Medical Schools in Singapore
In order to meet the growing needs of the population, the Ministry of Health along with the Education Ministry have increased the intake of medical students in schools across Singapore from about 300 in 2010 to around 500 for 2018. The medical schools in Singapore include NUS, NTU and the Duke-NUS Medical School.
Requirements / Application
The top medical schools in Singapore have different admission and health requirements, and some have bond requirements, too.
Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine of the National University of Singapore
: Established in 1905, this is the oldest medical school in the country and offers a five -year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) course. The medical school is affiliated to the National University Hospital.
Admissions
Applications should be submitted online. The school seeks good grades in chemistry and biology/physics in high school, a personal statement (apart from the essay required by the university), list of co-curricular activities, official testimonial from your high school, and two referee reports.
Candidates should also pass the Focused Skill Assessment Test and the Situational Judgement Test.
Students get a chance to study abroad for one semester at more than 20 top medical schools. They also get a chance to work and learn in teams and interact with students from Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Social Work.
Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore
This school offers a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree program in association with the Imperial College, London. This is a relatively new program that commenced in 2013. The curriculum is drawn extensively from Imperial College London.
Admissions
Candidates for the five-year MBBS program must complete at least 12 years of education with chemistry and biology/physics at senior high school level.
They have to submit academic results, personal statement (300 words), two online referee reports, and details of outstanding achievements. On graduation, they’d be awarded an MBBS degree jointly by both the universities.
Test, interview
Candidates will have to take the Biomedical Admission Test (BMAT); the results of BMAT taken 12 months prior to admission are considered. Applicants are selected for interview around April.
The interview consists of eight mini interviews (multi mini interviews or MMI) of five minutes each, held one-on-one and consecutively in separate rooms.
Duke-NUS MD program
This is a 4 year long graduate program and the only program adopting US-style graduate entry criteria. The program is the joint effort between Duke University in North Carolina and the National University of Singapore (NUS).
The Duke-NUS collaborates with Singapore Health Services (SingHealth), the largest healthcare group that offers multi-disciplinary care across several hospitals and polyclinics in Singapore.
Students would be awarded Doctor of Medicine (MD) jointly by Duke University and the National University of Singapore (NUS)
Admissions
Applicants need to clear either MCAT or GAMSAT (Graduate Medical School Admission Test); submit the online application; provide at least three referee reports; and send the transcripts and supporting documents.
They will need to attend a 30-minute interview.
Applicants would either be in the final year of a bachelor or honours degree or have completed it. Note that MBBS degree holders would not be able to apply.
To fulfill English language requirements, candidates may submit IELTS or TOEFL scores.
All the MD graduates would be required to fulfill a service commitment period – the duration would be 4 years for Singapore citizens and 5 years for international graduates and Singapore Permanent Residents. This period would begin only after completion of the first year of postgraduate training.
Tuition/scholarship
The annual tuition fee at Duke-NUS was S$67,000 (about US$49,500) for the academic year 2019-20. Eligible candidates may be granted a Duke-NUS Bursary between 26 percent and 75 percent of tuition fee, after considering any external scholarship being receiving by the student.
In addition, merit-based and need-based scholarships of S$10,000-S$50,000 are available.
At the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS), the annual tuition fee was about S$60,700. Scholarships and bursaries from the university and the school are available.
At the NTU, the annual tuition for the MBBS course was around S$73,200 for international students. Depending on the lifestyle, a student may require about S$1,500-S$2,000 a month as living expenses in Singapore.
Also read:
– Medical Schools