The Singapore Management University (Abbreviation: SMU) is an autonomous university in Singapore that specialises in business and management studies. The university provides an American-style education modelled by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
The MSc in Wealth Management (MWM) has been recognised for the third consecutive year as one of the top three finance Masters programmes in the world by the Financial Times (FT) Masters in Finance Post-experience Ranking 2017. SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) remains the only institution in Asia to make it to the ranking, placed just after London Business School and University of Cambridge's Judge Business School. Alumni of the MWM programme reported a salary of US$104,992, a 15% increase compared to the salary reported in last year's ranking. LKCSB is also ranked top in careers services support, a recognition of the effectiveness in areas like career counselling, personal development, networking events, and recruitment. In addition, SMU LKCSB ranked 4th among Asian business schools and 44th in the world in the FT Masters in Finance Pre-experience Ranking 2017 for its Master of Science in Applied Finance (MAF). It is also the only institution in Singapore and South-Asia to be ranked; this is the third time that LKCSB is featured in both the Pre- and Post-experience rankings.
SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business' research productivity in 2016-7 is No. 13 worldwide in top ranked journals across all fields of business and No. 2 worldwide in top ranked journals in management field according to the University of Texas Dallas ranking.
SMU was established on 12 January 2000 and is located in the downtown area of Singapore. It has a total enrollment of about 8,800 undergraduate and postgraduate students and comprises six Schools offering undergraduate, graduate, and PhD programmes in Business Administration, Business Analytics, Financial Services, Accountancy, Economics, Information Systems Management, Law and the Social Sciences. The University has over 30 research institutes and centres of excellence, and customised corporate training and lifelong learning for individuals are available through the university's professional and executive development programmes. SMU collaborates with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania through the Wharton-SMU Research Center, giving Wharton a physical presence in Asia.
SMU summarizes its core values using the acronym CIRCLE, which stands for commitment, integrity, responsibility, collegiality, leadership, and excellence. SMU distinguishes itself from other universities in the region by giving students a holistic undergraduate education that involves an out-of-classroom values-based programme which aims to define, prepare, and inspire SMU students to be their best for others and themselves. Combined with the university's highly interactive and engaging pedagogy, students are required to complete a minimum of 10 weeks' internship and 80 hours' community service either locally or overseas before graduating. Some 86% of undergraduate students experience some form of global exposure before graduation.
SMU is one of the youngest universities to receive accreditation from the oldest global accrediting body, AACSB International. SMU is accredited for both its business and accounting undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. SMU's Lee Kong Chian School of Business is one of the youngest in the world to be EQUIS--accredited for five years. Awarded by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), the accreditation covers all programmes offered by the LKCSB from the undergraduate degree up to the PhD level.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
History
The idea of setting up a third university in Singapore was first mooted by the Singapore government in 1997.
Ho Kwon Ping, a Singaporean business entrepreneur, was appointed to chair the SMU task force which determined that the new institution would follow the American university system featuring a more flexible broad-based education. Following a review of undergraduate business schools to serve as a model for SMU, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania emerged as the best candidate. The Wharton-SMU agreement was signed in February 1999 followed in June by the Wharton-SMU Research Center collaboration.
In July 1999, Professor Janice Bellace, then Deputy Dean of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, commenced a two-year term as SMU's first president alongside founding Provost Dr Tan Chin Tiong. Dr Tony Tan, then Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, remarked about the SMU-Wharton relationship: "We hope to be able to tap the expertise and support of Wharton's faculty and extensive alumni network of public and private sector leaders, while offering Wharton a 'beach-head in Asia'."
In 2000, SMU made its first home at the former Raffles College on Evans Road at the edge of the Hwa Chong Institution Campus. The campus, first opened in 1929, had already been home to several institutions, before SMU. In 2001, SMU upgraded and occupied the main campus facilities, balancing the need to refit and refurbish it with facilities while preserving the heritage of colonial architecture. From 2001-2004, Professor Ronald Frank served as SMU's second president and was succeeded by president Professor Howard Hunter.
After five years at Bukit Timah, during which time the University saw the formation of four schools, the library and three centres of excellence as well as the Commencement of the first SMU graduates, SMU moved to its new and permanent city campus in the Bugis-Bras Basah District.
Since then, SMU has expanded, with the establishment of the SMU School of Law in 2007 and the restructuring of the School of Economics and Social Sciences into two Schools, the School of Economics and the School of Social Sciences.
In 2010, Dr Yong Pung How and Professor Arnoud De Meyer officially took over duties from Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau and Professor Howard Hunter as the Chancellor and the President of SMU respectively. Dr Yong was succeeded by Mr JY Pillay as Chancellor in September 2015.
In 2013, the School of Law joined the prestigious THEMIS law network that comprises Bocconi University (Milan, Italy), ESADE (Barcelona, Spain), Free University of Berlin (Berlin, Germany), Universitรฉ Paris-Est Crรฉteil Val-de-Marne (Paris, France), Maastricht University Law School (Maastricht, The Netherlands). SMU is the only Asian university in the network.
Future direction
As SMU entered its 15th year and reached an inflection point, SMU's Chairman, Board of Trustees and senior leaders endorsed a bold vision called SMU Vision 2025. In his State of the University Address on 29 August 2014, SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer described the building blocks that would continue SMU's development into "a great university":
- A game changer: transformative education for a new generation of graduates
- A catalyst: leader in cutting edge multi-disciplinary research
- A global exemplar: pre-eminent and esteemed global city university in Asia
Management University Video
Academics
The Singapore Management University follows a course credit system similar to that used in most American universities. Each individual course within the University is assigned a certain credit weightage and students are usually required to take a specified number of units to fulfill requirements for graduation. Courses are typically conducted as small group seminars of under 50 students so as to allow for a high degree of interactive discourse between students and lecturers.
Admissions
Admission to the undergraduate programmes is on a competitive and selective basis. Shortlisted applicants will be assessed by SMU professors and evaluated on their academic credentials and co-curricular activity records. Some schools like Law and Business require written tests in addition to interviews.
SMU admits students from a list of pre-university or high school qualifications that includes Singapore Cambridge A-Level, Polytechnic and International Baccalaureate diploma once a year. Application begins in October and closes on 1 April. Many students among the present intake are national sportsmen, musicians, young entrepreneurs and community-service volunteers. SMU also required applicants with international qualifications to submit either SAT or English Language Competency. The minimum SAT score of 1,350 with at least 650 each for evidence-based reading and writing for non-law programmes. The requirements for English Language Competencies are: 583 for Paper Based TOEFL, 93 for Internet-based TOEFL, and 7.0 overall band for IELTS.
For entry to graduate or master programmes, SMU requires GMAT and TOEFL or IELTS for most of the study major. Some majors also required submission of essays, recommendation letter, and a minimum of 2 years' work experience.
The postgraduate programmes in SMU are managed by the Office of Postgraduate Professional Programmes and Postgraduate Research Programmes Office.
Second Majors
SMU offers 41 second majors to undergraduates. Upon successful completion of the degree programme, they receive one degree certificate and a second major will be indicated in the result transcript.
Double Degree
Undergraduates who are offered a double degree programme have 15 combinations to choose from. They can combine any of two disciplines: Accountancy, Business Management, Economics, Law, Information Systems Management or Social Sciences. Graduates will receive two degree certificates upon successful completion of the double degree programme.
University rankings
- SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business' research productivity in top ranked journals across all fields of business in 2016-17 is #13 worldwide according to the University of Texas Dallas ranking
- SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business' research productivity in top ranked journals in management field in 2016-17 is #2 worldwide according to the University of Texas Dallas ranking
- SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business' Executive Master of Business Administration was ranked #9 in Asia and #32 worldwide by The Financial Times Executive MBA Ranking 2016.
- SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business' Master of Science in Wealth Management was ranked #1 in Asia and #3 worldwide for The Financial Times Masters in Finance Post-experience 2016
- SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business' Master of Science in Applied Finance was ranked #4 in Asia and #42 worldwide for The Financial Times Global Masters in Finance Pre-experience 2016
- SMU In 2016 entered the QS Asian universities ranking for the first time at 60th place.
- SMU was ranked #25 in the Asia-Pacific region for MBA in the 2012 QS Global 200 Business School Report (Asia-Pacific) Rankings
- SMU was the first university in Asia to start a professional masters program specializing in business analytics making it the #1 ranked course.
- SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business was rated as a 4 Palms business school and ranked first in the Far East Asia Zone among 200 business schools 'with significant international influence' in the 'Best 1,000 Business Schools in 154 countries' ranking compiled by Eduniversal for 2014
- SMU was ranked 51-100 for Economics & Econometrics in the 2015 QS University Subject Rankings
- SMU was ranked 51-100 for Accounting & Finance, 101-150 for Information Systems, Economics, Statistics and Law in the 2013 QS University Subject Rankings
- SMU was ranked #40 worldwide and #3 in Asia-Pacific for The UTD (University of Texas at Dallas) Top 100 Worldwide Business School Rankings Based on Research Contributions (All Journals) for the period 2012-16
- SMU was ranked #65 worldwide and #2 in Asia in the 2012 Tilburg University Top 100 Worldwide Economics Schools Research Ranking based on research contributions in leading international journals in the preceding five-year period
- SMU was ranked #57 worldwide and #1 Asia-Pacific for The Tilburg University Top 100 Worldwide Economics Schools Research Ranking based on research contribution 2009-2012
- SMU was ranked #74 worldwide and #4 in Asia-Pacific for The Tilburg University Top 100 Worldwide Economics Schools Research Ranking based on research contribution 2008-2012
- SMU was ranked #45 in the Arizona State University (ASU) Finance Research ranking for publications between 2011 and 2012
- SMU was ranked #135 worldwide for Social Sciences and Management in the 2012 QS World University Rankings
- SMU was rated as a 4 Palms Business school (world top 300) by Eduniversal in 2011
- SMU was ranked 10th worldwide and 1st in Asia by The Accounting Review for the number of refereed articles accepted for publication in 2009
- SMU School of Accountancy was ranked #1 in Asia and #3 in the world for both Archival Research (All Topics) and Archival Research (Financial). It also ranks #1 in Asia for All Areas, All DIsciplines according to the Brigham Young University Accounting Research Rankings 2016
- Singapore Management University was ranked #116 in QS Top Universities 2013 Faculty Areas in Social Sciences and Management with a score of 67.70
Schools and programmes
School of Accountancy
SMU School of Accountancy was launched in 2001 with the Bachelor of Accountancy (BAcc) undergraduate degree as its sole offering. Since that time, the SoA has received strong endorsement from the industry and the accounting profession in general. The School followed then up on this initial success in 2005, launching the Master of Professional Accounting (MPA) programme for professionals intending to join the accounting profession but did not possess an undergraduate accounting qualification.
Both the SMU MPA and BAcc are accredited with the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), CPA Australia, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
Lee Kong Chian School of Business
The Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) is the largest School within the University. The LKCSB holds the status of being SMU's founding School with it having opened its doors to its pioneer batch of Bachelor of Business Management (BBM) students in August 2000. The School was named after Lee Kong Chian in appreciation for the sizeable donation provided by The Lee Foundation to establish the School.
In addition to the BBM, the Business School offers graduate coursework programmes such as the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA), Master of Science in Management (MM), Master of Science in Wealth Management, Master of Science in Applied Finance and Master of Science in Innovation. The school offers the Master of Science in Applied Finance (China) programme, a collaborative effort between SMU and Wangyanan Institute for the Study of Economics (WISE) at Xiamen University, China and the Master of Science in Communication Management, in partnership with Universitร della Svizzera italiana (USI) and with 10 days spent at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Besides these, research programmes such as the Master of Science in Finance and Master of Science in Operations Management are offered. The school has also started to offer a Business PhD programme in Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources (OBHR), Finance, General Management, and Marketing.
Lee Kong Chian School of Business' Master of Science in Wealth Management recently was named second in the world by Financial Times among comparable masters in finance courses of study internationally.
School of Economics
The School of Economics (SoE) was established in July 2002 as part of the then School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS). Following a restructuring exercise, the University's economics faculty was separated from the social sciences to form a school of its own. This restructuring was largely accepted as a sound decision in view of the fact that SoE's curriculum had been modelled on that of the Wharton School instead of following the traditional social science-type economics curriculum found at most other institutions.
Today, the SoE offers the Bachelor of Science (Economics) as well as Master of Science programmes in Economics and Applied Economics. In 2007, the School also introduced a PhD in Economics programme.
School of Information Systems
The School of Information Systems (SIS) was formed with the aid of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) when SMU and CMU forged a four-year strategic partnership intended to use the expertise of the CMU faculty in the School's initial establishment. Through this partnership, CMU aided SIS in establishing and developing the BSc Information Systems Management undergraduate programme, including faculty recruitment, development and mentoring; curriculum and course design; and the establishment of the flagship SMU CMU Fast-Track programme, which enables SIS students to graduate within four-and-a-half years with both a bachelor's degree from SMU and a master's degree from CMU. In 2007, both universities agreed upon an additional four-year extension with CMU now providing support in the establishment and growth of SIS's postgraduate education offerings. Under this agreement, the two universities also increased their focus on collaborative research efforts leading to joint faculty research outputs, funded projects and graduate student interaction.
SIS offers the Master of Science in Information Systems, Master of IT in Business (MITB), as well as the PhD in Information Systems programmes, in addition to its BSc undergraduate offering. Master of IT in Business (MITB) augments its Analytics and Financial Services Analytics Tracks' offering with Harvard Business School's HBX Credential of Readiness (CORe) online programme. SMU is the first ASEAN educational institution to incorporate HBX (CORe) into its master's programme.
School of Law
The School of Law stands out as the University's smallest school with a highly selective total annual intake of around 180 students. The establishment of the School of Law was announced in August 2007 following the encouragement of the Singapore Government, which had, during a major review, discovered a shortage of qualified legal personnel in Singapore. Previously, the School existed as the Department of Law at the university's Business School, and it was chaired by Professor Andrew Phang (now a Judge of Appeal). The School of Law is part of the THEMIS law network comprises Universitร Bocconi (Milan, Italy), ESADE (Barcelona, Spain), Freie Universitรคt (Berlin, Germany), Universitรฉ Paris Est Crรฉteil Val de Marne (Paris, France), Maastricht Law School (Maastricht, The Netherlands). SMU is the only Asian university in the network. The current dean is Professor Yeo Tiong Min, who was made Singapore's first Honorary Senior Counsel in 2012.
The School of Law offers the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) undergraduate programme with a further offer of an American-style Juris Doctor (JD) programme. The offer of a JD programme, unique in Singapore which has until recently adhered to the British-influenced system of legal education, was made to enable mid-career or fresh graduates in other disciplines to pursue a degree in law, allowing them to become practising lawyers. The school also offers a LLM programme, with the option of a dual LLM with Queen Mary University of London.
The School of Law has a strong track record in international moot court competitions, having either won or been to the championship final of all the major competitions such as the Jessup moot, Vis moots, Price moot, International Criminal Court moot, and Frankfurt moot.
SMU's new School of Law Building, along with the Kwa Geok Choo Library, was officially opened on 15 March 2017 by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
School of Social Sciences
The School of Social Sciences (SoSS) was established in July 2002 as part of the then, School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS). Through a restructuring exercise in 2007, the School of Economics and School of Social Sciences were separated to form independent Schools within the University. The School's primary offering is the Bachelor of Social Science, a broad-based multidisciplinary social sciences undergraduate programme. Within this programme, three main majors are offered, namely Political Science, Psychology and Sociology. In addition, the school offers a PhD in Psychology.
Executive Development
In addition to its traditional academic programmes, the University also runs executive education and development programmes for leaders at four stages of their career: emerging leaders, general managers, senior executives and corporate directors. These courses include Executive Skills for Board Members in Challenging Times; SNEF-SMU CEO Seminars: The Art & Science of Productivity Leadership; and Johnson & Johnson-SMU Hospital Management.
Professional Studies
The Centre for Professional Studies (CPS) was established in 2012 to advance the competence and career aspirations of working professionals in targeted industries and disciplines. CPS provides structured certification programmes which aim to enhance the industries' manpower capabilities. Programmes offered by CPS include SMU-SingHealth Graduate Diploma in Healthcare Management and Leadership, SMU-BCA-WDA Productivity and Leadership Development, Analytical Professional (Modelling) and HR Graduate Certification.
Institutes, centres, labs and initiatives
The University hosts eleven institutes and a larger number of research centres.
Institutes
- Asia Private Equity Institute (APEI)
- Behavioural Sciences Institute (BSI)
- Business Families Institute (BFI)
- Financial Training Institute@SMU (FTI@SMU)
- Human Capital Leadership Institute (HCLI)
- Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIEE)
- Institute of Service Excellence at SMU (ISES)
- Institute for Societal Leadership (ISL)
- International Trading Institute@SMU (ITI@SMU)
- Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics
- UOB-SMU Asian Enterprise Institute
Centres
- Applied Research Centre for Intellectual Assets and the Law in Asia
- Centre for Cross-Border Commercial Law in Asia (CEBCLA)
- Centre for English Communication
- Centre for Management Practice
- Centre for Marketing Excellence
- Centre for Professional Studies
- Centre for Research on the Economics of Ageing CREA
- Centre for Scholar Development
- Centre for Social Respsonsibility
- Centre for Student Financial Assistance
- Centre for Teaching Excellence
- Dato' Kho Hui Meng Career Centre
- Financial IT Academy (FITA)
- Lien Centre for Social Innovation
- Living Analytics Research Centre (LARC) (jointly with Carnegie Mellon University)
- Mrs Wong Kwok Leong Student Wellness Centre
- Pro Bono Centre
- School of Accountancy Research (SOAR)
- Secure Mobile Centre (SMC)
- SMU-TA Centre for Excellence in Taxation (SMU-TA CET)
- Wee Kim Wee Centre
- Wharton-SMU Research Centre
Labs and initiatives
- DBS-SMU Life Analytics Lab (LifeLab)
- DHL-SMU Green Transformation Lab
- Dispute Resolution Initiative
- Fujitsu-SMU Urban Computing and Engineering (UNiCEN) Corp. Lab
- LiveLabs Urban Lifestyle Innovation Platform
- Pinnacle Lab
- SMU-Alexandra Health T-Lab
- SMU-SAS Advanced Analytics Lab
- SMU-TCS iCity Lab
- Urban Decision & Optimization Lab
SMU Libraries
SMU Libraries consists of the Li Ka Shing Library and the Kwa Geok Choo Law Library.
The Li Ka Shing Library was named after Li Ka-shing in appreciation for his support and Li Ka Shing Foundation's donation to SMU. Situated at the heart of SMU's city campus, the Li Ka Shing library is the centre for academic resources and services that support the research and learning needs of the SMU community.
The Kwa Geok Choo Law Library is dedicated to the memory of Madam Kwa Geok Choo. Establishing the Kwa Geok Choo Law Library was first proposed in 2009.
Institutional Knowledge (InK)
InK, INstitutional Knowledge at SMU is the institutional repository and archives of the Singapore Management University. As the institutional repository, InK acquires, organises and provides access to the research and scholarly works of SMU faculty. Collections in InK include journal articles, working papers, conference proceedings, books, book chapters, reports and other research works including the dissertations and theses of postgraduate students and a collection of print and video teaching cases. In addition, there are also the heritage and research data collections.
Oral history
In March 2010, SMU initiated an oral history project to gather records that encapsulate the thinking behind the establishment of Singapore's third university. "Conceptualising SMU: The People and Ideas behind the SMU Story" is a collection of personal recollections in audio and video form from individuals who have been instrumental in the setting up of the university including the then Deputy Prime Minister and current President of Singapore and Patron of SMU, Tony Tan, the presidents and founding deans of each of the six schools as well as pioneer faculty and students. The Oral History collection was launched in January 2012 and is an ongoing initiative to include others who contributed to SMU over the years. This collection is updated with 2- 3 new interviews per year.
Campus and facilities
SMU is the only City Campus in Singapore and among very few in the world. It is in the heart of Singapore's civic district. It provides a natural focal point and central gathering space for students, faculty as well as the public. The campus has seven blocks:
- Lee Kong Chian School of Business
- School of Accountancy
- Li Ka Shing Library
- School of Information Systems
- School of Economics / School of Social Sciences
- School of Law
- Administration Building
The six of the seven buildings are connected by an underground walkway known as the Concourse, which is open to the public and lined with shops. The campus was designed by two teams of architects, with Cox Architects and Planners and DEG Architects in charge of the Administrative Building, and Edward Cullinan Architects and KNTA Architects designing the rest.
Teaching facilities include seminar rooms, class rooms, computer labs and group study rooms used by students for project discussions. There are research facilities scattered throughout the University. Sports facilities are limited on campus because of space constraints; however, the university has a swimming pool, gymnasium, and a multi-purpose sports hall which is equipped with a rock wall. The University has campus-wide wireless LAN networks.
The most recent building on campus is the School of Law, which officially opened in March 2017. A key feature integrated into the new building is the Kwa Geok Choo Law Libray, named in memory of the late Madam Kwa Geok Choo, wife of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. The 2,600 square metres Law Library takes on a distinct architectural form that is reminiscent of a pearl. It seats more than 500 people and is fully equipped with modern technology and wired for legal research in the 21st century. Also housed within the Law Building is the David Marshall Moot Court, the SMU Pro Bono Centre and other research centres.
The university also leases a building on Stamford Road which houses SMU Labs. SMU Labs provides collaborative learning spaces for the university's latest learning experiment, known as SMU-X, in which lessons are centred on solving real-world problems through projects.
Accommodation
The SMU Hostel, known as SMU Residences @ Prinsep, is located on Prinsep Street. The hostel was created by refurbishing three Housing Development Board blocks donated by the government. The hostel welcomed its first residents in December 2006 and was officially opened in February 2007. The hostel buildings can accommodate about 250 residents. Priority is given to international students, most of whom live in various private hostels around the island.
In addition, the university leases rooms from a student hostel at Commonwealth Drive and these are open to 212 full-time SMU students (2nd year and above), exchange students and full-time postgraduate students who plan to study full-time at SMU for the forthcoming academic year. The hostel is located near Holland Village which is known for its cosmopolitan array of restaurants and cafes.
Graduate employment
In the Joint Graduate Employment Survey of 2016, graduates of SMU's undergraduate university programmes achieved higher employment rates and higher incomes than their peers from Singapore's two other autonomous universities (NUS and NTU). A total of 1,336 participants of the 1,803 SMU alumni who graduated in 2016 took part in the survey. It revealed that 93.8 per cent of SMU's graduates from the 2016 cohort were employed within six months after completing their final examinations, with more than half being offered jobs from before graduation. The average gross monthly salary of SMU graduates in full-time employment was $3,722, the highest since SMU graduated its pioneer cohort in 2004. There is also an increasing trend of graduates embarking on entrepreneurship path.
Entrepreneurship
Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIEE) is headed by a Enterprise Board IIE Chairman Anil Thadani and governed by an Enterprise Board composed of Entrepreneurs, senior professionals from the industry, members of SMU's Board of trustees, and Academic leaders from SMU. The institute leads the scene of entrepreneurship in Singapore Management University. IIE is a practise oriented institute that provides support for innovation and entrepreneurship related activities across all the schools at SMU. Its activities range from events, competitions and networking around innovation & entrepreneurship, workshops, training programs, study missions and internships for entrepreneurs & budding entrepreneurs and a full-fledged incubation programme that help aspiring entrepreneurs take their ideas to market. Past successful startups include social marketplace Oompr, app development studio Rainmaker Labs, social tutoring app Edusnap, property and design tech Nestr, fintech Toucan and student exchange platform Flying Chalks. The values shared by IIE are honesty, objectivity, speed, teamwork, excellence and leadership.
Student life
Students can take part in the school clubs and events, as well as organise school events.
The academic year commences in late August. Each term is 15 weeks long, including a week-long mid-term break and another week of revision and exams. Term 1 generally runs from late August to early December, while Term 2 begins in January and ends in mid-April. In most courses, students are assessed on the level of their class participation, a group project, a midterm test, and possibly, an exam at the end of the term. Students are generally required to give a presentation on a project topic for every course they read. Attending a half-unit course, called Finishing Touch, which advises students on career skills is also mandatory.
It is part of each student's curriculum to spend at least 10 weeks on an internship at an approved organisation, and 80 hours of community service. These occupy the summer holidays of most students. Students are also encouraged to go an international exchange term with partner universities to experience different cultures. SMU has around 220 agreements with partner universities from 48 countries.
SMU Students' Association
The Association was formed in 2000 by students, with the aim of building a community of students. Every matriculated SMU undergraduate is a member of the SMUSA. The SMUSA serves as an umbrella organisation that consists of the SMU Students' Association Council, an Executive Committee, and ten constituent bodies. The constituent bodies are the governing body for co-curricular clubs and societies. There are four non-school constituent bodies and six school constituent bodies looking after more than 100 student clubs in SMU. In addition to the constituent bodies, SMU Bizcom is the business development arm of the Students' Association and offers discounts, privileges and post exam parties; and SMU International Connections (ICON) is the international students' department of the Students' Association. These clubs aim to build ties among the members of their respective communities and promote their cultures to all SMU students through events and initiatives.
The top management of the university including the President, Deputy President, and Provost will meet with council members and discuss issues with regard to SMU student life at least once a year. The Association also played a role in creating the undergraduate tuition-fee structure at the SMU. When the university announced its first fee hike in 2005, the Association banded its members together and drafted a proposal for the fees to be locked in for all current students. The SMU Board of Trustees accepted the Association's proposal with minor revisions, and this allowed students who were admitted in each academic year to have their fees locked in for their entire period of study, instead of having tuition fees which were subject to revision.
In addition, SMUSA is a partner with the SMU Administration on many university-level collaborations. Freshmen events such as the Freshmen Teambuilding Camp, VIVACE (CCA-Expo) and Convocation (pre-formal segments) are organised by standing committees under the SMUSA Executive Committee. Secretaries holding various portfolio also serve as liaisons with various Offices in an improvement of student life and student activities. These executive functions include optimisation of various student spaces, BOSS bidding (module bidding system) and allocation of funding of SMU's various student clubs and societies.
The elections for the Executive Committee of the Association are held during the second term of each academic year, and each member holds a one-year term of office, beginning from 1 January to 31 December.
The following elaborates the various functions of each Constituent Body.
Accountancy Society (ASoc)
The SMU Accountancy Society was established to serve as a point of communication between the school of accountancy students, faculty and school offices. Colloquially known as ASoc, the executive committee is elected annually by Accountancy undergraduates to improve student life for fellow accountancy students, overseeing several school community events such as ASoc Day and ASoc Camp.
Business Society (BONDUE)
An initiative by the Office of the Deanery of the LKCSB, BONDUE was formed in April 2004, to inculcate a sense of identity and foster cohesiveness amongst the stakeholders in the LKCSB community - the Deans, faculty, alumni, staff and students. BONDUE is one of the main drivers in the organising and planning of student activities, including student-led camps and social nights.
Vision: To cultivate a dynamic and fulfilling university experience for SMU business students
Mission: To unify SMU business students, while serving their welfare, social, academic and professional interests
One of its signature events, Bondue Camp, is an annual affair that aims to integrate new business students into the Bondue community. To inject fun into the business campus life, Bondue also hosts Slightly Scarlet, a philanthropic fashion show.
Additionally, Bondue frequently organises academic functions such as the Bondue Keynote Forum and various industry talks, to provide students with a platform to garner insights about their preferred major and potential career path. Accomplished industry professionals are invited to share their experiences with business students during these events.
Economics Society (OIKOS)
OIKOS is the constituent body representing the School of Economics. Its aim is to look after the interests and welfare of all Economics students.
SMU Law Society (The Bar)
The SMU Law Society, also known as "The Bar"], is the student representative body of the SMU School of Law. The Seventh Management Committee (7th MC) of The Bar consists of eight elected student leaders. In their year-long term in office, the committee holds events for professional and academic development initiatives.
School of Information Systems Society (SISS)
The society is a bridge between students and faculty, aiming to act in the interests and well-being of all information-systems students and to strengthen ties within the SIS community and across the university.
Social Science Society (SOSCIETY)
The SMU Social Sciences Student Society was established in 2004 to serve as a point of communication between the students, faculty and school offices. Colloquially known as SOSCIETY, the executive committee is elected annually by Social Sciences undergraduates to improve student life for fellow social scientists.
Arts and Cultural Fraternity (ACF)
ACF is the student-run constituent body that oversees the 26 arts and cultural clubs in SMU, and represents their interest to the administration and to the SMUSA Council. It oversees the development of its clubs as well as arts and culture in SMU, and plans events such as the annual SMU Arts Festival.
SMUXtremists (SMUX)
SMUXtremists (SMUX) was established in 2000 by nine students who enjoy sharing the outdoors with others in the Singapore Management University (SMU). It currently has 1000 members, and is managed by a team of 15 committee members, and is the largest Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) Club in SMU.
SMUXtremists consists of teams for Biking, Diving, Kayaking, Trekking, Skating and the XSeed team. It has organised land-based and sea-based activities, including mountain biking, road and leisure cycling outings, overseas trekking expeditions and diving trips, kayaking expeditions to the Southern Islands of Singapore and cable ski trips in Batam Island, as well as adventure courses for outdoor enthusiasts. One of the club's main objectives is to promote the outdoors to the entire SMU population.
In 2006, SMUX became a constituent body (CBD) to represent and serve as the outdoor adventure arm of SMU. They have organised adding activities for the school population such as the SMUX Camp, NiteBike and SMU Adrace.
Special interest and Community Service Sodality (SICS)
SICS was formed to oversee the various CCA clubs founded for students who wish to develop their special interests - (SI) clubs. The other half of our sodality consists of community service (CS) clubs that engage in short term and long term projects. These projects include as beneficiaries disadvantaged children, non-academically inclined teenagers, the elderly and the disabled.
SICS has the mission to inculcate a sense of belonging and foster closer ties between its Special Interest and Community Service clubs, through the integration of club activities under its purview.
SMU Sports Union (SSU)
Their motto "Might of One, Strength from All" represents SSUs aim of being a united front for all sports clubs in SMU.
Notable alumni and students
- Jason Goh Koon-Jong - chess player
- Rebecca Lim - actress
- Poh Seng Song - athlete
- Pornsak Prajakwit - television personality
- Pritam Singh - Member of Parliament
- Jade Seah - actress
- Adithya Srinivasan - singer
- Liyann Seet - artist
- Yip Pin Xiu - swimmer
- Russell Ong - swimmer
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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