Student Report
Singapore Management University
Fall 2013
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
You receive a lot of information via e-mail from the school. You should carefully read all the
information and take notes of the different deadlines. A student guide is sent to you before
summer – but you will also receive e-mails continuously where they remind you of what
needs to be done before you arrive.
Applying for a visa
You have to apply for a student visa online, and schedule an appointment to collect it when
you arrive in Singapore. The school will provide all the information that you need about this
before you arrive.
Housing
Housing is not provided by the university. You can apply for a room at commonwealth
(hostel), but it is difficult to get a room and some people find it not meeting the Norwegian
standards, although it is a lot cheaper than renting an apartment. To find an apartment you
first need to get in touch with an agent (the local school will give you a list of good agents),
who then arranges viewings on your behalf. There is no point in contacting the agents before
you arrive in Singapore, however, it might be a good idea to search for roomates early. Most
apartments have 3-4 bedrooms which means 6-8 people in each apartment. SMU has a
facebook-page where you can look for other exchange-students to live with. It might also be a
good idea to stay at a hostel the first week to meet some people from the school. We stayed at
Five Stones Hostel which was very good and had a good location. Many students also stayed
at Sleepy Sams. These hostels will be fully booked pretty early, so be sure to make
arrangements as early as possible.
Costs
Rent in Singapore is expensive. You should expect to pay about 800-1100$ a month, while
sharing a room. This normally includes a swimming pool, sports center and barbeque-area.
You only pay for books at the beginning of the semester, 125-160$. The costs of food varies
depending on where you eat. The food-court at school and at several malls are very cheap,
about 4-6$ for a meal. In supermarkets the food is maybe a little bit cheaper than in Norway.
If you prefer western food there is a lot of good restaurants and cafees, but this will be more
expensive. Transportation is cheap. The MRT works wery well and is cheap. Sometimes you
might need a taxi, but that is also pretty cheap compared to Norway. Entry and alcohol in
nightclubs are similar to Norwegian prices. Wednesday is ladies night and several places then
offer free entry and free drinks for girls.
Culture and language
Everybody speaks English, but some of the professors may have a difficult accent which
could take some time to get used to.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
The school
The school is new and very nice. It is located in the city centre with easy access to the MRT,
several eating-places and shopping malls. The school has a big library, gym and swimming
pool.
Visit www.smu.edu.sg to get a ‘virtual guide’ of the campus.
Course registration
The course registration is a complicated process. It starts in the end of July – the first and
second round is online where ‘first-come-first-served’ applies. You should have a list
prepared with the courses that you want. There are limited amount of seats in each class so
you might not get any of the classes that you want. The third round takes place during the first
two weeks of school. Every student is given 100 E-dollars which you use to bid for the
courses that you wish to attend. This seems like an overwhelming and frustrating process in
the beginning, but usually it works out well for everyone and the international office is very
helpful if you have any difficulties.
Arrival
You have to arrive Singapore before 7th of August. This will give you time to collect you
student visa, find an apartment and settle in before school starts. First day of the semester is
14th of August, but this is just introduction for all the exchange students. Classes starts 19th of
August. Last possible exam-date is about the 5th of December. You have a recess week in the
middle of the semester, to use for extra studying or travelling.
Social activities
The school offers several clubs, activity- and sporting groups. If you want to get to know the
locals well, you should join one of the groups. There are a lot of exchange students from all
over the world at SMU, and there will be arranged several parties for you. Most of the
students are very social and easy to get to know.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
At SMU the classes are small (about 30-40 students), this gives you a closer relationship with
the professors and more discussion in class, compared to BI. Class participation is a part of
your grade in every class (10-20%), but some teachers don’t care as much as others. You will
have hand-ins, and presentations during the semester which forces you to study regularly.
Some courses also have mid-term exams. The workload is heavier than at BI, but in return the
exam-period will be much easier. The exams are based both on the course material and the
lectures.
Description of courses
Course code &
name
FNCE 201
Corporate Finance
MAND 201
Mandarin
MGMT 102
Strategy
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Comments
2-hour
written exam
Oral and
written exam
3-hour
written exam
Class participation, group project (hand in and
presentation) are also part of the final grade.
Class participation, two quizzes and one presentation is
also part of your final grade.
Class participation, group project (hand in and
presentation), two case-studies are also part of the final
grade.