Yale University to Launch New College in Singapore

Montage of Singapore.

Yale University and the National University of Singapore are planning to launch a jointly operated liberal arts college in Singapore, the southeastern island city-nation located at the tip of the Malay Peninsula. Approximately 5 million people call Singapore home, living in tight quarters in a land area that is slightly smaller than the five boroughs comprising New York City.

Singaporeans are well educated and have some of the highest incomes in the world. The city is also home to one of the largest financial centers in the world, something not lost on Yale which has one of the top business schools in the nation.

Fall 2013 Launch

Yale and NUS announced in September 2010 that the two schools had come to terms to launch what will be called Yale-NUS College, but had to arrange financing first. This past Monday officials from the two schools met and signed an agreement to create the college. That followed on the heels of a decision by the Singapore government to provide financial support for the school which is slated to welcome its first students in Fall 2013.

The school had expected to have its financing in order at the beginning of the year, but Singaporean officials had to work out a way for both Singapore and international students to have their tuition subsidized by the government. Under the typical arrangement, foreign students would pay less for school in exchange for working in Singapore following graduation, a stipulation Yale officials insisted be modified.

Tuition Subsidy Arrangement

Under  a modified agreement, foreign students receiving aid will have a choice of working for three years in Singapore or spend that time working for a Singaporean company overseas following graduation. They can also take out loans to repay the government if they choose another arrangement.

Construction on the 10.5 acre campus is slated to begin this year, but won’t be completed for three more years. Initially, the school will welcome 150 students, growing to about 1,000 students for the 2016-2017 academic year. Yale and NUS will hire 100 faculty over the coming years to teach at the school, with a core group of 30 to 35 “founding faculty members” reports the Yale Daily News. Three residential colleges of about 330 students each will comprise Yale-NUS with faculty dedicated to both research and teaching.

Yale officials said that the school’s tuition rate will be equivalent to what top American liberal arts schools charge and that’s without any financial aid considerations. Besides offering an ideal learning environment, Singapore’s tropical weather is appealing, offering year ’round temperatures averaging in the mid- to upper-80s.

Photo Montage via Wikimedia:

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