National University of Singapore (NUS): Admission, Fees and the MOE Tuition Grant

NUS does not admit undergraduates on a school certificate alone unless it represents at least 12 years of general education completed by July of the application year. Applicants from 11-year systems such as Russia or Kazakhstan therefore add a qualification NUS recognises in its own right: the IB Diploma, four A-level subjects, or SAT/ACT plus Advanced Placement (AP) exams. The window for international qualifications for the 2027/28 intake runs from 16 December 2026 to 17 February 2027. For a non-ASEAN international student, most programmes cost $16,750 (SGD 21,400) a year with the government's MOE Tuition Grant and $28,680–31,070 (SGD 36,650–39,700) without it; the grant comes with a three-year obligation to work in Singapore after graduation.

Who NUS suits — and who should look elsewhere

NUS makes sense if you are willing to invest an extra year in A-levels, IB or US tests to reach a research university with an unusually broad menu: engineering, computing, business, law, medicine, architecture, pharmacy and a conservatory. It is the most rational choice for students who want a career in Singapore, because the grant roughly halves tuition and the work obligation matches a plan to stay.

Consider another route if:

• You must start straight after an 11-year school certificate. There is no direct entry. Private institutions teaching British or Australian degrees — for example Singapore Institute of Management or Curtin Singapore — or countries that accept the certificate directly are more realistic.
• You already know you will leave after graduating. Without the grant, four years of Humanities and Sciences cost $114,730 (SGD 146,600) in tuition alone; with it, you owe Singapore three years of work.
• Your IELTS Writing is below 6.5. NUS checks Reading and Writing separately, not only the overall band.

Our overview of universities in Singapore compares NUS with the other five autonomous universities, and our Singapore study guide covers the country as a whole.

Can you enter NUS from an 11-year school system?

Not directly. NUS's general requirement for foreign applicants is completion of high school with at least 12 years of general education by July of the year of application. You need a qualification that clears this bar on its own.

Treat the last row carefully. NUS does not say whether a year at a Russian or Kazakh university counts toward the missing 12th year; it only says university results will be considered. Credit transfer to shorten the degree is not available at admission either — requests go to your faculty after enrolment. Get a written answer from the NUS admissions office before building a plan on this route.

For A-levels, NUS focuses on content subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, economics, accounting and business.

Tests and minimum scores

US tests for Other High School Qualifications — the minimum to be considered:

AP Calculus BC is compulsory for every programme except Law, and the remaining AP subjects must match the prerequisites of the programme. Official SAT, ACT and AP reports must reach NUS from College Board or ACT and be uploaded to the Applicant Portal by the closing date; without them the application is treated as incomplete. See our guide to SAT or ACT.

English. NUS asks for an English score when your school qualification does not cover it — for the IB, when three or more subjects were taught in another language. Current minimums (September 2026 update):

IELTS One Skill Retake and TOEFL MyBest scores are not accepted; scores must come from a single test date.

How NUS selects beyond grades

Every applicant lists up to four achievements or activities and answers short-response questions. NUS gives examples: International Olympiad medals in biology, chemistry, informatics, mathematics or physics, volunteering, a relevant internship, leadership outside school, or software used by many people. Each faculty weighs these differently, and shortlisted applicants may be asked for more information, a test or an interview; programme-specific dates appear on NUS's Faculty Interview and Test Dates page.

How to apply for 2027/28

1. Pick the right applicant group. NUS will not process an application filed under the wrong qualification type.
2. Submit one application via the Applicant Portal. For 2027/28, both the IB form and the form for other international qualifications are open from 16 December 2026 to 17 February 2027.
3. Pay the SGD 20 ($16) fee before the deadline. Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, AliPay and PayNow are accepted; bank transfers and cash are not. Russian-issued cards do not work abroad, so plan payment early — see how to pay for studies abroad from Russia.
4. Upload documents and send test reports. If exams are still ahead, final results must be added within 3 days of release.
5. Expect a decision by July. Most applicants with international qualifications hear by July. IB holders with November 2026 or earlier results hear by May; those sitting the May 2027 IB exams by the third week of July. The NUS admissions committee decides.
6. Accept online by the deadline in your offer letter. The electronic letter states whether the offer includes the MOE Tuition Grant or is full-fee. Download it — it disappears from the portal after August of the application year.

On arrival NUS verifies originals of everything you uploaded, and it may expel students who skip verification or cannot produce documents.

NUS tuition fees

NUS uses a cohort-based system: fees for an intake are fixed for the normal length of the degree. The table shows annual tuition for students admitted in 2026/27, the latest published rates; fees for the 2027/28 cohort will be announced separately.

ASEAN citizens pay a lower subsidised rate. International fees include Singapore's 9% GST and are paid in two equal instalments at the start of each semester.

Beyond tuition. Each semester international students pay a student services fee (SGD 112.50 for lab-based programmes, SGD 95 otherwise) and a health service fee of SGD 160. NUS estimates meals, transport, books and personal costs at about SGD 6,000 ($4,700) per academic year excluding vacations; a hostel place adds SGD 4,000–10,290 ($3,130–8,050). Off-campus housing is at market rates and you find it yourself. For a full budget, see the cost of studying in Singapore.

The MOE Tuition Grant at NUS: process and obligations

The Tuition Grant is a Ministry of Education (MOE) subsidy that lets you pay the subsidised rate. For international students it is competitive and merit-based.

Getting it.

1. Indicate interest in the application; the offer letter shows whether the grant is included.
2. Once ICA approves your Student's Pass, you receive a Foreign Identification Number (FIN) and register for Singpass, which you need for the MOE portal.
3. In the window set by NUS, apply on MOE's TG&S Portal and nominate two sureties.
4. You and both sureties sign the Tuition Grant Agreement online. If it is not signed in time, you are billed the full fee.

Sureties may be of any nationality, aged over 21 and under 65, living in Singapore or abroad. They cannot be you, an undischarged bankrupt, another grant applicant or recipient with an outstanding bond, or a surety for such a person — except that parents may also stand for a younger sibling. MOE recommends family members. Non-English IDs must be translated and notarised, and if an ID shows no home address, a government document with the address is added.

The obligation. You must work full-time for a Singapore entity, on a valid work pass, for three years after graduation; several employers can add up to the three years. Singapore entities include locally incorporated companies, partnerships and sole proprietorships, government agencies, registered educational and non-profit organisations, and foreign companies with a substantial connection to Singapore. The bond starts immediately after graduation, and your first job must be reported on the portal within 3 months.

Not counted:

• internships or part-time work during studies — only full-time work after graduation;
• overseas work without MOE's prior approval, which is possible for a subsidiary or joint venture more than 50% owned by a Singapore entity, a representative office on the Singapore entity's payroll, or a secondment from a Singapore employer.

The cost of leaving. If you withdraw, are terminated, buy out the bond or fail to serve it, you and your sureties are jointly liable for liquidated damages: the total grant received, any GST subsidy, and 10% annual interest compounded at the end of each academic year. Late payment adds interest and bars future grants. Buying out during studies switches the remaining semesters to non-subsidised fees. MOE's LD Estimator gives an estimate.

The fee gap shows the scale. Four years of Humanities and Sciences cost SGD 85,600 ($66,990) with the grant and SGD 146,600 ($114,730) without it — about SGD 61,000 ($47,740) of subsidy that would be repayable with interest if you left straight after graduation.

Deferral. Postgraduate study straight after the degree requires an MOE-approved deferment at least 8 weeks before the course starts; national service at home must be deferred before enlistment. Other requests are assessed case by case.

If you cannot find a job. When the Student's Pass expires, graduates can apply to ICA for a one-year Long-Term Visit Pass to job-hunt. If it is running out, MOE asks for evidence of your search and may issue a support letter for an extension; prolonged unemployment can trigger liquidated damages.

Without the grant there is no obligation — you pay the full fee and are free after graduation.

NUS scholarships for international freshmen

There is no separate scholarship form: every undergraduate applicant is considered, and shortlisted candidates are interviewed between January and July.

NUS does not list which Asian countries qualify for the second award, so confirm eligibility for your citizenship. Scholars in Medicine and Dentistry also serve Ministry of Health bonds of six and five years respectively.

Housing

International first-year students who apply for housing are prioritised in their first year only. Year 1 international applicants in the first two rounds who are not picked by their chosen hostel are allocated randomly, subject to availability. From Year 2 they compete under the general scheme, and NUS notes that active hostel involvement improves the chances of staying on campus.

• Halls, residential colleges and NUS College require a meal plan (none in vacations).
• Air-conditioning is billed separately, prepaid or pay-as-you-use.
• A Semester 1 application covers the full year: 18 weeks in Semester 1 and 17 in Semester 2; vacation stays need a separate application.

Student's Pass, part-time work and staying on

Entry. Russian and Kazakh passport holders need a visa for Singapore. Students do not apply separately: once the Student's Pass is approved, the entry visa is included in the In-Principle Approval (IPA) letter.

Student's Pass. After NUS registers you with ICA, apply online no earlier than three and no later than two months before the course starts. The processing fee is SGD 45 ($35); processing usually takes up to a week, or two weeks if a visa is needed. In Singapore you complete formalities — a medical report if required, biometrics, and an SGD 60 ($47) issuance fee plus SGD 30 ($23) for a multiple-journey visa if applicable. The pass is issued in digital form only. Details: our Singapore Student's Pass guide.

Work. NUS students on a Student's Pass may work up to 16 hours a week in term and without a limit in vacations, with no work pass. Internships that count toward graduation are outside the cap.

After graduation. The one-year job-search Long-Term Visit Pass costs SGD 45 to apply and SGD 60 on issue, with processing up to 6 weeks. For an Employment Pass the salary must reach SGD 5,600 ($4,380) a month — rising to SGD 6,000 ($4,700) for new applications from 1 January 2027, with higher thresholds by age — and the application must score 40 points under COMPASS. ICA and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) decide on passes, not the university.

Master's and PhD at NUS

Coursework master's programmes start at one year, with fees and requirements set by each faculty; our guide to master's degrees in Singapore compares NUS, NTU and SMU. For research degrees, the NUS Research Scholarship pays international PhD students SGD 3,000 ($2,350) a month from 1 January 2026, plus a tuition subsidy and up to SGD 500 a month more after the qualifying exam. The MOE Tuition Grant and its bond apply only to diploma and undergraduate study.

Costly mistakes

• Applying with an 11-year certificate and nothing else. It fails the 12-year threshold.
• Taking APs without Calculus BC. Except for Law, the AP set is not accepted without it.
• Combining scores from different sittings. NUS takes SAT, ACT and TOEFL from one date only.
• Treating the grant as a scholarship. It is a contract with the state backed by two sureties; walking away costs the subsidy plus 10% a year.
• Starting a master's without a deferment. Without MOE approval, further study does not pause the bond.
• Missing the signing window. An unsigned agreement moves you to the full fee.

NUS in numbers

NUS began in 1905 as a medical school with 23 students, funded by local businessmen. Today it has three campuses — Kent Ridge, Bukit Timah and Outram — with about 29,600 undergraduates and 15,400 graduate students. It ranks 10th in the QS World University Rankings 2027 and 17th in the THE World University Rankings 2026.

FAQ

Does NUS accept a Russian school certificate?

Not on its own: NUS requires 12 years of schooling, and Russian schools provide 11. Add the IB, four A-levels or SAT/ACT with AP; applying after a university year should be confirmed with NUS first.

How much does an NUS bachelor's degree cost an international student?

For the 2026/27 intake, most programmes cost $16,750 (SGD 21,400) a year with the MOE grant and $28,680–31,070 (SGD 36,650–39,700) without it. Medicine without the grant is $148,820 (SGD 190,150) a year. The first-year rate holds until graduation.

Can I study at NUS without the Singapore work obligation?

Yes — decline the grant and pay the full fee. You cannot decline it if you hold the NUS International Undergraduate Scholarship, which requires the grant.

What happens if I leave Singapore after graduating?

A grant holder who has not served three years pays, with both sureties, the full grant plus GST subsidy and 10% compound interest a year. Overseas work counts only with MOE's prior approval and a qualifying link to a Singapore employer.

When are applications for 2027 entry?

From 16 December 2026 to 17 February 2027 for both the IB and other international qualifications; most decisions arrive by July 2027.

Do first-year students get priority for housing?

International freshmen who apply get priority in their first year only; from the second year the general allocation rules apply.

Does StudyU help with NUS applications?

Under a service agreement we plan the route to a 12th year (IB, A-levels or tests), schedule exams and prepare the application, grant paperwork and Student's Pass file. NUS decides on admission, MOE on the grant and ICA on the pass.

Sources

• NUS: International Qualifications for Foreigners, Other High School Qualifications, International A-Level, IB Diploma
• NUS: Standardised Test Requirements, English Language Test Scores
• NUS: Important Dates AY2027/2028, Application Overview, Aptitude-Based Admissions
• NUS Registrar: Undergraduate Tuition Fees AY2026/2027, Miscellaneous Student Fees, Continuation and Graduation Requirements
• NUS: Living Costs, Hostel eligibility, Hostel and Meal Plan Rates
• NUS International Undergraduate Scholarship, Science & Technology Undergraduate Scholarship, NUS Research Scholarship terms
• MOE Tuition Grant: Overview, Application process, Sureties, Types of employment, Pass matters, Liquidated damages, TG Freshmen Briefing Q&As
• ICA: Student's Pass (IHL), Completion of formalities, Visa requirements: Russia, Kazakhstan, LTVP for graduates
• MOM: Work pass exemption for foreign students, Employment Pass eligibility
• NUS: About, QS WUR 2027: NUS, THE WUR 2026: NUS

USD figures use the ECB reference rate of 28 September 2026 (SGD 1 = $0.7826), rounded to the nearest $10; small fees to the nearest dollar.

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