JAYAN
Arch-Supremacy Member
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I noticed that there are many threads in the forum asking if a certain university is good, or whether a particular degree is recognized. Whether an university is good or not is very subjective, thus I will not attempt to comment on the issue of good/bad, but rather I will offer my take on the issue of recognition. Unfortunately, there is no short answer to the question of recognition, I'll nonetheless try my best to answer as comprehensive as possible
As far as recognition is concern, degrees from NUS, NTU and SMU are guaranteed to be recognized by the Singapore Government and most, if not all, of other local employers, for the simple fact that these are all true-blue universities that are offering education on an on-campus, full-time basis, and all are endorsed by the Singapore Government through the funding given, thus assuring local employers that those who graduate from them are at least of an acceptable caliber.
Next is the issue on degrees awarded by foreign universities. Although the official stance of the Singapore Government is that all degrees awarded by bona fide universities that're properly accredited by their home countries would be recognized, in practice, the employers, including the Singapore Government, do have other more detailed criterias for what're acceptable and what're not, when filling a position.
This means that degrees from distance-learning programmes (including SIM, MDIS, MIS, PSB Academy, SHRI etc.) or from on-campus full-time programmes in overseas universities are assessed strictly on a case-by-case basis. Being recognized does not automatically translate into being acceptable for employment. It may sounds contradictory but when it comes to employment, there're many variables involved beyond official recognition, for an employer from the private sector need not necessarily follows the Singapore Government's human resource policies.
That said, we must understand that there are the issues of job relevancy and employer's preferences also. Take these few examples: applying for a strictly engineering job with a business degree, even if it's from NUS/NTU/SMU and a First Class Honours one to boot, will more likely than not be met with failure, as it is not relevant; or like the recruiter prefers the graduates from NTU over NUS while filtering through job applications, because he was a graduate from the former and an die-hard alumnus, then there is nothing a person can do about except blames one's own luck; or for some positions, only those applicants with Good Honours degrees would be put aside for consideration for interviews, anything else that do not meet the minimum requirement would be thrown out.
I hope this helps clear the smoke for those who're confused. Fellow forumers are most welcome to add in points that I've missed, or to point out the discrepancies that I may have made.
As far as recognition is concern, degrees from NUS, NTU and SMU are guaranteed to be recognized by the Singapore Government and most, if not all, of other local employers, for the simple fact that these are all true-blue universities that are offering education on an on-campus, full-time basis, and all are endorsed by the Singapore Government through the funding given, thus assuring local employers that those who graduate from them are at least of an acceptable caliber.
Next is the issue on degrees awarded by foreign universities. Although the official stance of the Singapore Government is that all degrees awarded by bona fide universities that're properly accredited by their home countries would be recognized, in practice, the employers, including the Singapore Government, do have other more detailed criterias for what're acceptable and what're not, when filling a position.
This means that degrees from distance-learning programmes (including SIM, MDIS, MIS, PSB Academy, SHRI etc.) or from on-campus full-time programmes in overseas universities are assessed strictly on a case-by-case basis. Being recognized does not automatically translate into being acceptable for employment. It may sounds contradictory but when it comes to employment, there're many variables involved beyond official recognition, for an employer from the private sector need not necessarily follows the Singapore Government's human resource policies.
That said, we must understand that there are the issues of job relevancy and employer's preferences also. Take these few examples: applying for a strictly engineering job with a business degree, even if it's from NUS/NTU/SMU and a First Class Honours one to boot, will more likely than not be met with failure, as it is not relevant; or like the recruiter prefers the graduates from NTU over NUS while filtering through job applications, because he was a graduate from the former and an die-hard alumnus, then there is nothing a person can do about except blames one's own luck; or for some positions, only those applicants with Good Honours degrees would be put aside for consideration for interviews, anything else that do not meet the minimum requirement would be thrown out.
I hope this helps clear the smoke for those who're confused. Fellow forumers are most welcome to add in points that I've missed, or to point out the discrepancies that I may have made.
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