professionals over a span of 20 months. You will be engaged in pre-term self-study before commencement. If you wish to accelerate your learning, you have the option to complete the full-time SMU MBA in 15 months when all the credit requirements have been fulfilled.

• Core classes (Terms 1 to 4) will take place on either Saturday morning and afternoon (January Intake); or Monday and Tuesday evenings (August Intake).
• Elective classes (Terms 5 to 7) will take place from Monday to Thursday (7pm to 10.45pm) and Saturday. Part-time and Full-time Programme students will attend these classes together. 

Our Full-Time programme spreads over 15 months with a compulsory internship. You will be engaged in pre-term self-study before commencement. If you wish to accelerate your learning, you have the option to complete the full-time SMU MBA in 10 months when all the credit requirements have been fulfilled. 

• Core classes (Terms 1 and 2) will take place from Monday to Thursday, either in the morning or afternoon.
• Elective classes (Terms 3 to 5) will take place from Monday to Thursday (7pm to 10.45 pm) and Saturday. Part-time and Full-time Programme students will attend these classes together.
• Fridays are catered for make-up classes, career opportunities and leadership development.
• The duration of each class is 3 hours 45 minutes.
• Up to six weeks of breaks. 
• Minimum 10-week, compulsory paid internship (internships sourced by Career Services and students)

Yes, there are a total of 5 exams for 3 modules. These exams do not contribute to your GPA but you will be required to pass them before the start of the term. We will provide materials as well as tutorial support that you can use as needed.

The SMU MBA comes with optional specialisations in Communications, Entrepreneurship, Finance, or Human Capital.

The sector activity is included in the SMU programme for the students to participate as they wish. While it is not compulsory, we do strongly encourage you to take advantage of some of the company visits, talks and industry studies as it will provide you with some deep insights into industries of global importance and broaden your network.

10 electives are required to complement 8 core modules. With a wide range of electives available, including those on offer by our partner universities, participants are encouraged to choose from a number of electives based on their interests and knowledge gaps. Find out more here: https://masters.smu.edu.sg/programme/master-of-business-administration#programmeDetails-tab. 

The programme will be taught by internationally renowned and experienced SMU faculty and industry professionals.

No, our Part-time and Full-time MBA both require your physical attendance. Some modules will use web and online updates for their classes however this is used to supplement your time in class.

SMU focuses on the holistic assessment and development of our students, and as class participation fosters better peer-to-peer learning, regular class attendance is required.

The application process for all graduate programmes at SMU is separately run. Credit for courses taken in other graduate-level programmes will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Yes, our exchange partners include Keio University in Japan, Seoul National University in South Korea, Peking University in China, IE in Spain, and University of British Columbia in Canada, to name a few.

Full-time students also have the opportunity to take part in the Overseas Immersion Programme where students are able to learn about operating and leading organisations in the Asian context.

We expect applicants to have a strong basic degree. However, we look at many other aspects of your application such as drive and motivation.

No, we admit students from all backgrounds and work experience and look for diverse individuals to enhance the classroom experience.

Yes, as we will be aiming to build a diverse class for each programme we ask that you choose which programme is best suited for your needs. Requests to transfer from one programme to the other will be evaluated but not guaranteed.

You can send us your application prior to taking the GMAT/GRE. However, admissions decisions will not be made until the GMAT/GRE score is received.

An admissions test (GMAT/GRE/SMU Admissions Test) is required for all candidates (regardless of age) for both the Part-time and Full-time programmes. This gives us a base to compare candidates from different backgrounds to ensure each of our students can manage the academic rigour of the programme.

More information on the GMAT can be found at www.mba.com, and information on the GRE can be found at www.ets.org/gre.html.

You can get more details regarding the GMAT test centre at https://www.gmac.com/.

SMU's GMAT institution codes are:
Full-Time MBA: F8D-7V-17
Part-Time MBA: F8D-7V-35

You can get more details regarding the GRE test centre at https://www.ets.org/gre/test-takers/general-test/schedule.html.

SMU's GRE institution code is:
Full-Time / Part-Time MBA: 2861 

We do not set a limit to the number of times you sit for the GMAT/GRE. You are the best judge as whether you can significantly improve from your last score. We ask that you report all past scores and we will consider the highest score achieved for your application evaluation.

The TOEFL/IELTS is only required if your undergraduate education or postgraduate education was not taught in English.

1. Explain in 500-600 words your career and personal aspirations, and your motivation for pursuing the Master of Business Administration Programme.​
2. Discuss in 500-600 words one of the following topics:
   • Describe your greatest weakness and how you have tried to overcome it.
   • Describe your outstanding talents, skills and inherent abilities that are not reflected in your academic qualifications and records.
   • Describe the situation with the greatest ethical complexity that you have faced in your professional or academic life, and how your input helped resolved it.​

1. A copy of NRIC for SingaporeanCitizen; or a copy of Passport for non-Singaporeans
2. A copy of NRIC, Passport and re-entry permit for Singaporean Permanent Residents
3. 2 passport-size photographs
4. Official GMAT/GRE score report (school version)
5. 2 short essays
6. Current CV
7. Official academic transcripts of all educational institutions attended
8. Contact details of 2 referees
9. Proof of payment by credit card form or check/money order of SGD$100 (inclusive of GST)
10. Any other supporting documents

You can reapply to the MBA program, but not during the same academic year. This means there is a minimum one-year wait period between reapplications for the Full-time and/or Part-time programs. Reapplicants should send the MBA office one reapplicant essay and one additional letter of recommendation.

Required reapplicant essay:

1. Please describe your career progress since you last applied and ways in which you have enhanced your candidacy (500 words)

SMU keeps applications on file for 2 years, so individuals who reapply within this time period do not need to resubmit transcripts or standardized test scores (GMAT, TOEFL, IELTS, et cetera) unless there has been a change to these components.

The SMU MBA Programme offers a number of scholarships for both Full-time and Part-time students. Students can apply for scholarships upon admission to the Programme. Award amounts up to 30% of tuition fees. There are no bonds attached to the scholarships. There are also a number of bank student loans available with favourable rates and terms for Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents. There are no financial aid schemes available for the MBA programme. 

Please refer to the section 'Scholarships and Financial Aid' under Admissions here for more information.

*These figures are to be used as a guide as expenditures will vary depending on personal spending habits.

The list below is a sample list of companies that have held events at SMU:

AT Kearney, Bain, Barclays, Boston Consulting Group, British Petroleum, Burson-Marsteller, Caterpillar, Citibank, DBS, Deloitte and Touche, Deutsche Bank, Ernst & Young, GIC, Goldman Sachs, Hewlett Packard, ING Bank, Janssen-Cilag, Macquarie, MediaEdge, Maersk Shipping, McKinsey, Morgan Stanley, NOL, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Prudential, Shell, SingTel, Standard Chartered, Temasek.

One of our main drivers to keep a relatively small class size is to provide individual attention to each candidate. Our MBA graduates have been recruited by companies such as Julius Baer, Yahoo, Unilever, Givaudan, Keppel, HSBC, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, ExxonMobil and Bain.

Yes, SMU's dedicated career services team will actively help you prepare for internships.

Yes, as we strongly believe that sector activities should be used as a way of increasing a participant's overall network, which may even be relevant to a current position. Our career services also provide self-assessment guides and career coaching with the purpose of improving a participant's overall job performance and long-term career goals.