There will be modest adjustments made to the tuition fees for the incoming AY2013/14 undergraduate intake. A schedule of the undergraduate tuition fees can be found at https://share.nus.edu.sg/registrar/info/ug/UGTuitionCurrent.pdf.

The University is continuing with the cohort-based approach introduced in AY2008/2009 in setting its undergraduate programme fees. Under this system, the tuition fee for a cohort of students admitted in the particular year will be fixed throughout their candidature.

Students in the AY2013/14 cohort can expect tuition fees for most of the undergraduate courses to be raised by 2.5% to $7,650 for general courses, which works out to an annualised increase of 1%.

Adjustment to tuition fees for Business, Dentistry, Law, Music and Medicine programmes will be higher as outlined below:

a. the tuition fee for the BBA programmes of the NUS Business School will be adjusted to $8,950, representing a 6% increase or an annualised increase of 2.3%;

b. the tuition fee for the LLB programme of the Faculty of Law will be adjusted to $10,800, representing a 8% increase or an annualised increase of 3.1%; and

c. the tuition fee for the MBBS programme of the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine will be adjusted to $23,050, representing a 6% increase or an annualised increase of 1.9%;

d.the tuition fee for the BDS programme of the Faculty of Dentistry will be adjusted to $23,050, representing a 6% increase or an annualised increase of 2.3%;

e.the tuition fee for the Bachelor of Music (Hons) programme of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music will be adjusted to $10,250, representing a 7% increase or an annualised increase of 2.7%;

Tuition fees for Architecture, Nursing and Pharmacy will be increased at lower rates. The tuition fee for the Architecture programme will be adjusted to $8,350, representing a 2% increase or an annualised increase of 0.8%.  Tuition fees for undergraduate courses will be raised by 1% to $8,950 for Nursing and $8,750 for Pharmacy, which works out to an annualised increase of 0.4%.

A modest tuition fee increase is necessary to help preserve and improve the quality of teaching. These adjustments are necessary to allow NUS and its Faculties to defray higher costs of talent, supplies and services, and to keep up with general inflation. It is a global phenomenon that the average operating cost per student has been increasing. The higher fees will help us better meet the needs and expectations of the students for a vibrant and holistic educational experience.

Q05.

Keeping costs under control is always a top priority for the University. Through streamlining of administrative processes, and competitive tendering for goods and services, cost increases have been kept low. In addition, the University has taken decisive steps to further reduce costs and expenditure so that more resources can be channeled to priority areas such as increasing financial aid for students and enriching their learning experience; to recruiting, and developing strong academics who are key to high-quality education and research; and to further enhancing the quality of our administrative, professional and support staff.

The University had to make higher increases to the fees for the Business, Law, Medicine, Dentistry and Music programmes and this is in line with the costs of providing a good university education in these fields. To keep up with the growing demands of these disciplines, more faculty and other specialists will have to be recruited to enhance the quality of teaching, practice and standards, and improved student experience. All these add significantly to the cost of running these courses.

Q07.

In line with government policy, NUS has over time sharpened the fee differentiation between Singapore Citizens (SC), Singapore Permanent Residents (SPR) and International Student (IS) to reflect the privileges of citizenship. Hence, for the student cohort to be admitted in AY2013/14, SPR and IS who are in receipt of the tuition grant will pay between $850 and $3,550 more than the existing fee rates for SPR and between $1,570 and $6,090 more than existing annual rates for IS. Existing PR and IS students will continue to pay the same fee rates that were made known to them at the point of admission.

Q08.

The implementation of this increase and thorough cost-cutting measures will enable NUS to press ahead with significant enhancements to our educational programmes. The University will continue to attract the best faculty, staff and students to further propel NUS to the forefront of research and education. With additional faculty, improvement in the number of students to each faculty member can be expected. In addition, we will enhance the quality of the student experience, and broaden our curriculum with programmes such as writing and communication modules, as well as career workshops.

NUS remains committed to a merit-based, needs-blind admission policy, and ensure that no deserving student is denied the opportunity of an NUS education because of financial difficulties. To help students better cope with the tuition fee increase, the University has reviewed and stepped up its efforts to assist students in need of financial assistance. Students can apply for a comprehensive range of financial assistance from the University and the Ministry of Education (MOE), which will provide them with the financial resources to help them complete their studies. These options include Tuition Fee Loan, NUS Study Loan, NUS or CDC/CCC or MOE Bursary, Residential Programme Bursary, NUS Student Assistance Loan, as well as Work-Study Assistance.    

The NUS Career Centre in the Office of Student Affairs has enhanced its student services with a multi-pronged approach to help incoming and existing students find internships, full-time and part-time jobs on and outside campus. More information on the NUS Career Centre can be found on their website: http://www.nus.edu.sg/osa/ncc.

In addition, the Work-Study Assistance Scheme helps needy students find part-time job opportunities both on- and off-campus. Information on the Work-Study Assistance Scheme can be found at http://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/financialaid/financial-studentemp-work.html.

The University has also reviewed the tuition fees for its graduate programmes and the new fees have been announced.

No. Students are admitted to NUS and pay the tuition fees for the course they will be enrolled for. Tuition fees are separate from hostel fees or fees pertaining to staying at University Town’s residential colleges or University Town Residence.

National Servicemen who accepted an offer of admission to NUS earlier for enrolment in AY2013/14 or later upon completion of national service will pay the prevailing NUS tuition fees of the year they first accepted the University’s offer. Therefore, if you accepted the offer in AY2011/2012 for enrolment in AY2013/14, under the cohort-fee structure, you will pay the prevailing fees for AY2011/2012 for your entire candidature. If you intend to apply for a change of course in AY2013/14, and are successful, you will pay the prevailing tuition fees of the year you first accepted our offer of admission throughout your entire candidature.

If you are successful in your application for transfer to a new course in Semester 2 of AY2012/2013, you will not be affected by the fee revision since this will take effect only from AY2013/14. However, your Tuition Grant will be affected. The MOE Tuition Grant Guidelines for transfers/re-admitted students are provided at https://share.nus.edu.sg/registrar/info/ug/UG-Eligibility-Guidelines-For-Tuition-Grant.pdf.