Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

SUTD, SMU break new ground with dual-degree offering

SINGAPORE — Two local universities have teamed up to offer undergraduates the option to pursue degrees in engineering and management, after the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Singapore Management University (SMU) yesterday announced a dual-degree programme. The move marks the first time two local varsities have teamed up to offer degrees.

SINGAPORE — Two local universities have teamed up to offer undergraduates the option to pursue degrees in engineering and management, after the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Singapore Management University (SMU) yesterday announced a dual-degree programme. The move marks the first time two local varsities have teamed up to offer degrees.

The four-year course will start in May and it will offer places for up to 45 students, with scholarships made available to Singaporean students. Undergraduates will attend classes at both campuses and be taught by faculty of both universities. They will eventually graduate with two degrees — a Bachelor of Business Management from SMU and a Bachelor of Engineering from SUTD, with a specialisation in engineering product development, engineering systems and design, or information systems technology and design.

Other than completing the 50 to 53 courses, students will also be required to fulfil non-academic requirements, such as career preparation programmes, a 16-week internship and 80 hours of community service.

“This initiative shows that universities do compete — we compete for talent, for faculty, the best students — but we can also work together, to complement each other’s strengths to enhance the learning experience of our students,” said SMU President Arnoud De Meyer.

While the course fees have not been confirmed as the Ministry of Education has yet to announce the new fee structures for universities this year, the fees will be “on par” with that of SUTD, said its President Thomas Magnanti. The fee for an academic year at SUTD was S$11,200 last year.

Both the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) said they offer double-degree programmes, but these are done through collaboration with overseas institutions or between faculties.

When asked if they would be open to such collaborations with other local universities, an NUS spokesperson said the varsity currently has no plans to do so.

“As NUS is a comprehensive university, we can almost always find the two disciplines within the university,” he said. “As such, there are currently no plans to seek external partners for such programmes.”

NTU also said it did not have any plans for collaborations at the moment, but pointed out that its own double major in engineering and business will begin in August and admit an initial cohort of 30 students.

“We do not have any such plans at the moment, but we are open to collaborate with both local and international partners where there are synergies and where our students will benefit from such dual degrees,” said NTU Associate Provost (Undergraduate Education) Professor Kam Chan Hin.

Addressing how the dual-degree programme was different from those on offer at NUS and NTU, Prof De Meyer said students would be able to experience two different cultures from two very different universities.

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.