S'pore unis' computing enrolment surges; stiff competition for jobs

Growing pool of such graduates soon entering a rapidly changing tech industry

- Ng Wei Kai

With a near-perfect score for his A-level exams, 22-year-old Kee Song Yang had his pick of university courses before settling on computer science, in part for the promise of a high starting wage.

But he came up empty-handed despite sending out dozens of internship applications in the last summer break – signalling the rising competition within the industry.

The third-year National University of Singapore (NUS) student is among the swelling numbers of local undergraduates studying computer science and related disciplines who are soon entering a rapidly changing and highly competitive tech industry.

Across NUS, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU), the number of young people enrolled in computing and related courses shot up 73 per cent over the last five years, based on enrolment data.

Since 2019, the number of students enrolled in NUS' School of Computing and its computer engineering course, which is jointly organised by the College of Design and Engineering and the School of Computing, has risen 68 per cent, from 3,498 to 5,878.

At NTU, the number of undergraduates specialising in computing-related courses has nearly doubled from 1,987 in the 2019/2020 academic year to 3,156 in 2023/2024. Similarly, enrolment in SMU's computer science degree programme jumped from 49 in 2019 to 578 in 2023.

In response to queries, NUS said it is seeing greater interest for programmes such as artificial intelligence, computing, computer engineering, as well as data science and analytics.

Starting salaries for these graduates, who usually enter the tech industry, often top the graduate employment surveys published by universities. In 2023, NUS' computer science graduates earned a $6,181 median basic monthly salary compared to the $4,313 average for all fresh graduates.