Higher salaries, strong internship-to-employment pipeline and industry demand drive graduate success.

The latest Graduate Employment Survey (GES) 2024 underscores Singapore Management University’s (SMU) enduring appeal to employers, amidst lower hiring demand. With an 89.8% overall employment rate, SMU graduates remain in high demand, with their salaries continuing an upward trajectory across key industries. The results were revealed in the annual Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey (JAUGES), jointly conducted by SMU and the other Autonomous Universities. Of the 2,300-strong graduating cohort, 1,742 students (75.7%) participated in the survey, offering a snapshot of employment trends that reflect both resilience and adaptation in an evolving economic landscape.

Strong Graduate Employability

SMU continues to achieve strong overall employment rates (89.8%) and full-time permanent employment rates (83.4%).

Graduates Command Higher Salaries

SMU graduates are also commanding higher wages, with the average gross monthly salary rising to $5,057, a 3.4% increase from last year. The median gross salary of SMU graduates also increased from $4,500 to $4,600. 

Internships Cement Career Pathways

A hallmark of SMU’s industry-centric education, the university’s mandatory internship programme has played a pivotal role in preparing students for the workforce.

  • 79.9% of graduates completed more than one internship, with an average of 2.8 internships per student, ensuring they enter the job market with real-world experience.
  • 31.6% of graduates who found full-time permanent employment had secured roles at the companies they interned with, underscoring SMU’s strong industry linkages.

SMU graduates remain highly sought after in Finance & Insurance, Legal, Accounting & Auditing and Information & Communication, reflecting sustained employer demand across key industries. More than 60% secured employment before graduation, demonstrating the strong market confidence in SMU’s talent pipeline and the university’s emphasis on experiential learning and industry-aligned education, where students are challenged to use their disciplinary knowledge to tackle real world issues through interdisciplinary approaches.

Through collaborations within the SMU community and with external stakeholders, opportunities are provided for students to establish valuable new contacts for securing future internships and/or employment locally and globally.

SMU Graduates Credit University for Personal and Professional Growth 98% of graduates reported that their time at SMU had a positive influence on their personal growth. Beyond academics, SMU’s distinctive education approach has equipped graduates with essential life and career skills. A strong 97.1% credited the university with enhancing their interpersonal and collaboration skills, while 97.5% felt they had significantly improved in communication and engagement. Additionally, 96% of graduates stated that SMU had effectively prepared them with critical thinking capabilities and a strong sense of personal development ownership.

These findings underscore SMU’s commitment to developing well-rounded, future-ready leaders equipped to thrive in a rapidly evolving world. 

SMU’s Commitment to Future-Ready Education

SMU’s high employment rates stem from its distinctive experiential learning model, which integrates academia with real-world application. The SMU-X programme connects students with industry leaders to tackle live business challenges, while its mandatory internships, community service and global exposure requirements ensure graduates develop adaptability, cross-cultural fluency, and a sense of social responsibility—attributes highly valued in today’s evolving job market.

SMU Provost, Professor Timothy Clark, remarked: “SMU’s graduate success is no accident—it is the result of an education model designed for relevance and lifelong impact. Our emphasis on interdisciplinary learning, experiential internships, and close industry collaboration ensures our graduates are not just job-ready but future-ready. The strong employment outcomes reaffirm SMU’s role as a university that produces distinctive, adaptable, purpose-driven, high-calibre talent, well-prepared to navigate a rapidly evolving global economy.”

As Singapore navigates a rapidly transforming economic landscape, SMU remains committed to equipping students with the skills, agility and industry experience to lead and succeed.

About SMU’s Dato’ Kho Hui Meng Career Centre (DKHMCC)

DKHMCC offers a range of comprehensive services, programmes, and resources for SMU students to chart their career directions and empowers them with the necessary skills to realise their potential and goals.

Each student is assigned a career coach upon matriculation to support him/her in career planning through his/her four-year journey at SMU. These certified coaches from DKHMCC come from diverse backgrounds and are in tune with industry developments and trends. They administer personality/career profiling tools, critique cover letters and resumes, facilitate job searches and hone students’ interview skills.

In addition, DKHMCC offers a suite of internship readiness modules and career readiness workshops from the freshman year as part of SMU’s pioneering Finishing Touch programme. The programme equips SMU undergraduates with career planning and transferable skills, geared towards enhancing their employment prospects and fulfilling their career goals progressively throughout the four-year course of study. Every year, DKHMCC organises more than 400 events which include career and industry talks, employability clinics, career fairs, as well as networking events for its students.

Recognising the importance and value of having real-world and career-relevant work experience for its students, SMU is the first university in Singapore to make internships compulsory for all students. Students are provided opportunities via DKHMCC, which works closely with industry to ensure successful placements in internships and jobs. The DKHMCC’s close and regular contact with employers is vital in helping SMU students be market-relevant and career-ready. Students also have access to a 24/7 web-based portal (OnTRAC) to search for internships and career opportunities.

DKHMCC also continues to support graduates up to three years after their graduation, with continued access to the jobs portal, employability clinics and personalised assistance by individual career coaches, should they require further guidance.