SMU Classification: Restricted

SMU EXCHANGE FACT SHEET AY2023/2024
OVERVIEWThe Singapore Management University is internationally recognised for its world-class research andteaching excellence.
Established in 2000, SMU is known for its highly interactive, collaborative and project-based approach tolearning, and for its emphasis on generating rigorous and high-impact multi-disciplinary research thataddresses Asian issues of global relevance.
Home to some 10,000 students, SMU comprise of six schools specialising in Accountancy, Business,
Economics, Information Systems, Law and Social Sciences, offering a wide range of bachelors’, masters’
and PhD degree programmes.
SMU’s city campus enjoys strategic linkages with business, government and the wider community
through its institutes, centres and labs.
This document highlights the administrative information of International Student Exchange Programme
2023/2024.

IMPORTANT DATES
Nomination Deadline
Application Deadline

Term 1 (Fall)
15 Apr
25 AprTerm 2 (Spring)
15 SepInternational Student
25 SepExchange Programme
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SMU Classification: Restricted

OVERVIEW
Established in 2000, Singapore Management University (SMU) is internationally recognised for its highlyinteractive, collaborative and project-based approach to learning. This unique pedagogy creates theopportunity for students to immerse themselves in an array of multi-disciplinary courses that addresses
Asian issues of global relevance.
Home to some 10,000 students, SMU comprises six schools specialising in Accountancy, Business,
Computing and Information Systems, Economics, Law and Social Sciences, offering a wide rangeof bachelor’s, master’s and PhD degree programmes. SMU has newly added two colleges – College ofIntegrative Studies and College of Graduate Research Studies to its academic suite in 2022.
SMU’s city campus enjoys strategic linkages with business, government and the wider community throughits institutes, centres and labs.

IMPORTANT DATESTerm 1 (Fall)

Term 2 (Spring)

Nomination Deadline
Application Deadline
Issuance of Acceptance Letter
Expected Arrival in Singapore

15 Apr
25 Apr
Mid-End May
11 Aug

15 Sep25 Sep
Mid-End Oct
5 Jan

Orientation Week (Mandatory)
Classes
Recess Week
Final Exams*
Expiry of Digital Student’s Pass**

12 - 18 Aug
19 Aug - 24 Nov
7 - 13 Oct
25 Nov - 8 Dec
15 Dec6 - 12 Jan
13 Jan - 20 Apr3 - 9 Mar
21 Apr - 4 May
11 MayMid MarMid Jul

Issuance of Digital Transcript*All students are required to take the final examinations in-person on campus as scheduled by theUniversity.
**Students are required to leave from Singapore before the expiration of the digital Student’s Pass.
Overstaying is a legal offence in Singapore.
Please refer to the detailed academic calendar here.

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ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Applicants must have completed at least one academic year of undergraduate studies and must be aregistered undergraduate in their home university throughout the study term.
All applications must be submitted together with the supporting documents below (only valid documents
in English will be accepted):❖ Photo identification page of a valid passport with a validity period of no less than six months fromthe end-date of the study term
IMPORTANT:
Expired passports, or passports with less than the required validity period WILL NOT be accepted.
❖ Latest academic transcript from the home university❖ Recent passport-sized photograph (taken within three months)❖ English language proficiency certificate (applicable if the language of instruction of the homeuniversity is not English)
English Language Proficiency:
The language of instruction at SMU is English. Students from non-English-speaking countries or frominstitutions whereby the language of instruction is not English, must fulfil at least one of the following
English language proficiency certifications.

English Proficiency Test

Minimum Score

TOEFL PBT (paper-based test)

583

TOEFL iBT (internet-based test)

93

International English Language Testing Systems (IELTS)

7.0

C1 Advanced

185

NOTES:••IELTS/ TOEFL/ C1 Advanced scores are valid for 2 years. Scores from tests taken must be withinthe validity period of two years at the point of application.
Due to COVID-19 testing restrictions, scores from the TOEFL iBT® Special Home Edition and IELTS
Indicator will also be accepted.

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NOMINATION
Partner universities shall receive information on nomination instructions via email and are required tocomplete a nomination form to nominate their students to SMU, for each term.

APPLICATIONSMU shall send the application instructions to the nominated students. Submission of application andsupporting documents are to be completed electronically via the online application system. Only valid
documents in English will be accepted.

ACADEMIC INFORMATIONClass Format & Size:
Course Load:

Interactive seminar-style comprising 35 - 45 students.
Full course load per term: 4.0 SMU credits.
Minimum course load per term: 2.0 SMU credits.
Students may be permitted to enrol for a maximum course load of 5.0
SMU credits per term, subject to approval by the home university andSMU.

Credit Weightage: Each full-credit course is equivalent to 1.0 SMU credit, and consists of 39
contact hours per term.
Each half-credit course is equivalent to 0.5 SMU credit, and consists of atleast 18 contact hours per term.
Course Assessment:

Assessments can include, but not limited to (i) class attendance;(ii) class participation; (iii) individual project; (iv) group project;(v) presentation (individual/group); (vi) mid-term test; (vii) final
examination.

Class Attendance & Attendance and participation form part of the course assessment, hence
Participation: attendance is mandatory for all classes.
Absence from classes due to health/medical reasons must be validatedby medical certification. Absence due to other reasons require priorapproval by the course instructor.

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EXAMINATIONS & GRADING SYSTEM
Final examinations are held at the end of every term. Students are required to sit for the examinations on
the date and time scheduled by the University. Rescheduling of exam dates or special/early examination
arrangements will not be permitted.
All SMU courses are graded in accordance to a 4-point grading system, as tabled below.

GradeGrade Point

Mark Range

A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
DF

4.3
4.0
3.7
3.3
3.0
2.7
2.32.0
1.7
1.3
1.0
0.0

86 and above
83 to 85
80 to 82
77 to 79
74 to 76
70 to 73
66 to 69
63 to 65
60 to 62
53 to 59
50 to 52
49 and below

COURSE ENROLMENT
Course enrolments are conducted via a bidding exercise in July (Term 1) and December (Term 2) eachyear. Only undergraduate courses from a prescribed list will be offered to exchange and visiting students(Course Codes 001-499, 1200-4038).
Students will be allocated 100 e-dollars (e$100) each term (one-time only), for bidding of all their required
courses. This empowers them to draw up their own timetable based on their recommended study plan(subject to constraints of curriculum requirements and the supply and demand of classes). Details andinstructions related to course bidding together with the list of courses offered, shall be made available tostudents two to four weeks before the course bidding exercise. It is important that students understandthe information, policies and procedures to ensure a smooth bidding process.
Demand could be high for some courses, e.g. fundamental freshmen courses. Students are encouraged to
be pro-active and flexible in their study plans to optimise their bidding opportunities.
In preparation for the course bidding and enrolment, students are responsible for ensuring that they have:
1. Read the course-bidding guide and reviewed the prescribed list of course offerings for the intended
study term.
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2. Obtained pre-approvals from the home university to enrol for their desired courses at SMU. Students
are encouraged to obtain pre-approval for more courses than necessary as contingency, in case theirdesired courses are fully subscribed.
3. Fulfilled the necessary pre-requisites for the desired courses. Students are required to consult and seek
approval from the respective SMU course instructors on the fulfilment of pre-requisites (if any), before
bidding for their courses. Students will not be allowed to enrol for, nor to continue with the course if
the pre-requisites have not been met.
Course Catalogue:
For planning purposes, students may refer to the Course Catalogue for undergraduate course offerings
from previous terms (Course Codes 001-499, 1200-4038). This catalogue serves as a reference only as notall courses listed will be offered to exchange and visiting students.
IMPORTANT:•

Course enrolment strictly adheres to the SMU academic policies and guidelines. It is subject to thevacancies available, fulfilment of course pre-requisites (if applicable) and bidding outcome of thestudent.

•Course enrolment is not guaranteed. It is strongly advised that students should not be completing
their final term of studies during their study abroad at SMU. Their graduation may be at risk should
they fail to secure their required courses.

TRANSCRIPT
A digital transcript will be emailed to the student’s SMU campus email, within three months after therelease of the final examination results, i.e. mid-March (Term 1) and mid-July (Term 2). The transcript
will include the course title, course code and grade of the respective courses enrolled. No hardcopy of thetranscript will be issued.
SMU does not send the digital transcript to any third party including the student’s home university.
Therefore, students are responsible for providing the transcript to their home university for credit
transfer.
SMU is unable to accommodate requests for early release of the official digital transcript under any
circumstances including students’ graduation and higher education plan. Therefore, students areresponsible to communicate and make their own arrangements with their home university based on thetimeline stated above.
It is important for students to maintain their access to the SMU email account after they finish theprogramme. This is to ensure that they can retrieve the digital transcript before the email account expires.
Charges are applicable if students need their digital transcript to be re-issued
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STUDENT’S PASS (VISA)
All international exchange and visiting students are required to hold a valid Student’s Pass (STP) during
their study term in Singapore. The Student’s Pass is a legal document that enables the student to live andstudy in Singapore, as well as serves as a multiple-entry visa into Singapore (subject to terms andconditions). The cost for the STP ranges between S$90 and S$120 and includes the application fee,issuance fee and multiple-entry visa fee (if applicable).
SMU will initiate the application of the Student's Pass. Nevertheless, students bear the responsibility tocomplete and fulfil the application requirements for the STP before their arrival in Singapore. Moreinformation on the STP application process will be provided two months before the start of the study
term.
IMPORTANT:
By regulation, STP holders (exchange and visiting students) are strictly not permitted to undertake any
form of internship or work (paid or unpaid) including virtual engagements during their study term inSingapore.

COVID-19 VACCINATIONSTP holders are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to be issued the STP. You will needto achieve minimum protection before you can complete formalities for the STP issuance unless you are
medically exempted and certified by a Singapore doctor upon your arrival in Singapore. Please refer toMinistry of Health (MOH) website for more details on how to achieve the minimum protection.
If you have been vaccinated overseas with any vaccines approved under the WHO Emergency Use Listing(EUL), including booster shots, you need to get your overseas vaccination records ingested into the MOH’sNational Immunisation Registry (NIR) prior to the Completion of Formalities (COF) for STP. Please follow
the instructions here to ingest your vaccinations records into the NIR.
From 1 Apr 2023, persons who recently recovered from COVID-19 will no longer enjoy temporary
exemption from COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
It is students’ responsibility to keep yourself updated of the latest regulations on the border and COVID19 measures and as information is subject to change without prior notice.

ENTERING SINGAPORE
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There are no longer any COVID-19 measures for travellers arriving in Singapore from 13 Feb 2023,
regardless of vaccination status or traveller profile. Travellers must ensure that they fulfil all other generalentry requirements as stated on the ICA website.
Please note that STP holders still need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to be issued the STP.

COVID-19 UPDATE
While wearing a mask is no longer required under the temporary COVID-19 regulations, MOH will retain
the practice of mask-wearing for visitors, staff, and patients in healthcare and residential care settings,
where there is interaction with patients and in indoor patient-facing areas.
For latest updates, please visit MOH website: https://www.moh.gov.sg/covid-19.

HEALTH & SAFETY
It is mandatory for all students to purchase the SMU Medical Insurance, for coverage during their study
term in Singapore. It is included as part of the miscellaneous fee*, which is applicable to all students.
Students are strongly advised to purchase additional travel insurance at their own cost and discretion asnecessary, for personal travel or leisure trips overseas. The SMU Student Travel Insurance only applies tostudents on official travels approved/sanctioned by SMU.
SMU has engaged the services of International SOS (ISOS) to provide 24-hour assistance for students.
Students are encouraged to download the ISOS mobile app. In case of an emergency, students may seek
assistance via the app or contact the ISOS 24-hour hotline at +65 6337 6517, or the SMU Campus Security
at +65 6828 0343.
NOTE: The miscellaneous fee* is approximately S$250 per term or S$400 per year and covers registration,
matriculation, medical insurance, IT services and student activities. This fee is mandatory and nonrefundable under any circumstances, regardless of the outcome of the Student’s Pass and other border
entry applications.

ACCOMMODATIONThe SMU campus is situated in the heart of the city with many private housing options that are withinwalking distance to SMU and conveniently accessible to amenities and transportation networks. Students
have the flexibility and choice to source and arrange for their own accommodation based on their needs.
Arrangements are at the sole responsibility and discretion of the student.
For rental of private apartments/condominiums, it is important that students read andunderstand Singapore’s governing policies on rental/leasing of accommodation, from the Singapore
Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) website.
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Students are also strongly advised to read and understand all terms and conditions of the leasing
agreement before committing to the lease. Once the lease has been accepted and signed, the signatories
have a legal obligation to fulfil all the terms stated in the agreement. Please note that Airbnb is strongly
discouraged as residential properties in Singapore are not allowed to be used for short-term
accommodation under the law.
SMU does not represent either party in any disputes arising from the rental/lease of the property.

CAMPUS LIFE & FACILITIESSMU has a vibrant campus life with many activities for students to complement their formal studies aswell as to help build lasting friendships and global networks. SMU is also equipped with the following oncampus facilities that are available to students.
❖❖❖❖
❖
❖

Food court/Eateries
Student Locker
Gymnasium & Fitness Centre
Swimming PoolSports Hall
Student Services Hub❖❖❖❖❖❖IT Help Centre
Learning Spaces
LibrariesBankClinic & Dental Clinic
Student Wellness Centre

Find out more about SMU’s campus life and facilities here. View our Campus Map and its surroundings.

SPECIAL NEEDS & SUPPORT SERVICES
SMU provides facilities, care and services for students with special needs/disabilities to support their wellbeing while studying at SMU. The support services available at SMU may differ from those received at thehome university/country. Hence, students are encouraged to declare information on any special
needs/assistance they may require, in the SMU online application form.
Alternatively, students may write to us at isep.inbound@smu.edu.sg or to their home university’s Study
Abroad Office or equivalent, for further enquiries.
Visit SMU’s website on our Disability Support Services and Student Wellness Centre, to find out more
about the care and support services available on campus.

LIVING EXPENSES

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The estimated monthly living expenses for an exchange/visiting student in Singapore is approximately
S$2,000–S$3,500. Listed below are some expected monthly expense items.

Item

Amount / monthAccommodation(subjected to type of accommodation)FoodTransportation

S$1,000 – S$2,000

Telecommunications
Book and Stationery
Personal Expenses (entertainment etc.)

S$30 – S$50
S$20 – S$50
S$100 – S$300

S$700 – S$900
S$150 – S$200

Actual expenses will differ depending on the choice of accommodation and lifestyle of each individual.

CONTACT US

isep.inbound@smu.edu.sg
isep.inbound@smu.edu.sg
smusummer@smu.edu.sg

International Student Exchange Programme
Visiting Student Programme
Global Summer ProgrammeCentre for Global Education and Opportunities (GEO)
Singapore Management University
Administration Building, Level 1081 Victoria Street
Singapore 188065geo.smu.edu.sg@sgsmu.geo

Information is correct as of February 2024.

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