Singapore, 22 February 2024 (Thursday) – Fresh graduates from Singapore Management University’s (SMU) 20th cohort have registered healthy and stable overall employment, with 92.3%[1] of them employed and commanding good starting salaries across all 7 of the university’s degree programmes.

The results were revealed in the annual Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey (JAUGES), jointly conducted by SMU and the other Autonomous Universities.

76.1% or 1,717 of the 2,257 SMU alumni who graduated in 2023 took part in the survey.

The survey showed that 92.3% of SMU fresh graduates in the labour force gained employment within six months of completing their final examinations. 68.4% of fresh graduates were offered full-time permanent jobs before graduation. Among those who were on full-time permanent employment[2], 52.5% were offered employment through internships, which are compulsory for SMU undergraduates.

Both mean and median gross monthly salaries remained largely unchanged from 2022 figures, at around $4,890 and $4,500 respectively.

The top three industries of employment for SMU graduates were Financial and Insurance, Information & Communication, and Legal, Accounting and Auditing, remaining favourites given their course specialties.

SMU Provost, Professor Timothy Clark said, “In spite of a challenging economic landscape due to the weaker outlook in 2023, we are delighted to observe the continuing high demand for SMU graduates, who have once again achieved notable success in securing employment opportunities. This underscores the value employers place in our comprehensive and interdisciplinary educational approach, alongside a co-curricular programme which fosters values and essential skills critical in the professional arena.

Furthermore, SMU's Internship Programme enhances the rigour and workplace applicability of students' experiential learning. Approximately half of our graduates obtained job offers from internships, and we take pride in being the pioneer university in Singapore to mandate internships as a graduation requirement.”

98.4% of 2023 graduates said that the SMU experience had a positive impact on them and they had experienced personal growth during their time at the University. In addition, 97.3% felt that the SMU experience had enabled them to develop interpersonal and collaboration skills while 97.7% felt that they had developed their communication and engagement skills. Another 95% felt that SMU had prepared them well in terms of work readiness, and the ability to persevere and adapt in the face of challenges.  

Please refer to the enclosed media release for full details. An annex, that has been posted on MOE’s website, is also attached.