NUS MBA Program: Complete Overview

NUS Rankings and Reputation

NUS, the National University of Singapore, holds a strong position in international university rankings. It is ranked 11th in the world according to the World University Rankings, showcasing its academic excellence and global reputation. Additionally, Forbes has recognized NUS Business School as the 6th best international business school.

The high ranking of NUS reflects its commitment to providing top-quality education, research, and global opportunities for students. The university’s diverse and talented faculty and innovative programs contribute to its outstanding reputation in the academic community.

NUS Business School’s notable ranking in Forbes emphasizes its exceptional contributions to business education, preparing students for success in the global business landscape. The school’s strong network, extensive resources, and focus on practical learning are instrumental in nurturing future business leaders.

These rankings testify to NUS’s dedication to excellence in education and its consistent pursuit of academic and professional growth. As a result, NUS continues to attract students and professionals worldwide seeking a world-class education and a transformative learning experience.

By choosing NUS, students can access many opportunities, develop valuable skills, and be part of a vibrant academic community that nurtures their aspirations and equips them for a successful future in their chosen fields.

NUS MBA Curriculum

Core Courses

The NUS MBA curriculum is structured into two parts: the Academic Core and the Experiential Core. The Academic Core courses provide the general management knowledge and concepts required to succeed in an increasingly complex global business environment, while the Experiential Core courses expose students to the challenges business leaders face every day and take them beyond the classroom.

Academic Core Courses

• Corporate Strategy: This course deals with major techniques and approaches to the development and implementation of strategy for firms competing domestically and internationally. The class will explore the underlying concepts, analytical techniques, and evaluation of strategic options that form the basis for strategic analysis and action.

• Financial Management: This course aims to provide a strong conceptual foundation for finance and will address different social entities that leaders encounter. It offers an extensive examination of leadership in and outside organizations.

• Financial Accounting: This course stresses the theory of accounts, generally accepted accounting principles, and the interpretation of financial statements. The perspective of the course is that of managers and investors as knowledgeable users of accounting information.

• Managerial Economics: The objective of this course is to provide a rigorous foundation in economic theory for analyzing the key managerial decision problems of firms and other economic organizations. The course develops the analytic tools of microeconomic theory for modeling the economic behavior of economic agents and the functioning of markets.

• Marketing Management: This introductory course aims to impart marketing concepts and tools that may be applied to solve various problems in marketing strategy. It also provides an Asian perspective to the marketing strategy process.

• Managerial Operations & Analytics: This course aims to equip students with an understanding of the processes of a firm in order to assess its operations thoughtfully, identify root causes of operational failure, and develop recommendations using analytics as a means of structured decision-making, with the ultimate goal of achieving impactful and sustainable operational improvement.

• Leading with Impact: This course combines self-awareness and building tools and techniques to leverage authority and power that are critical to be successful as leaders. Discussions of different elements of leadership and a focus on becoming self-aware and recognizing the challenges to leading others will be included.

Experiential Core Courses

• Launch Your Transformation: This high-energy, high-impact, intensive 5-day boot camp aims to master the power of influencing others to become a better leader. Through facilitated role-playing exercises, students will receive instant, constructive feedback and emerge with stronger communication and influencing skills that they can apply across a range of personal and professional situations.

• MBA Survival Kit: This course teaches students to work effectively in teams and manage business across cultures. The MBA Survival Kit will empower students with a set of critical skills that will help them to excel in the MBA and beyond. It includes applying hypotheses-led thinking to project planning, structuring and presenting a value creation model, problem-solving, gap analysis, and crafting a value proposition.

• MBA Consulting Project: In this course, students will apply what they have learned to solve a business problem or tap into growth opportunities. Working in small teams and closely with key business stakeholders, students will research and analyze issues and recommend a comprehensive, in-depth, strategic business plan that incorporates financial, marketing, operational, and strategic recommendations. This intensive, hands-on course takes place over 3-4 months (a total of 130 hours), and has offered over 300 projects across 12 different industries with more than 150 companies in sectors including Fintech, Banking & Finance, Consulting & Professional Services, Technology, Hospitality & Tourism, Industrial Engineering/Manufacturing, FMCG, and Retail.

Electives

Apart from the mandatory core courses, students are offered a variety of elective courses to select from, which helps them focus on a specific field of their interest. The elective courses offered under NUS MBA are segregated into two categories – Academic Electives and Experiential Electives. Let’s take a closer look at it.

Academic Electives

The Academic Electives are designed to provide students with a solid grounding in the key skills and knowledge needed to succeed in their chosen field. These courses cover a wide range of topics, from analytics and operations to innovation and entrepreneurship, and are taught by experienced faculty members who are experts in their respective fields. Given below is the list of academic electives offered to the prospective students:

1. Analytics and Operations

2. Consulting

3. Digital Business

4. Finance (Check the complete of NUS elective on offi

5. Innovation and Entrepreneurship

6. Marketing

7. Strategy and Organisation

The Academic Electives at NUS offer students a comprehensive set of courses to develop essential skills and knowledge in their chosen field. Taught by experienced faculty members, these electives cover diverse subjects such as analytics and operations, consulting, digital business, finance, innovation and entrepreneurship, marketing, and strategy and organization.

For a comprehensive and detailed list of the academic electives offered in each case, we encourage students to refer to the official website of NUS.

Experiential Electives

1. Enterprise Development

By finding new goods and services in a variety of marketplaces, enterprise development keeps you competitive and introduces value creation in a business environment.

Students will learn about strategies and frameworks for market validation, business model innovation, technology and product commercialization, and more as part of this course, which gives them the opportunity to directly connect with current businesses and gain firsthand experience with the innovation process.

2. Frugal Innovation

When it comes to generating usable solutions with social impact, Frugal Innovation focuses on adopting “out-of-the-box” ways for cross-disciplinary teams to produce more value with less.

The course examines the process of creating cost-effective solutions for start-ups, social businesses, and corporations of all sizes. It also offers a distinctive action-learning opportunity where you get to work on finding answers for pre-selected problems in developing markets.

3. TechLaunch

TechLaunch teaches you how to maximize value creation from cutting-edge concepts and technologies while honing your leadership and managerial abilities. To perform market research and make a final presentation to a panel of business owners, industry professionals, investors, and university personnel, you will work in teams.

This course will cover the various social elements that leaders deal with and will provide a thorough analysis of leadership both inside and outside of organizations. It seeks to offer a collection of encounters intended to raise your level of self-awareness and leadership potential.

4. Singapore Biodesign Fellowship

For unmet clinical needs in Asia, the Singapore Biodesign Fellowship focuses on the creation of novel medical device innovations. With access to training and mentorship in Singapore and Stanford University, this 10-month intensive training program covers every step of the value chain for new medical technology.

This course will cover the various social elements that leaders deal with and will provide a thorough analysis of leadership both inside and outside of organizations. It seeks to offer a collection of encounters intended to raise your level of self-awareness and leadership potential.

5. NUS Overseas College (NOC)

NOC offers a chance for those who are highly determined to start their own business. Through a rigorous 6-month internship immersion with start-ups in diverse locations throughout the world, including Beijing, Israel, Munich, Nagoya, South-east Asia, and Shenzhen, you may transform your thinking and uncover fascinating chances.

Please note that elective offerings are subject to change. We encourage you to visit the official website of NUS for an updated list of electives.

NUS MBA Specializations

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) offers specializations that allow you to focus on a specific subject area to hone your skills and knowledge in a particular field. By choosing a specialization that aligns with your career interests, you can build a depth of knowledge and acquire the necessary expertise to lead in a competitive market. The MBA specializations include Analytics & Operations, Consulting, Digital Business, Finance, Real Estate, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and Marketing, Strategy and Organization, and Healthcare Management. Let’s take a closer look at each of them.

1. Analytics and Operations

The Analytics & Operations specialization focuses on utilizing data to derive business insights, making strategic decisions, and implementing them effectively. This combination of analytics and operations is highly valued by global businesses. The specialization emphasizes structured analytics to interpret data for intelligent decision-making, while also emphasizing the execution and transformation of business processes. Understanding both analytics and operations is crucial as technology advances. The course also explores leadership in various social contexts, aiming to enhance self-awareness and leadership skills.

2. Consulting

The Consulting specialization focuses on the consulting industry in Singapore, which is a significant sector of the economy. The courses aim to provide an understanding of the industry, best practices in consulting, and the essential knowledge required to work as a consultant in the current business environment. The specialization also explores leadership within and outside organizations, offering experiences to enhance self-awareness and develop effective leadership skills.

3. Digital Business

The Digital Business specialization familiarizes students with artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, machine learning, and big data. It emphasizes the management and leadership of businesses in light of these technological advancements. The specialization prepares students to handle new start-ups and facilitate the transformation of traditional businesses to succeed in the digital age. Additionally, the course explores leadership in various contexts and aims to enhance self-awareness and develop effective leadership skills.

4. Finance

The Finance specialization delves into the key issues of the financial industry, including international financial management, private equity, venture capital pricing, portfolio management, wealth management, and valuation modeling. The specialization aims to equip students with strategic management skills to excel in the regional and international financial sectors. Additionally, the course explores leadership in various contexts, providing experiences to enhance self-awareness and develop effective leadership capabilities.

5. Real Estate

The Real Estate specialization is designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to apply real estate and business practices in an Asian context. It aims to cater to the needs of current and future real estate leaders and decision-makers by providing them with state-of-the-art knowledge in real estate, management, and leadership.

Key points of the Real Estate specialization include:

• Core MBA courses: The specialization includes 32 units of core MBA courses, which provide a solid foundation in general business principles.

• Core Real Estate courses: These courses focus specifically on real estate topics and are worth 4 units each. The core Real Estate courses include:

  • Real Estate Investment: Explores the principles and strategies of real estate investment.

  • Real Estate Economics: Covers the economic factors and principles that impact the real estate industry.

  • Portfolio and Asset Management: Focuses on managing real estate portfolios and assets effectively.

  • Real Estate Securitisation: Examines the process of transforming real estate assets into tradable securities.

• Real Estate electives: Students can choose from a range of elective courses, each worth 4 units. These electives offer specialized knowledge and cover various aspects of real estate. Some examples of elective courses are:

  • Urban Policy & Real Estate Markets: Explores the relationship between urban policy and real estate markets.

  • RE Investments Trust and Property Funds: Covers the functioning and management of real estate investment trusts and property funds.

  • Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Cartography: Focuses on the use of GIS and cartography in real estate analysis and decision-making.

  • Real Estate Taxes & Statutory Valuation: Examines the tax implications and statutory valuation methods in real estate.

  • Real Estate Appraisal: Covers the process of valuing real estate properties.

  • Real Estate Development: Explores the various stages and aspects of real estate development projects.

  • Real Estate Finance: Focuses on the financial aspects of real estate, including funding, investment analysis, and risk management.

  • Data Analytics in Real Estate: Explores the use of data analytics techniques to analyze and make informed decisions in real estate.

  • Sustainable Real Estate Development and Investment: Covers sustainable practices and considerations in real estate development and investment.

• MBA electives: In addition to the Real Estate courses, students have the opportunity to choose MBA electives, which further enhance their knowledge and skills in specific areas of interest.

• Total graduation requirement: The completion of the Real Estate specialization requires a total of 68 units.

Overall, the Real Estate specialization offers a comprehensive program that combines core business knowledge with specialized real estate expertise. It equips students with the necessary skills to excel in the real estate industry and make informed decisions in an ever-evolving business landscape.

6. Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The Innovation & Entrepreneurship specialization brings together academic expertise and industry experience to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of innovation and entrepreneurship. Led by a panel of faculty and industry veterans, the courses offer a balance of theoretical knowledge and practical insights. The specialization aims to foster entrepreneurial skills and engagement with start-ups, accelerators, and incubators. It equips students with the tools and concepts to develop groundbreaking technologies and ideas, while also immersing them in the entrepreneurial community.

Additionally, the course explores leadership in various contexts, addressing the social entities that leaders encounter. It offers an extensive examination of leadership both within and outside organizations, providing experiences that enhance self-awareness and develop effective leadership capabilities.

7. Marketing

The Marketing specialization offers students insights into various essential aspects of marketing. It covers topics such as market research and analysis, competitive analysis, consumer behavior, customer analysis, product management, brand management, advertising, and digital marketing. Pursuing an MBA in marketing provides opportunities to explore job roles in diverse sectors, including FMCG, consumer durables, services, and information technology.

Moreover, the course focuses on addressing the social entities that leaders encounter and provides a comprehensive examination of leadership within and outside organizations. It aims to enhance self-awareness and develop effective leadership skills through a range of experiential learning opportunities.

8. Strategy and Organization

The Strategy & Organization specialization delves into the strategic and behavioral challenges that businesses face today. It emphasizes the importance of understanding business efficiency and human behavior while fostering innovative thinking and problem-solving skills. The specialization covers topics related to streamlining business processes and human resource management. Additionally, students will gain knowledge and skills in formulating and implementing business strategies for organizations of all sizes.

The course also addresses the social entities that leaders encounter and provides an extensive examination of leadership within and outside organizations. It offers a range of experiences designed to enhance self-awareness and develop effective leadership capabilities.

9. Healthcare Management

The NUS MBA Specialisation in Healthcare Management, offered in collaboration with the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, is designed to equip healthcare administrators with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively lead in the dynamic healthcare sector. Here are the important points and explanations about the specialization:

• Offered in collaboration: The specialization is offered in partnership with the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, ensuring a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to healthcare management education.

• Imparts path-breaking insights: The program provides innovative and cutting-edge perspectives to address the challenges faced in the healthcare industry.

• Equips current healthcare administrators: The specialization is designed for healthcare administrators responsible for the delivery of healthcare services in both the public and private sectors.

• Up-to-date knowledge: It offers up-to-date knowledge on healthcare management, enabling administrators to tackle emerging challenges and implement effective strategies.

• Core Healthcare Management courses (4 Units each):

  • Health Economics & Financing: Focuses on the economic aspects of healthcare systems and financing mechanisms.

  • Management of Healthcare Organizations: Covers key management principles and strategies in healthcare organizations.

  • Implementing Public Health Programs and Policies: Explores the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health programs and policies.

  • Healthcare Operations & Performance: Addresses operational aspects and performance management in healthcare settings.

• Healthcare Management electives (4 Units each):

  • Public Health and Aging: Focuses on public health issues related to aging populations.

  • Medical & Humanitarian Emergencies: Covers the management of medical emergencies and humanitarian crises.

  • Design, Conduct, and Analysis of Clinical Trials: Examines the process and methodology of clinical trials.

  • Control of Communicable Diseases: Explores strategies for controlling and preventing communicable diseases.

  • Nutrition & Health – Fundamentals & Applications: Focuses on the role of nutrition in maintaining health.

  • Measuring & Managing Quality of Care: Covers quality measurement and management in healthcare settings.

• MBA electives: Students have the option to choose additional elective courses to further tailor their learning experience.

• Total graduation requirement: To complete the specialization, students must complete a total of 68 units, which includes the core MBA courses, core Healthcare Management courses, Healthcare Management electives, and MBA electives.

• Dual specialization option: Students interested in both Healthcare Management and Real Estate specializations can indicate their preference at the application stage, providing an opportunity to pursue a dual specialization.

Overall, the Healthcare Management specialization equips healthcare administrators with the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate the complexities of the healthcare sector and address emerging challenges in healthcare delivery.

NUS Double Degrees

Enrolling in the NUS double degree program opens up a world of opportunities and enhances the prestige of your educational journey. These programs, developed in collaboration with esteemed schools in Asia, Europe, and the US, allow you to earn two degrees, significantly expanding your career prospects. With NUS’ strong partnerships with renowned universities in China, France, and the USA, you can further enrich your education by pursuing an NUS MBA dual degree.

By undertaking an NUS double degree, you gain valuable knowledge and skills and distinguish yourself as a graduate of two prestigious institutions. This distinction sets you apart from others and adds a distinct advantage to your resume. Through NUS’ collaboration with the Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, Yale School of Management, or HEC Paris, you have the incredible opportunity to pursue your MBA internationally as part of the NUS double degree program.

For individuals interested in public policy or public administration, NUS offers a unique opportunity to pursue a double degree combining a full-time MBA with a Master’s degree at the esteemed Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. This combination allows you to delve deeper into these fields and acquire a comprehensive skill set that sets you apart in the job market.