add site
services
publishers
database
health videos
toolbar
stats
live show
health store
more stuff
JOIN/LOGIN
| advertise add site services publishers database health videos
| | about toolbar stats live show health store more stuff JOIN/LOGIN |
with National University of Singapore... dukeglobalhealth.org | Find Yoga Classes in Singapore - Singapore Yoga - Yoga in Singapore yogafinder.com | Dental Implants Singapore | Implant Dentist Singapore | Affordable... scientificdentalclinic.co... |
The Singapore Management University (Abbreviation: SMU; Chinese: 新加坡管理大学; Malay: Universiti Pengurusan Singapura; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் நிர்வாக பல்கலைக்கழகம்) was officially incorporated on January 12, 2000, and is Singapore's first private university funded by the government. Presently, SMU is home to more than 6,000 students and comprises six schools offering undergraduate, graduate, and PhD programmes in Business Management, Accountancy, Economics, Information Systems Management, Law and the Social Sciences. The University also has an Office of Research, a number of centres of excellence, and provides public and customised programmes for working professionals through its Office of Executive Education. The Singapore Management University was ranked 89th worldwide by UTD Top 100 Worldwide Business School Ranking, which placed the university ahead of other leading business schools such as the Melbourne Business School and HEC Montreal. [1]. Eduniversal.com placed SMU as one of the top business schools, internationally known.
[edit] HistoryThe idea of setting up a third university in Singapore was first mooted by the Singapore government in 1997. Led by the newly appointed Chairman, Mr Ho Kwon Ping, a Singaporean business entrepreneur, the SMU task force 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. Thus, 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, commenced a two-year term as SMU's first president. Dr Tony Tan remarked at that time 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'."[citation needed] In 2000, SMU made its first home at the former historic 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 current president Professor Howard Hunter.[2] After five years at its Bukit Timah location, 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 made a symbolic move to its new and permanent city campus in the Bugis-Bras Basah District. Since then, SMU has expanded further with the development of a Law school and the restructuring of the School of Economics and Social Sciences into two separate schools, the School of Economics and the School of Social Sciences.[3] [edit] AcademicsThe 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 in order 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. [edit] AdmissionsAdmission to the undergraduate programmes is based on a broad range of criteria including GCE A-Level or Polytechnic grades, an interview and extra-curricular achievements or work experience. While optional, applicants are also encouraged to submit their SAT I Reasoning Test scores. Many students among the present intake are national sportsmen, musicians, young entrepreneurs and community-service volunteers. All applicants have to go through an interview session if they are shortlisted before they are offered a place. As demand for seats in the University has increased, the admissions process has tended to be more selective with each passing year. The university received 10,680 applications for the 1,350 places for the academic year starting in Fall 2008. Approximately one in eight of the applicants get selected. [edit] Schools & Programmes[edit] School of Accountancy The School of Accountancy (SoA) 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.[4] 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.[5] Both the SMU MPA and BAcc are accredited with the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS), 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).[6][7] [edit] Lee Kong Chian School of Business Main article: Lee Kong Chian School of Business The Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) is the largest school within the University. In addition, the LKCSB also 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.[8] The School was named after Lee Kong Chian in appreciation for the sizeable donation provided by The Lee Foundation to establish the School. Currently, in addition to the BBM, the Business School also offers graduate coursework programmes such as the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Science in Wealth Management and Master of Science in Applied Finance. In addition, the School also 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.[9] Besides these, the School also offers research programmes such as the Master of Science in Finance, Master of Science in Management and Master of Science in Operations Management.[10] [edit] School of EconomicsThe School of Economics (SoE) was originally 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 modeled on that of the Wharton School instead of following the traditional social science-type economics curriculum found at most other institutions.[11] Today, the SoE offers the Bachelor of Science (Economics) undergraduate programme as well as Master of Science programmes in Economics and Applied Economics. In 2007, the School also commenced the start of its own PhD Economics programme.[12] [edit] 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 leverage the experience and expertise of 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 post-graduate 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.[13] Currently, SIS offers the Master of IT in Business as well as the PhD in Information Systems programmes in addition to its BSc undergraduate offering.[14] [edit] School of LawThe SMU School of Law (SoL) stands out as the University's smallest and most highly selective school with a total annual intake of around 125 students.[15] Establishment of the School of Law was announced in August 2007 following the encouragement of the Singapore Government, which had in a major review of the local law profession discovered a shortage of qualified legal personnel in Singapore.[16] Currently, the School offers the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) undergraduate programme with a further offering of an American-style Juris Doctor (JD) programme expected to begin in 2009. The offering 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 practicing lawyers.[17] [edit] School of Social Sciences Main article: SMU School of Social Sciences The School of Social Sciences (SoSS) was originally 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. At present, 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.[3] [edit] Office of Executive EducationIn addition to its traditional academic programmes, the University also hosts and conducts a number of executive education courses. Among the newer programmes expected to commence in 2009 are the SMU-Building and Construction Authority Advanced Management Programme and the SME Leaders Advanced Management Programme.[18] [edit] Centres and InstitutesIn line with the University's strategic goal of investing in research and education, the University hosts five institutes and a larger number of research centres. [edit] Institutes
[edit] Centres
[edit] Campus & Facilities The SMU campus is located in the central part of the island with the $426 million, 4.5 hectare city campus being a first in Singapore. Located in the civic district of the city, the city campus will support the University's eventual 6,500 undergraduates, along with students in its graduate programmes. The campus currently consists of 6 blocks, namely the Lee Kong Chian School of Business; School of Accountancy, which also houses the School of Law; the Li Ka Shing Library; School of Information Systems; School of Social Sciences, which also houses the School of Economics; and the Administrative Building. The six 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.[34] Teaching facilities include seminar rooms, class rooms, computer labs and group study rooms used by students for project discussions. There are also 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.[35] In addition, the University was also designed to be IT friendly with campus wide wireless LAN networks. [edit] Student AccommodationThe SMU Hostel, known as SMU Residences @ Prinsep, is located on Prinsep Street which is a change from the previous plans to house the hostels in Jurong East. The hostel was created by refurbisishing Housing Development Board buildings (Blocks 2, 4 and 7) donated by the government. The hostel welcomed its first residents in December 2006 and was officially opened in February 2007. The current hostel buildings can accommodate about 250 residents. Priority is given to international students, most of whom currently live in various private hostels around the island. There are plans to expand the hostel in the near future. In addition to the SMU Residences @ Prinsep, the University also leases rooms from a student hostel at Havelock Road operated by EM Services Pte Ltd (a private hostel operator) and these are open to undergraduate students in their sophomore year or higher, exchange students and full-time postgraduate students. Known as the Accommodation @ Havelock, the hostel straddles the city's bustling Orchard Road shopping area and the Clarke Quay and Boat Quay entertainment district.[36] [edit] GraduatesAccording to the 2007 graduate employment survey, almost all SMU graduates found jobs within half a year of graduation. Two thirds of the graduates received two or more job offers. Average graduate monthly salaries also rose from $2850 the previous year to $3040, an increase of 6.7 per cent. The top 20 per cent wage earners earned around $5,600 a month. The annual Graduate Employment Survey surveyed 711 SMU alumni who graduated between May and September 2007, of which 618 responded. [37] [edit] Student LifeAs admission standards increase, the academic environment has grown to be more competitive among students, who spend most of their time involved in the pursuit of academic interests. Many students also take part in the numerous school clubs and events that cater to varied interests, 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 mid-term 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.[38] It is part of each student's curriculum to spend at least 10 weeks on internship at an approved organisation, and 80 hours on 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 currently has up to 142 agreements with partner universities from 41 countries around the globe.[39] [edit] SMU Students' AssociationThe Association was formed in 2000 by its pioneer batch of students, with the aim of building a cohesive and close-knit 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 8 Constituent Bodies. The constituent bodies include Accounting Society (ASOC), Business Society (BONDUE), School of Information Systems Society (SISS), SMU Economics Society (SES), Social Science Society (SSS), Arts & Cultural Fraternity (ACF), SMU Sports Union (SSU) and Special Interest & Community Service Sodality (SICS).[40] The SMUSA is a highly-influential student body in the university. The top management of the university including the President, Deputy President, and Provost will meet with council members and discuss any pertinent issues with regard to SMU student life at least once a year. The Association also played a crucial role in creating the present 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. 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 January 1 to December 31. [edit] Business Society (BONDUE)An initiative by the Office of the Deanery of the LKCSB, BONDUE was formed in April 2004, with the objective 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 a line-up of student activities all year round, ranging from student-led camps to cohesion get-together social nights. All business-school students are strongly encouraged to actively participate in Bondue's activities to ensure a well-rounded education at the SMU.[41] [edit] SMU Economics Society (SES)SES is the constituent body representing the School of Economics. Its aim is to look after the interests and welfare of all Economics students. [edit] School of Information Systems Society (SISS)Every SISS Management Committee has a slightly different Vision and Mission for the SIS. However, generally, the society aims to be an effective bridge between students and faculty, 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.[42] [edit] Arts and Cultural Fraternity (ACF)ACF is the student-run constituent body that oversees all 26 arts and cultural clubs in SMU, and represents their interest to the administration and to the SMUSA Council. From overseeing the strategic development of its clubs as well as arts and culture in general in the SMU, to planning flagship events such as the annual SMU Arts Festival, the Fraternity is the standard bearer of arts, culture and vibrancy in the SMU.[43] [edit] SMU Sports Union (SSU)The mission of SSU is to propel the Sports fraternity in the SMU to greater heights, in both the local and international sporting scene. Their motto Might of One, Strength from All, represents the constituent body's mission statement: To be a united front of all Sports Clubs in SMU and champion actively for Sports excellence and for the betterment of all Sports Clubs[44] [edit] SMUXtremists (SMUX)SMUXtremists consists of 6 teams, namely: Biking, Diving, Kayaking, Trekking, Skating and the XSeed team. Over the years, it has organized many 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 to equip outdoor enthusiasts with relevant skills. One of the club’s main objectives is to reach out and promote the outdoors to the entire SMU population, so that they too may adopt a healthy and adventurous lifestyle. [edit] External links
Official university sites:
[edit] References
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ↑ top of page ↑ | about thumbshots |
