Coordinates	45°30′″N73°40′″N
Conventional long name	}}

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Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. The country is highly urbanised with very little primary rainforest remaining, although more land is being created for development through land reclamation.

Singapore had been a part of various local empires since it was first inhabited in the second century AD. It hosted a trading post of the East India Company in 1819 with permission from the Sultanate of Johor. The British obtained sovereignty over the island in 1824 and Singapore became one of the British Straits Settlements in 1826. Singapore was occupied by the Japanese in World War II and reverted to British rule after the war. It became internally self-governing in 1959. Singapore united with other former British territories to form Malaysia in 1963 and became a fully independent state two years later after separation from Malaysia. Since then it has had a massive increase in wealth, and is one of the Four Asian Tigers. The economy heavily depends on the industry and service sectors. Singapore is a world leader in several areas, it is the world's fourth leading financial centre, the world's second biggest casino gambling market, the world's top three oil refining centre. The port of Singapore is one of the five busiest ports in the world. The country is home to more US dollar millionaire households per capita than any other country. The World Bank notes Singapore as the easiest place in the world to do business.

Singapore is a parliamentary republic with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. The People's Action Party (PAP) has won every election since the British grant of internal self-government in 1959. The legal system of Singapore has its foundations in the English common law system, but modifications have been made to it over the years, such as the removal of trial by jury. The PAP's popular image is that of a strong, experienced and highly qualified government, backed by a skilled Civil Service and an education system with an emphasis on achievement and meritocracy; but it is perceived by some voters, opposition critics and international observers as being authoritarian and too restrictive on individual freedom.

Some 5 million people live in Singapore, of whom 2.91 million were born locally. Most are of Chinese, Malay or Indian descent. There are four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. One of the five founding members of the Association of South East Asian Nations, Singapore also hosts the APEC Secretariat, and is a member of the East Asia Summit, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Commonwealth.

Etymology

The English name of Singapore is derived from the Malay Singapura (Sanskrit सिंहपुर Lion City), hence the customary reference to the nation as the Lion City. Lions probably never lived there; the beast seen by Sang Nila Utama, founder of ancient Singapore, who gave the city its name, was most likely a tiger.

History

The earliest known settlement on Singapore was in the second century AD. It was an outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire, named Temasek ('sea town'). Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, it was part of the Sultanate of Johor. In 1613, Portuguese raiders burnt down the settlement and the island sank into obscurity for the next two centuries.

In 1819, Thomas Stamford Raffles arrived and signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah on behalf of the British East India Company to develop the southern part of Singapore as a British trading post. In 1824 the entire island became a British possession under a further treaty whereby the sultan and the Temenggong transferred it to the British East India Company. In 1826 it became part of the Straits Settlements, a British colony. Before Raffles arrived, there were around 1,000 people living in Singapore, mostly Malays and a few dozen Chinese. By 1869, due to migration from Malaya and other parts of Asia, 100,000 people lived on the island.

During World War II the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Malaya culminating in the Battle of Singapore. The British were defeated, and surrendered on 15 February 1942. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called this "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history". The Japanese occupied Singapore until the British repossessed it in September 1945 after the Japanese surrender.

Singapore's first general election in 1955 was won by the pro-independence David Marshall, leader of the Labour Front. Demanding complete self-rule he led a delegation to London but was turned down by the British. He resigned when he returned and was replaced by Lim Yew Hock, whose policies convinced Britain to grant Singapore full internal self-government for all matters except defence and foreign affairs.

In elections in May 1959 the People's Action Party won a landslide victory. Singapore had become an internally self-governing state within the Commonwealth, with Lee Kuan Yew as the first Prime Minister. Governor Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode served as the first Yang di-Pertuan Negara, and was succeeded by Yusof bin Ishak who in 1965 became the first President of Singapore.

Singapore declared independence from Britain on 31 August 1963 before joining the new Federation of Malaysia in September along with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak as the result of the 1962 Merger Referendum. Tunku Abdul Rahman separated Singapore from the Federation two years later after heated ideological conflict between the ruling parties of Malaya and Singapore.

Singapore gained sovereignty as the Republic of Singapore (remaining within the Commonwealth) on 9 August 1965 with Yusof bin Ishak as president and Lee Kuan Yew as prime minister. In 1967 it helped found the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and in 1970 it joined the Non-aligned movement. In 1990 Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee as prime minister. During his tenure the country faced the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the 2003 SARS outbreak and terrorist threats posed by Jemaah Islamiyah. In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the country's third prime minister.

Government and politics

Singapore is a parliamentary republic with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government representing constituencies. Its constitution establishes representative democracy as its political system. Freedom House ranks Singapore as "partly free" in its Freedom in the World report, and The Economist ranks Singapore as a "hybrid regime", the third rank out of four, in its "Democracy Index". Singapore is consistently rated one of the least corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International.

Executive power rests with the Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister, and the President. The president is elected through popular vote, and has some veto powers for a few key decisions such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of judges, but otherwise occupies a ceremonial post.

The Parliament serves as the legislative branch of government. Members of Parliament (MPs) consist of elected, non-constituency and nominated members. Elected MPs are voted into parliament on a "first-past-the-post" (plurality) basis and represent either single-member or group-representation constituencies. The People's Action Party has won control of Parliament with large majorities in every election since self-governance was secured in 1959. However, in the most recent parliamentary elections in 2011, the opposition, led by the Workers' Party, made significant gains and increased its representation in the House to 6 elected MPs.

The legal system of Singapore is based on English common law, albeit with substantial local differences. Trial by jury was entirely abolished in 1970 leaving judicial assessment performed wholly by judgeship. Singapore has penalties that include judicial corporal punishment in the form of caning for rape, rioting, vandalism, and some immigration offences. There is a mandatory death penalty for murder, and for certain drug-trafficking and firearms offences. Amnesty International has said that some legal provisions conflict with the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that Singapore has "possibly the highest execution rate in the world relative to its population". The government has disputed Amnesty's claims. In a 2008 survey, international business executives believed Singapore, along with Hong Kong, had the best judicial system in Asia.

Geography

Singapore consists of 63 islands, including the main island, widely known as Singapore Island but also as Pulau Ujong. There are two man-made connections to Johor, Malaysia: the Johor–Singapore Causeway in the north, and the Tuas Second Link in the west. Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest of Singapore's smaller islands. The highest natural point is Bukit Timah Hill at .

There are ongoing land reclamation projects, which have increased Singapore's land area from in the 1960s to today; it may grow by another by 2030. Some projects involve merging smaller islands through land reclamation to form larger, more functional islands, as with Jurong Island. About 23% of Singapore's land area consists of forest and nature reserves. Urbanisation has eliminated most primary rainforest, with Bukit Timah Nature Reserve the only significant remaining forest.

Singapore has a tropical rainforest climate with no distinctive seasons, uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity, and abundant rainfall. Temperatures usually range from . Relative humidity averages around 79% in the morning and 73% in the afternoon. April and May are the hottest months, with the wetter monsoon season from November to January. From July to October, there is often haze caused by bush fires in neighbouring Indonesia. Although Singapore does not observe daylight saving time, it follows time zone GMT+8, one hour ahead of its geographical location.

Economy

Singapore has a highly developed market-based economy, based historically on extended entrepôt trade. Along with Hong Kong, South Korea and Republic of China (Taiwan), Singapore is one of the Four Asian Tigers. The economy depends heavily on exports and refining imported goods, especially in manufacturing, which constituted 27.2% of Singapore's GDP in 2010 and includes significant electronics, petroleum refining, chemicals, mechanical engineering and biomedical sciences sectors. In 2006 Singapore produced about 10% of the world's foundry wafer output.

Singapore is a world leader in several economic areas, it is the world's fourth leading financial centre, the world's second biggest casino gambling market, the world's top three oil refining centre, the world's largest oil rig producing nation and a major ship repairing nation. The port is one of the five busiest ports in the world. The country is home to more US dollar millionaire households per capita than any other country. The World Bank also praises Singapore as the easiest place in the world to do business and ranks Singapore as the world's top logistics hub. Lastly, the country is also the world's fourth largest foreign-exchange trading centre after London, New York and Tokyo.

Before independence in 1965, Singapore had a GDP per capita of $511, then the third highest in East Asia. After independence, foreign direct investment and a state-led drive for industrialisation based on plans by Goh Keng Swee and Albert Winsemius created a modern economy. As a result of global recession and a slump in the technology sector, the country's GDP contracted by 2.2% in 2001. The Economic Review Committee was set up in December 2001 and recommended several policy changes to revitalise the economy. Singapore has since recovered, largely due to improvements in the world economy; the economy grew by 8.3% in 2004, 6.4% in 2005, and 7.9% in 2006. After a contraction of −0.8% in 2009, the economy recovered in 2010 with a GDP growth of 14.5%.

Singapore possesses the world's tenth largest foreign reserves. Singapore's external trade is of higher value than its GDP, making trade one of the most vital components of the economy. Over ten free trade agreements have been signed with other countries and regions. Singapore's economy was ranked the world's most open in 2009, competitive and innovative. Singapore is rated the most business-friendly economy in the world. The currency of Singapore is the Singapore dollar, issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. It is interchangeable with the Brunei dollar.

Most work in Singapore is in the service sector, which employed around 2,151,400 people out of 3,102,500 jobs in December 2010. Around 64.2% of jobs were held by locals. The percentage of unemployed economically active people above age 15 is about 2%. Poverty levels are low compared to other countries in the region. The government provides cheap housing (in the form of Housing Development Board flats) and financial assistance to poorer people. Singapore has the world's highest percentage of millionaire households, with 15.5 percent of all households owning at least one million US dollars.

Tourism forms a large part of the economy, and 10.2 million tourists visited the country in 2007. To attract more tourists, in 2005 the government legalised gambling and allowed two casino resorts (called Integrated Resorts) to be developed. Singapore is promoting itself as a medical tourism hub: about 200,000 foreigners seek medical care there each year, and Singapore medical services aim to serve one million foreign patients annually by 2012 and generate USD 3 billion in revenue.

Foreign relations

Singapore's foreign policy is directed to maintaining a secure environment in Southeast Asia as well as the territories that surround it. An underlying principle is regional political and economic stability in the region. It has diplomatic relations with 175 other Sovereign states. As one of the five founding members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the country is a strong supporter of the ASEAN Free Trade Area and the ASEAN Investment Area, because Singapore's economic growth is closely linked with the economic progress of the region as a whole. Former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong proposed the formation of an ASEAN Economic Community, a step beyond the current AFTA bringing it closer to a common market. This idea was agreed to in 2007 for implementation in 2015. Other regional organisations are also important to Singapore, and it is the host of the APEC Secretariat. Singapore also maintains membership in other regional organisations, such as Asia-Europe Meeting, the Forum for East Asia-Latin American Cooperation, and the East Asia Summit. It is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Commonwealth.

Bilateral relations with other ASEAN members are generally strong; however, disagreements have arisen, and relations with neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia have historically been difficult. Malaysia has often come into conflict with Singapore over the delivery of fresh water to Singapore, and access to Malaysian airspace for the Singapore Armed Forces, among others. Border issues exist with both Malaysia and Indonesia, and both have banned the sale of marine sand to Singapore over disputes about Singapore's land reclamation. Some previous disputes have been solved by the International Court of Justice. Piracy in the Malacca Strait has been a cause of concern for all three countries. Close economic ties exist with Brunei, and the two share a pegged currency value.

Singapore and the United States share a long-standing and strong relationship, particularly in defence, the economy, health and education. The USA is Singapore's third largest trading partner in 2010 after the People's Republic of China(2nd) and the European Union(1st). The government of Singapore believes that regional security, and by extension, Singapore's security will be affected if the United States loses its resolve in Iraq. Singapore has pushed regional counter-terrorism initiatives, with a strong resolve to deal with terrorists inside its borders. To this end it has given support to the US-led coalition to fight terrorism, with bilateral cooperation in counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation initiatives, and joint military exercises. Relations with the United States have expanded in other areas, and the two countries share a free trade agreement and take part in joint policy dialogues.

Relations with the People's Republic of China were established in the 1970s, and since then the two countries have enjoyed a strong relationship, being major players in strengthening the ASEAN-China relationship.

Military

The Singaporean military is the most advanced in Southeast Asia. It comprises the Army, Navy, and Air Force. It is seen as the guarantor of the country's independence. The nation's philosophy of defence is one of diplomacy and deterrence. This principle translates into the culture, involving all citizens in the country's defence. The government spends 4.9% of its GDP on the military.

At the time of independence, Singapore had two infantry regiments commanded by British officers. This force was considered too small to provide effective security to the new country and so the development of the military became a priority. Tactics such as jungle warfare were learned to allow the army to fight outside Singapore's borders, and the army obtained equipment such as tanks before its neighbours, often from Israel, and became a highly effective force.

The SAF is being developed to respond to a wide range of issues, in both conventional and unconventional warfare. The Defence Science and Technology Agency is responsible for procuring resources for the military. The geographic restrictions of Singapore mean that the SAF must plan to fully repulse an attack, as they can not fall back and re-group. The small population has also affected the way the SAF has been designed, with a small active force but a large number of reserves.

Singapore has a draft which extends to all able-bodied males at the age of 18, except to those who have a criminal record, or can prove that their loss would bring hardships to their families. In addition, males who have yet to complete pre-university education or are awarded the Public Service Commission scholarship can opt to defer their draft. Though not required to perform military service, the number of women in the Singapore Armed Forces has been increasing, with women allowed since 1989 to fill military vocations formerly reserved for men. Before induction into a specific branch of the armed forces, recruits undergo at least 9 weeks of basic military training.

Because of the scarcity of open land on the main island, training involving activities such as live firing and amphibious landings is often carried out on smaller islands, typically barred to civilian access. This also avoids risk to the main island and the city. However, large-scale drills are considered too dangerous to be performed in the area, and since 1975 have been performed in Taiwan, although training is held in about a dozen other countries. Military exercises are generally held with foreign forces once or twice per week.

The SAF has sent forces to assist in operations outside the country in areas such as Iraq and Afghanistan, in both military and non-military roles. Regionally it has helped stabilise East Timor and provided aid to Aceh in Indonesia following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Singapore is part of the Five Power Defence Arrangements, a military alliance with Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Demographics

As of 2010, 5.1 million people live in Singapore, of whom 3.2 million (64%) are Singapore citizens while the rest (36%) are permanent residents or foreign workers. 2.9 million people (57%) were born in Singapore while the rest are foreign-born. The median age of Singaporeans is 37 years old and the average household size is 3.5 persons. In 2010, the total fertility rate was 1.1 children per woman, the third lowest in the world and well below the 2.1 needed to replace the population. To overcome this problem, the Singapore government is encouraging foreigners to immigrate to Singapore. The large number of immigrants has kept Singapore's population from declining.

About 40 percent of the population are foreigners, the sixth-highest percentage in the world. The government is considering capping these workers, although it is recognised that they play a large role in the country's economy. Foreign workers make up 80% of the construction industry and up to 50% in the service industry.

In 2009, 74.2% of residents were of Chinese, 13.4% of Malay, and 9.2% of Indian descent. Prior to 2010, each person could register as a member of only one race, by default that of his or her father. From 2010 onwards, people may register using a "double-barrelled" classification, in which they may choose one primary race and one secondary race, but no more than two.

Religion

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Buddhism is the most widely practised religion in Singapore, with 33% of the resident population declaring themselves adherents at the most recent census. The next largest religions, in order of size, are Christianity, Islam, Taoism and Hinduism. The proportion of Christians, Taoists and non-religious people increased between 2000 and 2010 by about 3% each, while the proportion of Buddhists decreased. Other faiths remained largely stable in their share of the population.

There are monasteries and Dharma centres from all three major traditions of Buddhism in Singapore: Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Most Buddhists in Singapore are Chinese and are of the Mahayana tradition. Chinese Mahayana is the most predominant form of Buddhism in Singapore, with missionaries from Taiwan and China for several decades. However, Thailand's Theravada Buddhism has seen growing popularity amongst the people (not only the Chinese) in the past decade. Soka Gakkai International, a Japanese Buddhist organisation, is practised by many people in Singapore, but by mostly those of Chinese descent. Tibetan Buddhism has also made slow inroads into the country in recent years.

Languages

{{bar box |title=Native languages of Singaporeans |titlebar=#ddd |left1=language |right1=% of first language speakers |float=right |bars= }}

Singapore has four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil. English is the first language of the nation and is the language of business, government and medium of instruction in schools. The Singapore constitution and all laws are written in English. 80% of Singaporeans are literate in English as either their first or second language. Chinese Mandarin is the next commonly spoken, followed by Malay and Tamil. Singaporean English is based on British English, and forms of English spoken range from Standard English to a pidgin known as Singlish. Singlish is heavily discouraged by the government. According to the 2010 official census, nearly one in three Singaporeans speak English as their home language.

Chinese is the most common home language, used by about half of all Singaporeans. Singaporean Mandarin is the most common version of Chinese in the country, with 1.2 million using it as their home language. Nearly half a million speak other Chinese languages (which the government describes as "dialects"), mainly Hokkien, Teochew, and Cantonese, as their home language, although the use of these is declining in favour of Mandarin and English.

Malay is the "national language", a ceremonial rather than functional designation to reflect the country's history. It is used in the national anthem "Majulah Singapura" and in military commands. Today Malay is generally spoken within the Singaporean Malay community, with only 16.8% of Singaporeans literate in Malay and only 12% using it as their home language. Bazaar Malay was historically the lingua franca in Singapore, until it was eclipsed by English, especially after independence. Around 0.1 million or 3% of Singaporeans speak Tamil as their home language. Even though only Tamil has official status, there have been no attempts to discourage the use or spread of other Indian languages.

Education

Education for primary, secondary, and tertiary levels is mostly supported by the state. All institutions, private and public, must be registered with the Ministry of Education. English is the language of instruction in all public schools and all subjects are taught and examined in English except for the "Mother Tongue" language paper. While "Mother Tongue" generally refers to the first language internationally, in Singapore's education system it is used to refer to the second language as English is the first language. Students who have been abroad for a while or who struggle with their "Mother Tongue" language are allowed to take a simpler syllabus or drop the subject.

Education takes place in three stages: "Primary education", "Secondary education", and "Pre-university education", of which only the Primary level is compulsory. Students begin with six years of primary school, which is made up of a four-year foundation course and a two-year orientation stage. The curriculum is focused on the development of English, the mother tongue, and maths. There are four standard subjects taught to all students: English, the mother tongue, mathematics, and science. Secondary school lasts from four to five years, and is divided between "Special", "Express", "Normal (Academic)", and "Normal (Technical)" streams within each school, depending on a student's ability level. The basic coursework breakdown is the same as in the primary level, although classes are much more specialised. Pre-university education takes place over two to three years at senior schools mostly called Junior Colleges. Some schools have a degree of freedom in their curriculum, and are known as autonomous schools. These exist from the secondary education level.

{{bar box |title=Educational attainment of non-student Singaporeans aged above 15yo in 2005 |titlebar=#ddd |width=350px |left1=Highest qualification |right1=Percentage |float=right |bars= }}

National examinations are standardised across all schools, with a test taken after each stage of school. After the first six years of education, students take the Primary School Leaving Examination, which determines their placement at secondary school. At the end of the secondary stage, GCE 'O' Level exams are taken; at the end of the following pre-university stage, the GCE 'A' Level exams are taken. Of all non-student Singaporeans aged 15 and above, 18% have no educational qualifications at all while 45% have the Primary School Leaving Examination as their highest qualification. 15% have the GCE 'O' Level as their highest qualification and 13% have a degree.

Health

Singapore has one of the most efficient healthcare systems in the world, even with a health expenditure relatively low for developed countries. Life expectancy in Singapore is 79 for males and 83 for females, and almost the whole population has access to improved water and sanitation facilities. There are fewer than 10 annual deaths from HIV per 100,000 people. There is a high level of immunisation. Adult obesity is below 10%.

The government's healthcare system is based upon the "3M" framework. This has three components: Medifund, which provides a safety net for those who could not otherwise afford healthcare, Medisave, a compulsory health savings scheme covering about 85% of the population, and Medishield, a government-funded health insurance scheme. Public hospitals in Singapore have autonomy in their management decisions, and compete for patients. A subsidy scheme exists for those on low income. In 2008, 31.9% of healthcare was funded by the government. It accounts for approximately 3.5% of Singapore's GDP.

Culture

Racial and religious harmony is regarded by the government as a crucial part of Singapore's success and played a part in building a Singaporean identity. Due to the many races and cultures in the country, there is no single set of culturally acceptable behaviours. The country is generally conservative socially but some liberalisation has occurred. Foreigners also make up 42% of the population and have a strong influence on Singaporean culture. A.T. Kearney named Singapore the most globalised country in the world in 2006 in its Globalization Index. The Economist Intelligence Unit in its "Quality-of-Life Index" ranks Singapore as having the best quality of life in Asia and eleventh overall in the world. The Singapore dream is often satirically and light-heartedly portrayed as the "5 Cs" of Singapore – cash, credit cards, car, condominium and country club membership.

Cuisine

Dining, along with shopping, is said to be the country's national pastime. The diversity of food is touted as a reason to visit the country, and the variety of food representing different ethnicities is seen by the government as a symbol of its multiculturalism. The "national fruit" of Singapore is the Durian In popular culture, food items belong to a particular ethnicity, with Chinese, Indian, and Malay food clearly defined. The diversity of cuisine has been increased further by the "hybridization" of different styles, e.g. the Peranakan style, a mix of Chinese and Malay cuisine.

Arts

Since the 1990s, the government has been promoting Singapore as a centre for arts and culture, in particular the performing arts, and to transform the country into a cosmopolitan 'gateway between the East and West'. One highlight was the construction of Esplanade, a performing arts centre opened in October 2002. The annual Singapore Arts Festival is organised by the National Arts Council. The stand-up comedy scene has been growing, with a weekly open mic. Singapore hosted the 2009 Genee International Ballet Competition, a classical ballet competition promoted by London's Royal Academy of Dance.

Sport and recreation

Popular sports include football, basketball, cricket, swimming, sailing, table tennis and badminton. Most Singaporeans live in public residential areas near amenities such as public swimming pools, outdoor basketball courts and indoor sport complexes. Water sports are popular, including sailing, kayaking and water skiing. Scuba diving is another popular recreational sport. The Southern island of Pulau Hantu, particularly, is known for its rich coral reefs.

Singapore's football (soccer) league, the S-League, formed in 1994, currently comprises 12 clubs including foreign teams. The Singapore Slingers, formerly in the Australian National Basketball League, is one of the inaugural teams in the ASEAN Basketball League, founded in October 2009. Singapore began hosting a round of the Formula One World Championship in 2008. The race was staged at the Marina Bay Street Circuit and became the first night race on the F1 circuit and the first street circuit in Asia. Singapore won the bid to host the inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympics.

Media

Media in Singapore is tightly controlled, and strong action is taken against media that criticise government officials, thus promoting an atmosphere of self-censorship. Freedom of the press is limited and companies linked to the government control the domestic media. The state-owned MediaCorp operates most television channels and radio stations in Singapore. Singapore Press Holdings, a body with close links to the government, controls most of the newspaper industry. In 2010, Reporters Without Borders ranked Singapore 136 out of 178 in the Press Freedom Index.

The Media Development Authority regulates Singaporean media, claiming to balance the demand for choice and protection against offensive and harmful material. Private ownership of TV satellite dishes is banned. There are 3.4 million users of the internet in Singapore, one of the highest Internet penetration rates in the world. Although the government does not engage in widespread censoring of internet sites, a number of websites featuring pornography, violence, and incitement of racial or religious hatred are blocked, with the government maintaining a list of 100 permanently blocked websites. Government censorship policies have not hindered economic growth. In the 1990s the media sector grew 7.7%, and by 2001 produced $10 billion and contributed 1.56% of Singapore's GDP.

Transport

Singapore is a major international transportation hub in Asia, positioned on many sea and air trade routes. The Port of Singapore, managed by port operators PSA International and Jurong Port, was the world's second busiest port in 2005 in terms of shipping tonnage handled, at 1.15 billion gross tons, and in terms of containerised traffic, at 23.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). It is also the world's second busiest in terms of cargo tonnage, coming behind Shanghai with 423 million tons handled. In addition, the port is the world's busiest for transshipment traffic and the world's biggest ship refuelling centre.

Singapore is an aviation hub for the Southeast Asian region and a stopover on the Kangaroo route between Sydney and London. There are 8 total airports in the country, and Singapore Changi Airport hosts a network of 80 airlines connecting Singapore to 200 cities in 68 countries. It has been rated one of the best international airports by international travel magazines, including being rated as the world's best airport for the first time in 2006 by Skytrax. The national airline is Singapore Airlines.

The island has a road system covering which includes of expressways. The public road system is served by many bus services and a number of licensed taxi-operating companies, and thousands of people use these services every day. Since 1987, the heavy rail passenger Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) metro system has been in operation.

See also

Index of Singapore-related articles

International rankings of Singapore

Outline of Singapore

References

;Notes ;Bibliography

Lee Kuan Yew (2000). From Third World To First: The Singapore Story: 1965–2000. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-019776-5

External links

;Government

Singapore Government Directory Interactive

Singapore Government Online Portal

Gateway To All Government Services

Singapore National Service Portal

Singapore Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority

Singapore Department of Statistics Annual Data

Chief of State and Cabinet Members

Singapore Economic Development Board

;General information

Singapore from UCB Libraries GovPubs

Singapore Infomap

WikiSatellite view of Singapore at WikiMapia

Official Gateway To Singapore

, also as book Wikitravel Singapore: The free, complete, up-to-date and reliable guide to Singapore, ISBN 1229217831

:*This article incorporates public domain text from the websites of the Singapore Department of Statistics, the United States Department of State, the United States Library of Congress and the CIA World Factbook.

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Coordinates	45°30′″N73°40′″N
Name	National University of Singapore
Image name	NUS coat of arms.png
Logo
Motto	Towards a Global Knowledge Enterprise
Type	Autonomous
Established
Chancellor	President S. R. Nathan
President	Professor Tan Chorh Chuan
City	Singapore
Country	Singapore
Colors	Orange, Blue and White
Undergrad	26,418
Postgrad	10,548
Faculty	2,402
Endowment	S$1.688 billion
Affiliations	APRU, Universitas 21, IARU, GEM4, ACU, ASAIHL, AUN, NUS High School of Mathematics and Science
Website
Coor	}}

The National University of Singapore (Abbreviation: NUS; ; ; Abbreviated 国大; ) is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered.

The university's main campus is located in southwest Singapore at Kent Ridge, with an area of approximately 1.5 km² (0.6 square miles). The Bukit Timah campus houses the law faculty, while the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore is located at the Outram campus.

The former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has recently named NUS as the headquarters of his Asian Faith and Globalization Initiative together with Durham University in the UK and Yale University in the USA to deliver an exclusive programme in partnership with Tony Blair Faith Foundation.

The university is considered to be one of the most prestigious universities in Asia. In 2010, the Times Higher Education ranked the university the 34th in the world and 4th in Asia.

History

! Evolution of the University of Malaya

Beginnings

In September 1904, Tan Jiak Kim led a group of representatives of the Chinese and other non-European communities, and petitioned the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir John Anderson, to establish a medical school in Singapore. Tan, who was the first president of the Straits Chinese British Association, managed to raise $87,077, of which the largest amount of $12,000 came from himself. On 3 July 1905, the medical school was founded, and was known as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School. The medical library was first housed in the students' reading room within the school, converted from the vacant old female lunatic asylum in Sepoy Lines.

In 1912, the medical school received an endowment of $120,000 from the King Edward VII Memorial Fund, started by Dr Lim Boon Keng. Subsequently on 18 November 1913, the name of the school was changed to the King Edward VII Medical School. In 1921, it was again changed to the King Edward VII College of Medicine to reflect its academic status.

In 1928, Raffles College was established to promote arts and social sciences at tertiary level for Malayan students.

Establishment of the university

Two decades later, Raffles College was merged with the King Edward VII College of Medicine to form the University of Malaya on 8 October 1949. The two institutions were merged to provide for the higher education needs of the Federation of Malaya and Singapore.

The growth of UM was very rapid during the first decade of its establishment and resulted in the setting up of two autonomous divisions in 1959, one located in Singapore and the other in Kuala Lumpur.

In 1960, the governments of then Federation of Malaya and Singapore indicated their desire to change the status of the divisions into that of a national university. Legislation was passed in 1961 establishing the former Kuala Lumpur division as the University of Malaya while the Singapore division was renamed the University of Singapore on 1 January 1962.

Present form

The National University of Singapore was formed with the merger of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University in 1980. This was done in part due to the government's desire to pool the two institutions' resources into a single, stronger entity, and promote English as Singapore's only main language. A new Coat of Arms was adopted by the University. The design incorporated symbols from the crests of both University of Singapore and Nanyang University.

Today, the National University of Singapore has 15 faculties and schools across three campus locations in Singapore – Kent Ridge, Bukit Timah and Outram – providing a broad-based curriculum underscored by multi-disciplinary courses and cross-faculty enrichment.

Education

NUS has a semester-based modular system for conducting courses. It adopts features of the British system, such as small group teaching (tutorials) and the American system (course credits). Students may transfer between courses within their first two semesters, enroll in cross-faculty modules or take up electives from different faculties (compulsory for most degrees). Other cross-disciplinary initiatives study programmes include double-degree undergraduate degrees in Arts & Social Sciences and Engineering; Arts & Social Sciences and Law; Business and Engineering; and Business and Law.

NUS has 15 faculties and schools, including a music conservatory. Currently, it has seven overseas colleges at major entrepreneurial hubs in Shanghai and Beijing (China), Israel, India, Stockholm (Sweden), Silicon Valley and Bio Valley (US).

Faculties/Schools

Arts and Social Sciences

thumb|150px|right|Faculty of Arts and Social SciencesFASS majors are broken into four categories (1) Asian Studies (2) Humanities (3) Social Sciences and (4) Cross-Departmental.

Asian Studies carry a range of majors including

Chinese Language

Chinese Studies

Japanese Studies

Malay Studies

South Asian Studies

Southeast Asian Studies;

Humanities majors are

English Language

English Literature

History

Philosophy

Theatre Studies;

Social Sciences varies from

Communications & New Media

Economics

Geography

Political Science

Psychology

Social Work

Sociology;

European Studies is currently the only cross-departmental subject available.

The faculty also offers Minor programmes (for both FASS and non-FASS undergraduates) in China Studies, Cultural Studies, Economics, English Studies, Gender Studies, Geographical Information System (GIS), Religious Studies, Science/Technology and Society and Urban Studies. The Centre for Language Studies, which is part of FASS, offers introductory, intermediate and advanced courses on the Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Thai and Vietnamese languages. Graduate academic programmes are offered by all departments.

Business School

NUS Business School was founded as the Department of Business Administration in 1965. It has six departments: Accounting, Business Policy, Decision Sciences, Finance, Management and Organization, and Marketing. Collectively, the departments offer classes in the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Bachelor of Business Administration (Accountancy) [BBA(Acc)] Programmes.

Graduate programmes offered include the Master of Business Administration (MBA), International MBA (conducted jointly with Peking University), UCLA-NUS Executive MBA Programme, Asia-Pacific Executive MBA (English and Chinese), S3 Asia MBA (conducted jointly with Fudan University and Korea University), NUS-HEC Double Degree MBA (conducted jointly with HEC Paris) and concurrent Master of Science (Management) Programme. The School also offers a Doctor of Philosophy programme, which is a graduate programme by research.

Computing

The School of Computing (SoC), established in 1998, offers six undergraduate degree programmes grounded in computer science fundamentals covering four main specialisations: Biology, Information Systems, Computer Science and Digital Media. Also offered are graduate degree programmes by coursework or research with greater intensity in focus within these areas of specialisations.

Dentistry

The Faculty of Dentistry had its early beginnings in 1929 as the first Dental School in the Far East set up by the British Government. The faculty conducts a four-year dental course leading to the Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree. The undergraduate programme comprises two pre-clinical (first two years) and two clinical years. Two types of graduate programmes are conducted: a research-based programme leading to the Master of Science (MSc) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD); and a clinical residency training programme leading to the Master of Dental Surgery (MDS).

Design and Environment

The School of Design and Environment (SDE) comprises three departments: Architecture, Building and Real Estate. Degree courses in building and estate management were first offered in 1969 in the then Department of Building and Estate Management. This was subsequently changed to the School of Building and Real Estate. In June 2000 the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Real Estate changed its name to the School of Design & Environment. As a result of this change, Building and Real Estate were established as separate departments.

SDE offers four undergraduate programmes: Bachelor of Arts (Architecture) (Hons), Bachelor of Arts (Industrial Design) (Hons), Bachelor of Science (Building) (Hons), and Bachelor of Science (Real Estate) (Hons). Graduate programmes offer specialisations in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Building, Building Science, Construction Law & Dispute Resolution, Estate Management, Environmental Management, Industrial Design, Project Management, Real Estate, and Urban Design.

Engineering

The Faculty of Engineering (FOE) was launched in 1968. It is the largest faculty in the university. FOE offers undergraduate and graduate degree programmes leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), Bachelor of Technology (Honours), Master of Engineering, Master of Science, NUS-UIUC Master of Science (Chemical Engineering), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

FOE consists of departments and divisions: Bioengineering; Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering; Civil Engineering; Electrical & Computer Engineering; Engineering Science Programme, Environmental Science & Engineering; Industrial & Systems Engineering; Materials Science & Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and division of Engineering and Technology Management.

Law

The law school was first established as a Department of Law in the then University of Malaya in 1956. The first law students were admitted to the Bukit Timah campus of the university the following year. In 1977, the faculty shifted to the Kent Ridge campus, but in 2006 it relocated back to the Bukit Timah site.

Apart from the traditional LLB which runs for four years, the law school also offers double honours degrees in Business Administration & Law, Economics & Law, Law & Life Sciences, and a concurrent degree program in Law & Public Policy. For graduate students, the law school offers seven coursework LLM specializations and a PhD program. The coursework LLM programs start in August and are completed the following May. Two of the coursework LLMs programs are partially taught in Singapore and partially taught outside of Singapore at a partner university. Students enrolled in the International Business Law LLM program spend seven months in Shanghai China studying on the campus of Eastern China University of Political Science and Law. Students enrolled in the NYU@NUS dual LLM program start in Singapore in May with the option of spending additional time in both Shanghai and New York. The law school also offers a four year LLB/LLM and a five year LLB/JD program with New York University.

Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine

The Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (杨璐琳医药学院) was first established as the Straits and Federated Malay States Government Medical School in 1905. The School comprises the department of Anaesthesia, Anatomy, Biochemistry, Community, Occupational & Family Medicine, Diagnostic Radiology, Medicine, Microbiology, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Paediatrics, Pathology, Pharmacology, Physiology, Psychological Medicine, and Surgery. The School uses the British undergraduate medical system, offering a full-time undergraduate programme leading to the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). For Nursing, the Bachelor of Science (Nursing) (conducted by the Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies) is offered. In 2011, the School is ranked as the top medical school in Asia and 18th in the world overall by the QS World University Rankings by Subject (Medicine).

Graduate programmes include:

Master of Medicine specialises in Anaesthesiology, Diagnostic Radiology, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Obestetrics & Gynaecology, Occupational Medicine, Ophthalomology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Otorhinolaryngology Paediatric Medicine, Psychiatry, Public Health, and Surgery. The MMed is often taken at the same time as the MRCP(UK), offered by the British Royal Colleges.

Research-oriented MSc or PhD degree programmes to train biomedical scientists

MBBS-PhD Programme to train medical-scientists for academia and industry

Part-time Graduate Diploma programmes in Dermatology, Family Medicine, Geriatric Medicine and Occupational Medicine

Master of Nursing

Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School

The Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore Duke-NUS is an innovative collaboration between Duke University in North Carolina, United States and the National University of Singapore. It accepts students who have a baccalaureate degree in any field other than medicine into its four-year Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) programme. Seventy percent of its student cohort receives some form of financial aid; the options available include tuition fee loans and needs-based and merit-based scholarships.

The school’s curriculum is based on that of Duke University’s School of Medicine: basic sciences (first year); clinical rotations (second year) and independent scholarship and research (third year). Upon successfully completing the course of study and fulfilling all requirements after their fourth year, students will be awarded a Joint Doctor of Medicine (M.D) degree from Duke University and the National University of Singapore.

Duke-NUS also offers an M.D./PhD programme for students who are committed to intensive research-oriented clinical practice careers. Students, who are admitted, will be offered a full scholarship for the PhD component as well as for the remaining tuition required to complete their M.D. training.

A five-year PhD degree study in Integrated Biology and Medicine, which incorporates key aspects of Duke and NUS graduate programmes, is also available for students wishing to develop a successful career in biomedical research.

Science

The Faculty of Science (FOS) comprises the departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Mathematics, Pharmacy, Physics, and Statistics & Applied Probability.

The faculty offers three undergraduate degree programmes:

Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Science (Honours) with majors in:

Applied Mathematics, Chemistry, Computational Biology, Life Sciences (with specialisation in Biology), Life Sciences (with specialisation in Biomedical Science), Life Sciences (with specialisation in Molecular and Cell Biology), Mathematics, Physics, Physics (with specialisation in Astrophysics), Physics (with specialisation in Physics in Technology),Quantitative Finance, Statistics, Statistics (with specialisation in Biostatistics), Statistics (with specialisation in Finance and Business Statistics).

Bachelor of Applied Science/Bachelor of Applied Science (Honours) with majors in: Applied Chemistry and Food Science & Technology

Bachelor of Science (Pharmacy)/Bachelor of Science (Pharmacy) (Honours)

The faculty also offers a spread of minors, multidisciplinary programmes and special programmes for the educational broadening and enhancement of the students.

Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy

The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) (李光耀公共政策学院) was formally established in 2004 as an autonomous graduate school of the National University of Singapore. Although the School was formally launched in 2004, it inherited NUS' Public Policy Programme, which was established in 1992 in partnership with Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

LKYSPP offers three master degree programmes:

Master in Public Policy

Master in Public Administration

Master in Public Management

NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering

NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering (NGS) offers the following programmes:

Master of Science (Bioengineering)

Doctor of Philosophy (Bioengineering)

Doctor of Philosophy (Integrative Sciences & Engineering)

Students admitted to NGS will be offered either the A*STAR Graduate Scholarship or NGS Scholarship.

The Graduate Programme in Bioengineering (GPBE) is also under the aegis of NGS. GPBE is a joint initiative by the faculties of Engineering Medicine, Dentistry and Science to foster interdisciplinary opportunities in bioengineering research, leading to M.Eng., M.S. and Ph.D degrees.

University Scholars Programme

The University Scholars Programme (USP) aims to develop the intellectual, leadership, and personal potential of promising students. Students in the Programme graduate with an honours degree from their faculty if they meet the minimum requirements by the home department or school and a certificate that recognizes them as University Scholars having participated in the programme. USP students are scholars in the sense that they love learning, and though many may also be awarded financial aid in the form of scholarships or studentships.

USP modules are offered to USP students through a first-tier curriculum and advanced curriculum which make up 30% of their entire course work. A typical class in USP will consist of students from different faculties (ranging from Engineering to Arts) and different academic years (Year 1 to Year 4) in a seminar-like style to encourage students' participation. USP modules focus on critical thinking, analysis and interdisciplinary thought. The programme emphasizes students' ability to communicate and, through analysis, make connections across diverse fields.

Entry to the programme is highly competitive. University Scholars Programme students pay the same fees and receive the same subsidy from the Ministry of Education as non-USP NUS students do.

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music

The Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YSTCM) (杨秀桃音乐学院) is a collaboration between NUS and the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. Singapore’s first conservatory of music, YSTCM was founded as the Singapore Conservatory of Music in 2001. The School was renamed Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in recognition of a gift from the family of the late Dr Yong Loo Lin in memory of his daughter.

The Conservatory presently offers a Bachelor of Music (Honours) degree, with majors in Performance (Piano and Orchestral Instruments) and Composition. This is a four-year full-time music degree programme with an emphasis on music performance and music academics.

Residential Colleges

Tembusu College

Tembusu College is one of the first two Residential Colleges in University Town, a new extension to the main NUS campus at Kent Ridge. Tembusu houses mainly undergraduates, in addition to resident faculty, distinguished visiting scholars, and a few graduate fellows. Freshmen (matriculating first-year students) enrolling in any NUS faculty or programme apply to the College at the same time they apply to NUS. Entry is competitive (an essay-based application followed by an interview) as only 200-230 students can be enrolled in any given year.

The College offers five multi-disciplinary modules fulfilling the "University-Level Requirements" (2 General Education modules, 2 Breadth modules, and 1 Singapore Studies module) which most NUS undergraduates must read to graduate. This constitutes 13-14% of the modules in a regular undergraduate honours programme of four years. Students read the rest of their modules in their home faculties. A University Town Residential Programme Certificate is issued to eligible students along with the regular degree scroll. Students from non-modular faculties (i.e. Law, Medicine, and Dentistry) also belong to the College, but with course-work tailored to their specific programmes. The Rector of Tembusu College is Singapore's Ambassador-at-Large and former U.N. Ambassador Prof. Tommy Koh, who is also the former Dean of the NUS Faculty of Law.

Teaching centres

Centre for English Language Communication

The Centre for English Language Communication (CELC) was established in 1979 as the English Language Proficiency Unit (ELPU). It is a non-faculty teaching department in the National University of Singapore. CELC's main aim are to:

increase the students' English proficiency;

develop the students' communication skills for academic and professional purposes;

provide training in English for specific purposes; and

research issues related to language teaching and learning.

Institute of Systems Science

A specialty training institute of NUS, the Institute of Systems Science (ISS) offers professional information technology continuing education to managers and IT practitioners. ISS is a life long learning centre for strategic IT management, software technology, and knowledge engineering. ISS offers postgraduate degree programs, professional development short courses and certification training programs such as the Certified Information Technology Project Manager (CITPM) course. ISS is also a research center in on-line education – its ISS Virtual Institute offers e-learning courses in IT Security and Object Oriented Analysis & Design.

NUS High School of Mathematics and Science

NUS High School of Mathematics and Science is a school specializing in math and science, and provides secondary and pre-tertiary education to many students with an inclination to these fields. Being an independent department of NUS, NUS High School students are instructed in the modular system, with a curriculum accredited by NUS, and have access to certain NUS resources. Also, all NUS High School students have the privilege of electing to read any NUS modules from three faculties: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Science before matriculation as long as they have the necessary foundation knowledge, as opposed to students of other secondary institutions who can only read one or two modules at best. The campus is also part of the NUS fibre optic network with an underground extension linking it to the main network.

Research

Strategic research initiatives to help the university achieve its goal of knowledge creation include:

Leveraging on available expertise to establish a base of research across a broad range of disciplines

Building peaks of research excellence

Growing global research links

Forging strong links between research and graduate education

Among the major research focuses at NUS are biomedical and life sciences, physical sciences, engineering, nanoscience and nanotechnology, materials science and engineering, infocommunication and infotechnology, humanities and social sciences, and defence-related research.

One of several niche research areas of strategic importance to Singapore being undertaken at NUS is bioengineering. Initiatives in this area include bioimaging, tissue engineering and tissue modulation. Another new field which holds much promise is nanoscience and nanotechnology. Apart from higher-performance but lower-maintenance materials for manufacturing, defence, transportation, space and environmental applications, this field also heralds the development of accelerated biotechnical applications in medicine, health care and agriculture.

Research institutes/centres

The university’s research centres include:

13 national research institutes with which NUS has a close affiliation for niche research in areas of strategic importance to Singapore such as bioengineering, microelectronics and molecular & cell biology;

12 university-level research institutes/centres in various fields ranging from research on Asia, international law, mathematical sciences, nanotechnology, risk management, synchrotron radiation, satellite remote sensing to marine science; and

80 faculty-based research institutes/centres engaged in research ranging from applied & policy economics to electronic commerce to tissue engineering.

Major research facilities

Bioengineering and Nanobioengineering Corridor

Compact Range to measure antenna radiation patterns

Cyberart Studio

Grid Innovation Zone (GIZ@NUS) and TeraScale Campus Grid (TCG@NUS) to harness grid computing power

NUS Hollywood Lab

Proton beam writer

Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research

Remote sensing satellite ground station (CRISP)

SONDRA (Supelec, Onera, NUS, DSTA Research Alliance) laboratory in Paris

Structural Biology Research Corridor

Synchrotron Light Source

Xiada-NUS Joint Life Science Laboratory in Xiamen

World Rankings

qs w	31
qs n	1
qs asian university rankings w	1
thes w	34
arwu w	101-150 }}

NUS is consistently ranked amongst the best universities in Asia and the world. In 2010 the QS World University Rankings ranked NUS 31st in the world. It was ranked the 3rd Asian University by the QS Asian University Rankings for 2010, which employs a different methodology from their global rankings.

The 2010-11 Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked NUS 34th in the world, and the 4th in Asia.

The Academic Ranking of World Universities places NUS in the 101-150 positions for their 2010 tables. NUS was ranked 10-18 in the Asia/Pacific region by ARWU.

In their 2011 rankings, the Financial Times places NUS School of Business at 23rd in their global MBA ranking tables.

Globalisation

Global classroom

NUS uses technology to link up campuses on different continents. An example is the Singapore-MIT Alliance which utilises Internet 2 technology to bring students from Singapore and MIT together in one virtual classroom for lectures and interactions via videoconferencing.

Other initiatives implemented includes Integrated Virtual Learning Environment, which is used for IT-based teaching and learning resources. A secure Plug-and-Play environment provides wireless connectivity to the university’s computer network and the Internet on campus.

Global networking

NUS was elected by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) in 2002 to chair and act as secretariat for the consortium of 36 leading research universities around the Pacific Rim. NUS no longer chairs the association but the APRU Secretariat continues to be based at NUS. APRU’s aim is to foster cooperation in teaching and research among members as well as to help them contribute to the economic, scientific and cultural development of their countries.

Other international academic networks in which the university plays an active role include:

International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU )

Global Enterprise for Micro-Mechanics & Molecular Medicine (GEM4)

Universitas 21

Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore University Alliance (S³UA )

ASEAN University Network (AUN )

Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)

Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning (ASAIHL)

International teaching and research partners

NUS has several formalized teaching and research collaborations:

California Institute of Technology Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship

Cornell University School of Hotel Administration

Deltares and Delft University of Technology in the Singapore Delft Alliance (SDWA)

Duke University Medical Center of Duke University in the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore

Eindhoven University of Technology in the Centre for Design Technology

Georgia Institute of Technology in The Logistics Institute-Asia Pacific

John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy

Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Singapore-MIT Alliance and Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART)

Naval Postgraduate School in the Temasek Defence Systems Institute

Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University, in the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music

Technical University of Munich in the German Institute of Science and Technology

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill College of Arts and Sciences in the UNC-NUS Joint Degree Program.

Other partners include the Australian National University; Anderson School, University of California, Los Angeles; East China University of Politics and Law; Grande Ecoles; George Washington University; Indian Institutes of Technology, Bombay; University of Heidelberg, Germany; Karolinska Institutet, Sweden; King's College London; McGill University, Lomonosov Moscow State University; New York University; Peking University; Supélec, France; Tsinghua University; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; University of Nottingham; and Switzerland’s Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, University of Basel and Swiss Tropical Institute.

Campus facilities and resources

IT and computing services

The IT facilities and network are generally provided by its central IT department, Computer Centre. The university’s optical fibre network is one of the largest campus networks in the Asia Pacific region. NUSNET is used in research, teaching, learning and administration. In 2004, a campus-wide grid computing network based on UD Grid MP was deployed, connecting at least 1,000 computers. This becomes one of the largest such virtual supercomputing facilities in the region.

Library services

The NUS Libraries comprises 7 libraries, namely, the Central Library, the Chinese Library, the CJ Koh Law Library, the Hon Sui Sen Memorial Library, the Medical Library, the Music Library, and the Science Library. Its primary clients are the NUS and NUS-affiliated research institutes, students, teaching, research and administrative staff members, as well as a sizeable group of external members. Its collection encompasses subjects in architecture, building and real estate, business, dentistry, engineering, computer science, the humanities and social sciences, law, medicine, music, nursing and science. As of June 2008, there are over 1.4 million print titles, 43,000 electronic titles, 32,000 media programmes and 26,000 microform resources in the collection. The Library Portal, a one-stop gateway, offers the university community 24-hour access via the Internet to a rich array of electronic collection and services provided by the NUS Libraries. Besides the rich resources, the NUS Libraries provide an environment conducive for individual research and spaces for group interaction and learning.

Support for development of teaching and learning

Enhancement of the quality of teaching and learning at NUS comes mainly under the purview of the Centre for Development of Teaching and Learning (CDTL) and the Centre for Instructional Technology (CIT).

CDTL facilitates reflection among faculty on concepts of teaching, learning and university education, and teaching practices that are consistent with these concepts. In addition to conducting research on educational philosophy, pedagogical theory and educational practices, CDTL helps the NUS administration to formulate educational policies for matters such as teacher appraisal, peer review, selection of outstanding educators, student feedback and assessment.

CIT, on the other hand, provides for the exploration, development and application of digital and audio-visual technologies to support and enhance teaching and learning. This is done through the NUS-developed Integrated Virtual Learning Environment and by developing new applications/services and incorporating multimedia content in courses for academia.

NUS University Town

In November, 2005, NUS announced plans to develop the "University Town" on a 190,000 m² site of the former Warren Golf Course, opposite the existing Kent Ridge Campus and NUS High School. Eight Residential Colleges, which will provide "rich educational experiences" and cultivate "deep social bonds" as well as two Graduate Residences will be built. In all, the NUS University Town will accommodate 6,000 students. A vehicular-cum-pedestrian bridge spanning over the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) will connect both campuses seamlessly. Construction began in 2007. The University Town construction was delayed due to the volatile construction environment of 2007, and thus will not be used as the Olympic Village for the Youth Olympics in 2010; much to the disappointment of the entire NUS community. The University Town is now scheduled to be completed in phases from 2011 to 2013.

Student accommodation

There are about 6,000 residential places distributed between Halls and Student Residences on campus. There is a free Internal Shuttle Bus Service that plies the entire campus seven days a week.

Rooms are furnished with beds, mattresses, wardrobes, study tables, bookshelves and fans. There is a very small number of air-conditioned single rooms with attached bathrooms. Points for telephone, cable television and the university's computer network are available in each room. The accommodation is divided into single room (single-occupancy) or double room (double-occupancy). Laundry rooms equipped with washing machines and coin-operated tumble dryers are located in each student accommodation.

Halls of residence

NUS has 6 Halls of Residence with about 3,000 residential places. The halls are situated in different parts of the campus and are well known for their vibrancy in Co-Curricular Activities (CCA), rich history and culture.

Each hall has a Senior Common Room Committee (SCRC) comprising the Resident Fellows (staff). Headed by a Hall Master, which is tasked to look after residents' well being. Residents are represented by elected student members to the Junior Common Room Committee (JCRC), which helps to promote the hall's social and cultural life.

The six Halls of Residence are:

Eusoff Hall (345 single rooms; 70 double rooms)

Kent Ridge Hall (507 single)

King Edward VII Hall (350 single; 60 double)

Raffles Hall (213 single; 128 double)

Sheares Hall (509 single)

Temasek Hall (345 single; 70 double)

Student residences

NUS also has 3 Student Residences with clusters of 11 to 15 single rooms with their own kitchen and bathroom facilities. Kitchen and dining areas are equipped with basic cooking appliances.

Each residence has a team of Resident Assistants (senior students) and Resident Advisors (either an academic or non-academic staff) to assist with any concerns that students may have. The 3 Student Residences are:

Kuok Foundation House (203 single rooms)

Prince George's Park Residences (2,854 single)

Ridge View Residences (593 single; 72 double)

List of principal officers

The following table is a list of the principal officers of the National University of Singapore's predecessors. Note that the office of the President of Raffles College was renamed Principal of Raffles College from 1938

1909–1918 1918–1929 1929–1941 1941–1945 1946–1947 1947–1949

Principals(King Edward VII Medical College)	Presidents and Principals *(Raffles College)
style="vertical-align:top; width:20%;"	Gerald Dudley Freer
Robert Donald Keith	|	James Watson (academic)>James Watson	1932–1934
George Hugh MacAlister	|	Frederick Joseph Morten	1935–1937
George V. Allen (academic)	George V. Allen	|	Alexander Keir	1937–1938
World War II	|	George McOwan	1938–1941
George V. Allen	|	Second World War	1941–1945
Desmond William George Faris	|	W. E. Dyer	1946–1948
rowspan="6" colspan="2"		George V. Allen

Notable alumni

Alumni from the King Edward VII College of Medicine/Raffles College era (1905 to 1949)

Goh Keng Swee - Former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore

Lee Kuan Yew - Founding Prime Minister of Singapore

Mahathir bin Mohamad - 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia

Benjamin Henry Sheares - 2nd President of Singapore

Toh Chin Chye - Former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore

Tun Abdul Razak - 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia

Alumni from the University of Malaya (Singapore) era (1949 to 1962)

Wang Gungwu - University Professor and Chairman of the East Asian Institute at NUS

Sellapan Ramanathan - President of Singapore and NUS Chancellor

Alumni from the University of Singapore era (1962 to 1980) Tony Tan Keng Yam - 7th President of Singapore. Chan Heng Chee - Professor of Political Science and Singapore's Ambassador to the United States Chew Choon Seng - CEO of Singapore Airlines Goh Choo San - Prominent chorographer involved with the Washington Ballet Janadas Devan - Journalist and Review Editor at The Straits Times S. Jayakumar - Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore Goh Chok Tong - Current Senior Minister of Singapore and former Prime Minister of Singapore Ho Ching - CEO of Temasek Holdings Yaacob Ibrahim - Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs in Singapore. Lin Hsin Hsin - Reputable artist and digital-media pioneer Kishore Mahbubani - Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at NUS Ong Keng Yong - Former Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Balaji Sadasivan - Neurosurgeon and Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in Singapore Tan Choo Leng - Wife of Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and former patron of the National Kidney Foundation in Singapore Abdullah Tarmugi - Speaker of Parliament in Singapore and former Minister in the Singapore Government. Wong Kan Seng - Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore Arthur Yap - Prominent poet and linguist Philip Yeo - Former Chairman of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore The National University of Singapore era (1980 - ) Walter Woon - Attorney-General of Singapore Ng Eng Hen - Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Defence in Singapore Teck-Hua Ho - William Halford Jr. Family Professor of Marketing at University of California, Berkeley K Shanmugam - Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs Davinder Singh - Senior Counsel and CEO of Drew & Napier Vivian Balakrishnan - Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports in Singapore. Sha'ari Tadin - Former Senior Parliamentary Secretary and first Malay graduate PAP Member of Parliament, Singapore Low Thia Khiang - Secretary-General of the Workers' Party of Singapore and Member of Parliament in Singapore for Hougang constituency Olivia Lum - Entrepreneur, founder & CEO of Hyflux Group Sylvia Lim - Chairman of the Workers' Party of Singapore, law lecturer and Manager of Continuing Education and Training at Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore Steve Chia - Secretary-General of the National Solidarity Party and former Non-constituency Member of Parliament (2002 to 2006) Alex Au - Independent writer who publishes articles on the Internet under the moniker "Yawningbread" and prominent gay-rights activist James Gomez - Second Assistant Secretary-General of the Workers' Party of Singapore and Programme Officer of the Political Parties Programme at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) Genevieve Woo - Television news and current affairs presenter with Singapore-based regional news network Channel NewsAsia Jeanette Aw - Actress Roger Tan - senior Malaysian lawyer and former member of Bar Council Stella (singer) Tan Cheng Han - Current Dean of NUS law school Robert See-Hoong Tan - Prominent Geriatrician, Author, Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Texas(Houston) Kaira Gong - Singer Shi Xin Hui - Singer Dr Faisal Manzoor Arain, Chair, Construction Project Management Department, SAIT Polytechnic, Calgary, Canada Justice Andrew Phang - Judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Singapore Liang Wern Fook - Singaporean Writer and Musician

See also

National University Hospital

NUS High School of Mathematics and Science

Nanyang Technological University

Singapore Institute of Technology

Singapore University of Technology and Design

Singapore Management University

List of universities in Singapore

References

External links

National University of Singapore official site

National University of Singapore NUScast YouTube channel

Singapore, National University of Category:Universities in Singapore * Category:Statutory boards of the Singapore Government Category:Tanglin Category:Queenstown, Singapore Category:ASEAN University Network Category:National universities Category:Architecture schools Category:Association of Commonwealth Universities

ar:جامعة سنغافورة الوطنية bn:ন্যাশনাল ইউনিভার্সিটি অফ সিঙ্গাপুর de:Nationaluniversität Singapur es:Universidad Nacional de Singapur fr:Université nationale de Singapour ko:싱가포르 국립 대학교 id:Universitas Nasional Singapura ms:National University of Singapore nl:Nationale Universiteit van Singapore ja:シンガポール国立大学 pl:Narodowy Uniwersytet Singapuru pt:Universidade Nacional de Singapura ru:Национальный университет Сингапура fi:National University of Singapore ta:சிங்கப்பூர் தேசியப் பல்கலைக்கழகம் vi:Đại học Quốc gia Singapore zh:新加坡国立大学

A national university is generally a university created or run by a government, but which at the same time operates autonomously without direct oversight or control by the state. Some national universities are closely associated with national cultural or political aspirations. For example, the National University of Ireland in the early days of Irish independence collected a large amount of information on the Irish language and Irish culture. In Argentina, the national universities are the result of the 1918 Argentine university revolution and its subsequent reforms, which sought a more equal and secular higher education system without clerical or government influence by bestowing self government on the institutions.

List of national universities

Argentina

See List of universities in Argentina.

Australia

Australian National University

Bangladesh

Bangladesh National University

University of Dhaka

Belize

University of Belize

Cambodia

Royal University of Phnom Penh

Canada

Royal Military College of Canada

Sri Lanka

University of Ceylon

Chile

University of Chile

Colombia

National University of Colombia

Costa Rica

University of Costa Rica

Equatorial Guinea

National University of Equatorial Guinea

Guyana

University of Guyana

India

Indira Gandhi National Open University

Banaras Hindu University

University of Delhi

Tezpur University

University of Hyderabad

Indonesia

Syiah Kuala University

University of North Sumatra

Andalas University

Riau University

Jambi University

University of Bengkulu

Srivijaya University

Bangka Belitung University

Lampung University

Sultan Agung Tirtayasa University

University of Indonesia

Jakarta Islamic State University

Bogor Agricultural University

Bandung Institute of Technology

Padjadjaran University

Gadjah Mada University

Indonesia Institute of Arts, Yogyakarta official site

Diponegoro University

Sebelas Maret University official site

Indonesia Institute of Arts, Surakarta official site

Airlangga University

Brawijaya University

Jember University

Udayana University official site

Indonesia Institute of Arts, Denpasar official site

University of Mataram

University of Nusa Cendana

Sam Ratulangi University

Ireland

National University of Ireland

Japan

see Japanese national university (87 schools)

Lesotho

National University of Lesotho

Malaysia

University of Malaya

National University of Malaysia

Mongolia

National University of Mongolia

Mexico

National Autonomous University of Mexico

Panama

Universidad Nacional de Panama

Paraguay

Universidad Nacional de Asuncion

Universidad Nacional de Concepción

Universidad Nacional del Este

Universidad Nacional de Itapúa

Universidad Nacional de Pilar

Universidad Nacional de Villarrica

Peru

National University of San Marcos

Philippines

University of the Philippines

* UP Diliman, flagship

* UP Baguio

* UP Cebu

* UP Los Baños

* UP Manila

* UP Mindanao

* UP Open University

* UP Visayas

Puerto Rico

University of Puerto Rico

Saudi Arabia

King Saud University

Singapore

National University of Singapore

Nanyang Technological University

Somalia

Somali National University

South Korea

Korea National University of Arts

Seoul National University

Pusan National University

Kyungpook National University

Jeonnam National University

Chungnam National University

Chonbuk National University

Chungbuk National University

Gyeongsang National University

Kangwon National University

Jeju National University

KAIST

Sri Lanka

University of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology

Switzerland

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

ETH Zurich

Taiwan

National Central University

National Cheng Kung University

National Chi Nan University

National Chiao Tung University

National Chung Cheng University

National Chung Hsing University

National Formosa University

National Ilan University

National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology

National Kaohsiung Marine University

National Kaohsiung Normal University

National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences

National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism

National Kinmen Institute of Technology

National Penghu University

National Pingtung University of Education

National Sun Yat-sen University

National Taichung University

National Taiwan University

National Taiwan Ocean University

National Taiwan University of Arts

National Tsing Hua University

National University of Kaohsiung

National Yang Ming University

National Yunlin University of Science and Technology

Ukraine

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

National Technical University of Ukraine

National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy

Dnipropetrovsk National University

United Kingdom

Wales

University of Wales

Vietnam

Vietnam National University, Hanoi

Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City

References

See also

Polytechnics

Public university

University Revolution

Category:Academic institutions Category:Academic organizations Category:Lists by country Category:Lists of universities and colleges Category:Types of university or college Category:Universities and colleges Category:Universities and colleges by type

ar:جامعة حكومية ko:국립 대학 ja:国立大学 uk:Державний університет zh:國立大學