SMU expands aid scheme to help over 3,000 students yearly

It will now include allowances to cover living expenses, overseas experiences

- Sandra Davie

The Singapore Management University (SMU), which launched a financial aid scheme in 2017 to cover the full tuition fees of its needy undergraduate students, will extend it from August to include allowances to cover students' living expenses and overseas experiences.

The university, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2025, said that under the new SMU Access Plus scheme, it is also eliminating requirements such as housing type and focusing solely on per capita income and citizenship.

As a result, it expects to benefit more than 3,000 students annually. Previously, only about 200 qualified for the scheme.

Since 2018, the university has made it a requirement for all its students to have some form of global exposure, be it through an overseas exchange programme, international internship or overseas community service programme.

SMU president Lily Kong said: "At SMU, we take pride in being the first university to make global exposure a graduation requirement.

Experiencing the world through the lens of a university education is a transformative opportunity – one that fosters international networks, broadens horizons and opens doors to new possibilities.

"Such opportunities for global exposure should be accessible to every student, regardless of financial circumstance.