SMU Graduates Achieve Record Employment Rate and Higher Salaries

Singapore, 21 March 2011 (Monday) – Riding on the wave of the economic recovery, the Singapore Management University's (SMU) 2010 graduates have achieved a record employment rate 1 of 99.9% and higher starting salaries 2 across five of the university's degree programmes 3 , surpassing the performance of the 2009 graduates (96.8%) and 2008 graduates (95.9%). This makes it the seventh consecutive year that SMU graduates have achieved close to 100% employment rate, and another banner year for them in terms of their generous pay packets.

According to the Graduate Employment Survey 2010, an annual study carried out by SMU, the 2010 cohort of economically-active graduates managed to secure employment within six months after graduation. The vast majority or nine in ten of the economically-active graduates secured full-time permanent employment. Almost 60% of them managed to clinch job offers even before they graduated and an additional 14% of them landed jobs within one month after graduation. Almost 63% of them also enjoyed more career choices with multiple job offers (2 to 8).

The average monthly salary for of SMU graduates in full-time permanent jobs is a record $3,271, the highest amount ever achieved since SMU graduated its pioneer cohort of graduates in 2004. This is an improvement of about 5.8% over the previous year's average monthly salary of $3,093. The top 20% of the 2010 cohort commanded an average salary of $5,062. There were also 125 top earners drawing a monthly salary ranging from $4,000 to $13,000 . Many of them are currently working in the banking and finance sector as investment analysts or management consultants.

This year, SMU's Information Systems Management (ISM) graduates are again the top wage earners among the entire SMU graduating cohort, drawing an average of $3,474 a month. Those with Cum Laude or better enjoy an even higher average salary of $4,547, up by 21% from $3,754 in 2009, and going all the way up to $10,650. The high demand for and success of SMU's ISM graduates are a testimony to the value-added learning approach in the ISM course, which emphasizes real-world projects, second majors with other schools, and specialization tracks in banking processes and technology, business intelligence and analytics, as well as enterprise systems and solutions.

The second-highest wage earners are SMU's Economics graduates with an average monthly salary of $3,429, up 4.3% from $3,288 in 2009. The top 20% of this group are earning between $4,000 and $12,900, and working mainly in banks, the public sector and government-linked companies. Those awarded Cum Laude or better are particularly sought after by the public sector and government-linked companies.

SMU's Business Management and Accountancy graduates also outperformed their seniors from the 2009 cohort. The Business Management graduates' average salary increased by 8.01% to $3,292 from $3,048 in 2009. The all-time high earner from this cohort takes home $13,000, while another 59 graduates earn between $4,000 and $13,000.

The Accountancy graduates' average salary also improved by 2.9% from $3,073 in 2009 to $3,162 in 2010. The majority of SMU's Accountancy graduates joined the Big Four accountancy firms while the remaining graduates pursued careers in the banking and finance industry. Almost 13% of the total Accountancy cohort were top earners drawing between 4,000 and $10,000 a month.

Please refer to Annex 1 for the detailed figures.

The versatility of SMU graduates is demonstrated in the wide variety of professions and industries that they are employed in, from banking and finance, investment and accounting to research and consulting, services, the public and social sectors, and public relations. Putting their business knowledge, innovative ideas and enterprising leadership (the skills and qualities that they have acquired in SMU) to good use, a number have also struck out on the entrepreneurial path.

Of the 1,007 SMU alumni who graduated between May and September 2010, 823 of them participated in the survey, which contributed to the overall response rate of 81.7%. The number of SMU graduates has been growing steadily every year, with the 2010 cohort of graduates registering a 16.3% increase in numbers over the 2009 cohort.

Professor Arnoud De Meyer, President, Singapore Management University said: “Our 2010 graduates have proved once again, just as their predecessors did, that their education at SMU in broad-based cross-disciplinary research, critical thinking and reasoning, global exposure, character building through community service, public speaking and leadership skills, coupled with the valuable work experience that they gained through their industry internships, have paid off and turned them into well-rounded, confident and savvy individuals ready for the marketplace.”

“These qualities have given SMU graduates a distinctive edge and made them highly sought after by employers. The sterling results of the 2010 Graduate Employment Survey only serve to bear this out. I am confident that the education which our graduates have received at SMU will continue to stand them in good stead and help them soar to greater heights in their personal lives and professional careers,” Professor De Meyer added.

The SMU undergraduate degree programme adopts a curriculum that is broad-based yet focused and an interactive pedagogy incorporating global exposure tailored to producing executives who can thrive in the fast-paced 21st century global economy. All undergraduates are required to complete a minimum 10-week internship with a business organisation and serve 80 hours of community service. In addition, students have to pass a compulsory business etiquette and career preparation course called “The Finishing Touch”, which imparts life skills such as dining etiquette, personal grooming, dressing, interview and networking skills. The Office of Career Services, through its start-to-finish approach in preparing students for the workplace, organises a variety of networking events, career talks and company visits, among other career preparation resources.

Explanatory Note: Cum Laude and Merit Awards

SMU uses the cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) criteria to identify degree candidates with academic excellence in the following award categories: Summa Cum Laude , Magna Cum Laude and Cum Laude . These are Latin awards adopted from the American system, and can be translated as with Highest Distinction, with High Distinction and with Distinction, respectively. All Cum Laude awards are highly selective. They do not equate to the various classes of degree honours conferred by universities that follow the British system of academic honours. A graduate needs a GPA of at least 3.40 out of 4.00 to be awarded Cum Laude . All SMU bachelor degrees are four-year full-time programmes.

1 The overall employment rate includes all types of full-time, part-time and temporary employment, as well as self-employment.

2 Starting salaries refer to the mean gross monthly salary of SMU graduates in full-time permanent employment.

3 SMU's sixth degree programme in Law would only be graduating its pioneer cohort in 2011.