What fresh grads from NUS, NTU, SMU, and SUSS' class of 2022 are earning

Fresh graduates from Singapore Management University continued to lead the way with a median gross monthly salary of S$4,500, followed by those from the National University of Singapore (S$4,300).

The 2022 graduating batch from Singapore Management University (SMU), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National University of Singapore (NUS), and Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) observed an increase in starting salaries and full-time employment following their graduation, the Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey 2022 has revealed.

According to the survey, all four universities saw an increase in graduates' median gross monthly salary when compared to the 2021 survey — with fresh graduates from NUS' Bachelor of Computing (Computer Science) recording the highest median gross monthly salary (S$6,600), followed by those from NTU's Double Degree in Business and Computer Engineering/Computing (S$6,500).

Finally, by course cluster across all universities, the top three clusters which saw the highest median gross monthly salary was Law, recording S$6,375; followed by information & digital technologies (S$5,625), and Yale-NUS (S$5,000).

Read on for each institution's findings:

National University of Singapore

According to the survey, the mean gross monthly salary of NUS fresh graduates in full-time permanent employment was S$4,808 in 2022, up from S$4,258 recorded in 2021. Meanwhile, the median gross monthly salary also increased – from S$3,850 in 2021, to S$4,300 in 2022.

As a whole, graduates from 35 courses in arts and social sciences, business, computing, design and engineering, law, nursing, science, and music saw improvements in starting salaries, the university said.

Among NUS fresh graduates in the labour force, 93.9% were employed within six months of completing their final exams, a slight dip from 94.1% in the 2021 survey. However, the percentage of NUS fresh graduates who secured full-time permanent employment within the same period rose by 3.3 percentage points (pp), the university stated. Another 2.7% of NUS fresh graduates in the labour force have either accepted a job offer and are pending commencement of duty, or are actively starting a business venture.

By field of study, fresh graduates from dentistry, engineering science, and nursing (Honours) achieved 100% employment, while 99.3% of accountancy (Honours) majors and 99% of real estate majors secured jobs. Additionally, more than nine in 10 from courses in arts and social sciences, business, computing, design and engineering, nursing, and science were employed within six months of completing their final exams.

Finally, a similar number (more than nine in 10) of follow-up graduates from architecture, law, and pharmacy who completed their practical training, practical law course, pupillage, and pre-registration training, were employed within six months of completing their final exams.

A total of 5,554 out of 7,430 full-time fresh NUS graduates from the Class of 2022, 531 out of 824 follow-up NUS graduates, participated in the joint survey.

Highest-earning courses by median gross monthly salary [full list here]

• Bachelor of Computing (Computer Science): S$6,600
• Bachelor of Laws: S$6,400
• Bachelor of Science with Honours: S$6,038
• Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Engineering): S$6,000
• Median gross monthly salary of S$5,500:
  • Bachelor of Science (Data Science and Analytics)
  • Bachelor of Computing (Information Security)
  • Bachelor of Computing (Information Systems)
  • Bachelor of Science (Business Analytics)

Nanyang Technological University

More than nine in 10 graduates from NTU's Class of 2022, who were in the labour force, were employed within six months after completing their final examinations, the university shared. The cohort also earned higher salaries, with a mean gross monthly salary of S$4,443 for fresh graduates in full-time permanent employment, an increase from S$4,000 in 2021. The median gross monthly salary also saw an increase to S$4,200, up from S$3,750 in 2021.

Employment-wise, gaduates from National Institute of Education (NIE), Medicine, double degree in business and computer engineering/computing, double degree in engineering and economics, sport science and management, and biomedical sciences and Chinese Medicine achieved 100% employment. Other courses with the highest overall employment include accountancy (98.3%), accountancy and business (98.0%), and public policy and global affairs (97.9%).

Highest-earning courses by median gross monthly salary [full list here]

• Double Degree in Business and Computer Engineering/Computing: S$6,500
• Data Science and Artificial Intelligence: S$5,625
• Medicine: S$5,600
• Data Science and Artificial Intelligence: S$5,625
• Computer Science: S$5,500

On a whole, 4,641 NTU Singapore graduates responded to the 2022 joint survey, including 22 Biomedical graduates and 83 Medicine graduates from the Class of 2021 who took part in a follow-up survey.

Singapore Management University

Fresh graduates from SMU's 19th cohort have registered "healthy and stable overall employment", with 95.1% of them employed and earning good starting salaries across all six of the university’s degree programmes, SMU said on Monday. 

As shared, the proportion of SMU graduates in full-time permanent employment stood at 89.5%, a 2.4pp increase from 2021; a total of 68.3% of fresh graduates were offered full-time permanent jobs before graduation – a 4.1pp increase as compared to the previous cohort. Among those who were on full-time permanent employment, more than half (55.9%) were offered employment through compulsory internships.

On the salary front, the mean and mean gross monthly salary of SMU graduates in full-time permanent jobs both recorded year-on-year increases: the mean gross monthly salary stood at S$4,896 in 2022, an increase over the previous year’s salary of S$4,358; while the median gross monthly salary of graduates in full-time permanent employment was S$4,500 in 2022, up from S$4,000 in 2021.

The top three industries of employment for SMU graduates were financial and insurance, information & communication, and legal, accounting, and auditing.

Highest-earning courses by median gross monthly salary [full list here]

• Law (Cum Laude and above): S$6,400
• Law: S$6,375
• Information systems (Cum Laude and above): S$5,638
• Information systems: S$5,400
• Business management(Cum Laude and above): S$4,400

Out of 1,982 SMU graduates in 2022, 76.3% (or 1,531) took part in the joint survey.

Singapore University of Social Sciences

Among SUSS' Class of 2022, full-time supply chain management, finance, and accountancy graduates continue to be sought after by employers, with overall employment of 98.4%, 97.2%, and 96.4% respectively. According to the university, business analytics and marketing graduates also saw overall employment of 93% and 87.2% respectively. Overall, the university's School of Business saw an increase in full-time permanent employment as compared to 2021.

Among those in the labour force, 449 full-time graduates from the Class of 2022 secured employment within six months of completing their final examinations. Overall, an increase in the full-time permanent employment rate was noted, from 78.9% in 2021 to 82.9% in 2022.

Salary-wise, the mean and median gross monthly salaries of SUSS graduates in full-time permanent employment stood at S$3,833 and S$3,600 respectively in 2022.

Highest-earning courses by median gross monthly salary [full list here]

• Bachelor of Science in Business Analytics: S$4,660
• Bachelor of Science in Finance: S$4,000
• Bachelor of Social Work: S$3,640
• Median gross monthly salary of S$3,600:
  • Bachelor of Accountancy
  • Bachelor of Science in Marketing

A total of 492 out of the 613 graduates from the Class of 2022 participated in the survey – a response rate of 80.3%. They were from the accountancy, business analytics, early childhood education, finance, human resource management, marketing, social work, and supply chain management programmes.

Across the universities, a total of 15,984 fresh and 1,138 follow-up graduates were surveyed in November 2022, and the overall response rates obtained were 75.8% and 69.2% respectively. 

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