02
March
2016
|
19:40
Asia/Singapore

NUS graduates achieve high employability and better salaries

  • Higher starting salaries[1] for fresh graduates in full-time permanent employment from 23 courses and better full-time permanent employment rates for fresh graduates from 17 courses
  • Full employment for fresh graduates from Dentistry, Nursing (Honours) and follow-up graduates from Medicine
  • Around 9 in 10 fresh graduates from Business, Computing, Design & Environment, and Engineering employed within 6 months of completing their final exams

Graduates of the National University of Singapore (NUS) continue to achieve high employability and competitive salaries in 2015. In particular, NUS fresh graduates from 23 courses in full-time permanent employment achieved higher starting salaries1, while full-time permanent employment rates for fresh graduates in 17 courses have increased.

These results were based on the latest Joint Graduate Employment Survey 2015, which was jointly conducted by NUS and the four other Autonomous Universities.

Professor Tan Eng Chye, NUS Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost, said, “The results of the latest Graduate Employment Survey reaffirm that our graduates continue to be highly sought after by the industry. At NUS, we strive to equip our students with the critical skillsets to thrive in the complex and fast changing globalised workplace. The University is also fostering closer engagements with the industry and focusing efforts on preparing our students for life after graduation, through initiatives such as the Roots and Wings foundational life skills programme, offered through our Centre for Future-ready Graduates. We are confident that these efforts will enable our students to stay relevant to the needs of businesses and industries, and this translates into high employability of NUS graduates, both locally and globally.”

Close to 9 in 10 NUS fresh graduates secured employment within 6 months after final exams; Almost full employment for follow-up NUS graduates

A total of 6,188 full-time fresh NUS graduates from the Class of 2015 and 774 follow-up NUS graduates[2] participated in the joint survey. The overall employment rate[3] for fresh graduates from NUS was about 89%, which is comparable to last year. Fresh graduates from Dentistry and Nursing (Honours), as well as Medicine graduates who have graduated in 2014 and completed their housemanship/first year residential training, enjoyed 100% overall employment rates. Around 9 in 10 fresh graduates from Business, Computing, Design & Environment, and Engineering secured employment within 6 months after completing their final exams. Similarly, follow-up graduates from Architecture, Law and Pharmacy achieved close to full employment rates.

In addition, graduates from 17 courses in Architecture, Arts, Business, Computing, Engineering, Industrial Design, Nursing, Real Estate and Science recorded an improvement in full-time permanent employment rates in 2015, compared to 2014. The top three courses that saw the highest increase in full-time permanent employment rates are Materials Science and Engineering, followed by Engineering Science, and Computer Science. Please refer to Annex 1 for the list of courses in which fresh graduates have achieved higher employment rates compared to 2014.

Higher salaries for NUS fresh graduates in full-time permanent employment

The survey also revealed that the mean gross monthly salary of fresh NUS graduates in full-time permanent employment was $3,469 in 2015, which is 4.3% higher than in 2014.

The median gross monthly salary of fresh graduates from NUS in full-time permanent employment was $3,300 in 2015, which is 3.1% higher than that in 2014.

Fresh graduates from 23 courses in Arts and Social Sciences, Business, Computing, Engineering, Industrial Design, Nursing, Real Estate and Science have achieved improvement in starting salaries. The top three courses that saw the highest increase in starting salaries are Computer Engineering, followed by Industrial Design, and Engineering Science. Please refer to Annex 2 for the list of courses in which fresh graduates have achieved higher starting salaries compared to 2014.

 

[1] Starting salary refers to graduates’ median gross monthly salary.
[2] Follow-up graduates refer to those from the Architecture Class of 2012, who took part in the survey upon completion of their practical training, and graduates from Law, Medicine, and Pharmacy courses, who took part in the survey after completing their one-year practical law course, pupilage or housemanship/first-year residency training upon completion of their studies in 2014.
[3] The overall employment rate refers to the number of graduates working in full-time permanent, part-time and temporary employment, as a proportion of graduates in the labour force. (i.e. those who are working, and those who are not working but are actively looking and available for work.)