[23 January 2008]
SMU launches MBA programme

The SMU MBA is the first accelerated one-year programme to be offered by a local university focusing on leadership and management, drawing on SMU's wider expertise in business education, law, social sciences, economics and information systems

Singapore, 23 January 2008 (Wednesday) – The Singapore Management University (SMU) today launches its Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme. The SMU MBA is the first accelerated and full-fledged one-year MBA to be introduced by a local university which can be completed full-time in 12 months. Focusing on leadership, communication and business ethics with a strong grounding in management knowledge and concepts, the SMU MBA is designed to produce leaders and entrepreneurs for Asia who can make an impact on the complex global economy. In addition to the 12-month Full-time programme, a 16-month Flex-time programme is also available, providing versatility and mobility for working professionals.

The SMU MBA introduces an unconventional curriculum with emphasis on management and leadership training – a highly valued area of expertise expected of middle and senior level managers, and much sought after by CEOs and industry head honchos. The core curriculum, comprising 11 courses, includes subjects such as ethics, negotiation, corporate governance and cross-cultural challenges.

It brings to the forefront some of the most essential training relevant for today's services-driven economy traditionally left in the shadow of other MBA curricula. Participants will choose another ten electives from a broad offering to tailor their MBA to their specific needs. Specialised sector studies – Family Business and Entrepreneurship, Finance, Energy and Technology – are also included to provide a deeper understanding of these growing and important sectors.

To allow participants to make the most of their in-class time, the SMU MBA includes a pre-course self-study and business foundation component for participants to build up their fundamentals in basic accounting, finance, statistics, business history and presentation skills. This takes place two to three months prior to the commencement of classes on campus. Having been brought up-to-speed with the basic principles, participants will be able to take advantage of fuller in-class discussion and maximise their mastering of the substantive content in the MBA programme.

A cornerstone postgraduate programme launched by the Lee Kong Chian School of Business, the SMU MBA is built on new ideas and research of a distinguished corps of senior academics selected from among over 200 faculty from across SMU's six schools. It will also draw on real-life, real-time experience of industry professionals who are business world veterans to combine academic vigour with hands-on business savvy. Participants will benefit from the broad-based and interactive approach of the established SMU brand of pedagogy where business education is closely interwoven with studies in law, economics, accounting, finance, social sciences and information systems. The state-of-the-art city campus, equipped with tiered horse-shoe shaped seminar rooms, is archetypal for MBA studies. Leveraging the extensive connection between SMU and the larger business community, the SMU MBA will be complemented with out-of-the-classroom learning such as company visits to corporate partners and industry exposure through summer internships. Participants will have access to SMU's vast business network, enhancing their career and networking opportunities in Singapore and Asia .

SMU seeks an international mix of qualified individuals from diverse backgrounds for its MBA programme. Participants should hold a strong university degree or equivalent academic qualification, and are expected to have a minimum of two years' working experience (although six to 15 years are recommended). Candidates with global experience and who exhibit leadership aptitude and a passion for community involvement will be at an advantage. The 16-month Flex-time and the 12-month Full-time programmes commence in September 2008 and January 2009 respectively. Tuition fees are S$53,800 and S$49,800 for Flex-time and Full-time respectively.

Professor Pang Eng Fong, Dean of the Lee Kong Chian School of Business said: “ Asia needs leaders and entrepreneurs. SMU has successfully nurtured, over the past seven years, bright young business leaders and entrepreneurs through our undergraduate and specialised postgraduate offerings. The time is now right for the University to launch our very own MBA, leveraging the unique and proven SMU pedagogy. The SMU MBA is an intensive, accelerated programme spread over 12 or 16 months, covering areas not typically included in other MBA curricula such as negotiation, leadership, ethics and cross-cultural studies. We believe that today's global market requires a second layer of skills to think creatively, communicate and convince, challenge ideas constructively and manage ethical dilemmas. The SMU MBA aims to achieve that and more.”

The SMU MBA is the latest addition to the University's present stable of coursework-based postgraduate degree programmes. The first Master degree programme at SMU was launched in 2002 with the introduction of the Master of Science in Applied Finance. This was followed by the Master of Science in Wealth Management, Master of Science in Applied Economics, Master of Professional Accounting, Master of IT in Business (Financial Services) and Master of Science in Applied Finance (China). SMU also offers postgraduate degree programmes by research, namely the Master of Science in Economics (Research), Master of Science in Finance (Research), Master of Science in Management (Research) and Master of Science in Operations Management (Research). The University currently offers two research-oriented PhD programmes – the PhD in Information Systems and PhD in Economics.