Address: 21 Lower Kent Ridge Road, 119077 Singapore, Singapore
Engineering, Computing, Medicine, Business, Law, Public Policy, Science
The National University of Singapore traces its origin to the King Edward VII College of Medicine, founded on 3 July 1905 as a government medical school. Raffles College, set up in 1928, merged with it in 1949 to form the University of Malaya, and the Singapore division became the University of Singapore on 1 January 1962. The present university was formed in 1980 by the merger of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University. It marked its 120th anniversary in 2025.
The main campus is at Kent Ridge, in the southwest of the island, on about 150 hectares. The Faculty of Law and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy are at Bukit Timah, although the law faculty is due to move to Kent Ridge in 2026, and Duke-NUS Medical School is at Outram. Yale-NUS College, a liberal arts college created with Yale University, ended in 2025, and NUS College is now the university’s honours college.
In 2018 the university enrolled 35,908 students, 27,604 of them undergraduates and 8,304 postgraduates. About 36 percent came from abroad, and 62 percent of those were postgraduates. It employed 2,555 academic staff, and around 65 percent of faculty and staff were foreign nationals. Seventeen faculties and schools cover arts and social sciences, science, engineering, design, computing, business, law, dentistry, medicine, public health and public policy, together with the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music.
Research is organised in 21 university-level institutes and centres. Four Research Centres of Excellence are the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, the Centre for Quantum Technologies, the Mechanobiology Institute and the Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials. The Logistics Institute – Asia Pacific is run with the Georgia Institute of Technology. Andre Geim, a Nobel laureate in Physics, is affiliated with the physics department.
Graduates include the prime minister Goh Chok Tong, the presidents Tony Tan, S. R. Nathan and Halimah Yacob, and Margaret Chan, former director-general of the World Health Organization. Lee Kuan Yew attended Raffles College, a predecessor institution, and other graduates include the diplomat Kishore Mahbubani and the historian Wang Gungwu. Fees differ by nationality and programme. Check the current tariff. Teaching is in English.
Domains taught:
AI and Machine Learning, Chemistry, Data Analytics, Engineering, Finance, Life Sciences, Materials, Mathematics, Physics
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Master, MBA
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
Duke-NUS Medical School, the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University for music, the Logistics Institute – Asia Pacific with Georgia Tech, and exchange agreements with universities worldwide.
Research:
Quantum technologies, cancer science, mechanobiology, functional intelligent materials, computing, medicine and public health, organised in 21 university-level research institutes and centres.
Famous Alumnis:
Goh Chok Tong, Tony Tan, S. R. Nathan, Halimah Yacob, Margaret Chan, Kishore Mahbubani
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
2600
Current students***:
35900
Foreign students***:
36%
Cumulative former students***:
N/A
Pros
Leading university in Asia, strong engineering, computing and medicine, large international community, extensive research institutes, modern campus.
Cons
Competitive admission, high cost of living in Singapore, large and sometimes impersonal courses, limited on-campus housing for some students.
Best For
Students seeking a leading Asian research university with strong engineering, computing, medicine and business, in an English-speaking international setting.
A good alternative in the same country is Nanyang Technological University, which likewise covers chemistry, physics and mathematics; it is also a public institution, and runs the same bachelor's, master's, doctoral and mba programmes.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong) works on the same fields as this university, chiefly finance, chemistry and physics; it teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's, doctoral and mba, and has almost the same size, at about 39,200 students.
For finance, chemistry and physics outside the home country, University of Cape Town in South Africa is a natural reference; it teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's, doctoral and mba, and covers astroscience and civil engineering as well.
National Taiwan University in Taiwan pursues a similar profile in finance, chemistry and physics, and it is also a public institution, and runs the same bachelor's, master's, doctoral and mba programmes.
The closest overseas parallel on finance, chemistry and physics is University of the Witwatersrand, located in South Africa; it teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's, doctoral and mba, and covers astroscience and civil engineering as well.
For a study option in Australia with a comparable spread of finance, chemistry and physics, Macquarie University is the reference point: it is also a public institution and also offers graduate certificate programmes.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
Where is the National University of Singapore?
At Kent Ridge, in the southwest of Singapore, with other sites at Bukit Timah and Outram.
When was it founded?
Its origin is the King Edward VII College of Medicine, founded on 3 July 1905.
When was the present university formed?
In 1980, by the merger of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University.
How many students does it have?
In 2018 it enrolled 35,908 students, 27,604 undergraduates and 8,304 postgraduates.
How many are international students?
About 36 percent of the students came from abroad in 2018.
How many faculties and schools are there?
Seventeen, including Medicine, Law, Computing, Engineering, Science, Business and Public Policy.
What is Duke-NUS Medical School?
A medical school located at Outram and run with Duke University.
What are the Research Centres of Excellence?
The Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, the Centre for Quantum Technologies, the Mechanobiology Institute and the Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials.
Which leaders studied there?
Among others the prime minister Goh Chok Tong and the presidents Tony Tan, S. R. Nathan and Halimah Yacob.
What does it cost?
Fees differ by nationality and programme. Check the current tariff.
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Biology, Engineering, Innovation, Research and Development
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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