NUS graduates continue to achieve strong employment prospects and high starting salaries amid global economic uncertainty

More than nine in 10 fresh graduates from Arts and Social Sciences, Business, Computing, Design & Environment, Engineering, Nursing, Science, and Yale-NUS College employed within six months of completing their final exams

Graduates of the National University of Singapore (NUS) achieved strong employment and earned high starting salaries in 2020, according to the Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey (JAUGES) 2020.

The JAUGES 2020 was jointly conducted by NUS and the other Autonomous Universities.

Professor Ho Teck Hua, NUS Senior Deputy President and Provost, said, “We are heartened that our graduates remain highly employable in this challenging economic climate, and continue to command good salaries amid stiffer competition in the labour market. Preparing our graduates to be globally competitive has always been an integral part of NUS’ education. The survey results, therefore, demonstrate that the University’s rigorous curriculum and training have imparted our graduates with resilience, adaptability, innovativeness and industry-relevant skills to excel in today’s workplace, even in trying times.”

“As the world continues to face greater uncertainties, and jobs evolve with rapid technological advances, NUS will continue to support the training needs of our graduates. Through the suite of lifelong learning courses offered by the University, we will help equip our graduates with new skills and capabilities that will enable them to advance in their careers,” he added.

Nine in 10 NUS fresh graduates secured employment within 6 months after final exams

5,410 out of a total of 6,894 full-time fresh NUS graduates from the Class of 2020, and 632 out of 853 follow-up2 NUS graduates participated in the joint survey. Among NUS fresh graduates in the labour force, 93.9 per cent were employed, compared to 90.9 per cent last year. Another 2.5 per cent of NUS fresh graduates in the labour force have either accepted a job offer pending commencement of duty or are actively starting a business venture.

Fresh graduates from Dentistry, Data Science and Analytics, and Environmental Engineering achieved 100% employment. More than nine in 10 fresh graduates from Arts and Social Sciences, Business, Computing, Design & Environment, Engineering, Nursing, Science, and Yale-NUS College in the labour force were employed within six months of completing their final exams.

Medicine graduates who completed their housemanship or first-year residency training saw full employment, while more than nine in 10 follow-up graduates from Architecture and Law as well as follow-up graduates from Pharmacy who completed their one-year pre-registration training, were employed within six months of completing their final exams.

High salaries for NUS fresh graduates in full-time permanent employment

The survey also revealed that the mean gross monthly salary of NUS fresh graduates in full-time permanent employment was $4,082 in 2020, a 3.6 per cent increase from $3,939 in 2019.

The median gross monthly salary of fresh graduates from NUS in full-time permanent employment also increased to $3,800 in 2020, from $3,600 in 2019.

Fresh graduates from 19 courses in Arts and Social Sciences, Business, Computing, Industrial Design, Project and Facilities Management, Real Estate, Engineering, Nursing, Science, as well as those offered by Yale-NUS College, achieved improvement in starting salaries.