Yale-NUS closure: Employers say job prospects of graduates remain bright
SINGAPORE - During a dialogue with current Yale-NUS College students on Aug 27, concerns were raised as to how their school's planned merger to form a new college - announced earlier that day - would have an impact on matters like study abroad programmes and post-graduate opportunities. Several current and former Yale-NUS students interviewed mentioned fears that employers would not recognise degrees awarded by the school, which will no longer take in new students, although current students will remain part of it until 2025 and graduate from it. Mr Jack Mullan, chief executive of risk management consultancy Barber Mullan and Associates, said both Yale and NUS are strong university brands that are internationally renowned, so job prospects should not be a concern. "Whether it's NUS, Yale-NUS or another college, we know that NUS speaks for itself, not just to my business but for other global businesses," he added. Mr Mullan said his company has hired two Yale-NUS graduates in the past two years, and he commended them for their strong writing and problem-solving skills as well as the ability to take the initiative. Mr Calvin Chu, managing partner of social innovation consultancy Eden ...
9 in 10 Yale-NUS graduates employed within six months
Nine in 10 Yale-NUS graduates found jobs within six months of completing their final examinations, with those who hold a Bachelor of Science with Honours degree earning gross median salaries of $5,350. This was higher than any of their counterparts at the National University of Singapore (NUS), said the liberal arts college in a statement yesterday. However, it noted that the salary figure was based on a relatively small sample of fewer than 30 graduates. Among NUS graduates, newly minted lawyers and doctors and those with computing degrees earned the most, with starting salaries also around the $5,000 mark. Those in more general fields, such as sciences or the arts, had lower salaries - especially if they did not do an honours degree. In the statement yesterday, Yale-NUS said graduates who hold a Bachelor of Arts with Honours degree earned a median gross starting salary of $3,890. All its graduates secured jobs in a variety of fields, including IT, consulting, financial services, education and the public sector. In total, 147 of the liberal arts college's 187 fresh graduates took part in the annual joint graduate employment survey, details of which were released on Friday. The sur...
askST: Is there a quota on university places for polytechnic graduates?
SINGAPORE - In this first of the askST series on university education, senior education correspondent Sandra Davie of The Straits Times responds to questions on university places for this year and the chances of polytechnic graduates getting into university Q: My son was supposed to go to Australia to study, but we decided against it because the courses are being delivered online. Will there be more places offered by the local universities this year, as was the case last year? A: Education Minister Lawrence Wong told The Straits Times in an interview earlier this year that the six local universities offered around 1,000 extra places last year, on account of the disruption caused by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic which forced students to readjust their plans. Some of the additional places went to Singaporeans like your son who had planned to study overseas, but switched to local universities when their plans were disrupted. Others went to polytechnic diploma holders who opted to study instead of joining a weak job market. So, all in, 17,500 places were given out. This extra enrolment pushed the student participation rate in universities beyond the stated target of 40 per cent for eve...