Some of the latest, innovative SMU scholarships and financial schemes were highlighted in a special feature. One in three SMU freshmen will have a chance to obtain one of the 1,000 scholarships, grants, and other financial aid available for the upcoming academic year. Of these, 170 are bond-free scholarships, meaning students are free to work for any employer they choose after graduation. 

One of them is the Global Impact Scholarship Award, which offers outstanding students a transformative learning experience, through four outstanding features anchoring on SMU’s signature pedagogy. The scholarship includes strong global exposure at top universities such as University of Cambridge or University of Oxford, bespoke experiential and industry-partnered learning, a specially-designed core curriculum, and multiple dual degree and bachelor-master programme options. Another initiative is the SMU access, which guarantees that every financially needy incoming Singaporean student will receive a bond-free financial aid package equal to the student’s full tuition fees. SMU Access grant and scholarship recipients will each receive up to $12,500 per year, ensuring full coverage of tuition fees. 

Other scholarships include the Yip Pin Xiu Scholarship, SMU’s first full sports scholarship which recognises sporting excellence, hard work, resilience and leadership — the same qualities exemplified by Paralympics gold medallist and SMU undergraduate Yip Pin Xiu; the Lee Kong Chian Scholar’s Programme, funded by the Lee Foundation to encourage scholars to lead overseas community service projects for the less fortunate, in line with the programme’s philanthropic spirit; as well as the Singapore Academy of Law Scholarship and the Patrick Ong Law LLC Bursary for financially-needy SMU law undergraduates.