NUS Acceptance Rate 2027-28: What NUS Actually Publishes

What Is the NUS Acceptance Rate?

National University of Singapore (NUS) has never released an official acceptance rate, not for undergrad, not for grad, not for any single program. That’s a deliberate institutional choice, not a data gap on our end. Every figure quoted online as “the NUS acceptance rate,” including the ones below, comes from third-party estimates built on enrolment trends and applicant volumes, not an NUS-published statistic.

For international applicants specifically, the estimate most consistently cited sits around 5 to 8 percent. You’ll also see a wider 5 to 10 percent figure quoted elsewhere. That wider version usually includes Singaporean citizens and PRs, who are admitted through a separate, higher-rate track. If you’re applying as an international student, 5 to 8 percent is the more relevant range to plan around.

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NUS currently ranks 10th globally and 1st in Asia in the QS World University Rankings 2027, released in June 2026, down two places from 8th the previous year. See exactly how NUS compares to other ranking bodies in one table.

Source: NUS Office of Admissions; QS World University Rankings 2027

Counselor Insight: Most Indian families fixate on the exact percentage, but the number itself doesn’t predict your result since NUS has never confirmed one. What actually predicts it is how closely your application matches what a specific faculty looks for, which is a very different exercise than clearing a cutoff.

If you’ve been told your Class 12 score alone decides this, it’s worth a reality check. Our counselors break down exactly where Indian applicants misjudge NUS admissions, and it’s usually not where you’d expect.

NUS Acceptance Rate for Undergraduate Programs 

The rate isn’t uniform across programs. Medicine sits in a category of its own, and Computer Science and Engineering aren’t far behind.

Source: NUS Office of Admissions; QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026

NUS Acceptance Rate for Master’s and Postgraduate Programs

NUS doesn’t publish a postgraduate acceptance rate either, and that covers MSc, MBA, research Master’s, and PhD alike. Any specific percentage you’ve seen quoted for “NUS Masters acceptance rate” is someone’s estimate, not an NUS number, and the estimates in circulation disagree with each other widely enough that none should be treated as reliable.

What actually decides your odds at the postgraduate level:

• Program size. Coursework Master’s in Computing and Business run larger cohorts than niche research tracks, though both stay oversubscribed by international applicants.
• Your profile against the program’s typical applicant. One applicant our counselors advised, with a 6.3 CGPA and two years of work experience, was below what NUS and NTU programs usually admit on paper. A strong GRE score and relevant work experience can still help offset a lower CGPA. Treat this as one real example, not a fixed cutoff.
• Your SOP. Mandatory for most Master’s and all PhD programs. NUS reads these very differently from US or UK schools: direct and evidence-based, not a narrative essay.
• Your English test score. IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL iBT 85 to 92, depending on the program. IELTS is usually the safer default for Indian applicants.

Counselor Insight: The single biggest gap we see in Master’s applications isn’t academics, it’s the SOP reading, like an undergrad personal statement. NUS wants a professional, outcomes-focused document, and that shift in register often matters more than an extra 0.3 CGPA.

For the full breakdown of fees, top Master’s programs, and eligibility by discipline, see our MS in Singapore guide for Indian students.

NUS Acceptance Rate for Computer Science and Engineering

As with undergrad and Master’s generally, NUS doesn’t release a Computer Science- or Engineering-specific acceptance figure. What is verifiable: NUS Computing is consistently ranked in the global top 10 for the subject, and that ranking is exactly why it draws a disproportionate share of applications relative to the number of seats available. Engineering follows a similar pattern, helped along by strong placement outcomes at firms like Goldman Sachs, Google, and Singapore’s government-linked corporations.

Two things worth knowing if you’re applying to either:

• Application volume for NUS Computing has grown faster than most other faculties in recent admission cycles, which is part of why it reads as harder to get into even without a published number.
• For undergrad applicants, Engineering and Computing sit at the standard tuition band of SGD 21,400 a year with the MOE Tuition Grant, GST included (Rs.16L). Check the full fee breakdown by faculty before you budget, since fees run considerably higher without the grant.

Source: NUS Office of Admissions; QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026

NUS Medicine Acceptance Rate for International Students

Medicine is the tightest program at NUS for any applicant, and that holds especially true for international seats. NUS doesn’t break out a separate acceptance figure for it, but there’s real structure worth understanding.

First, a distinction that gets lost often: NUS Medicine and Duke-NUS Medical School are two different schools. NUS’s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine is the standard undergraduate route, a 5-year MBBS you can enter straight after Class 12. Duke-NUS is a separate, graduate-entry school offering a 4-year Doctor of Medicine (MD), and it only accepts applicants who already hold a bachelor’s degree. If you’re coming straight from Class 12, Duke-NUS isn’t an option yet; the undergraduate route is.

Second, on eligibility: Medicine, along with Dentistry, Law, and Nursing, has one restriction that applies regardless of which board you’re from. If you’ll still be sitting your Class 12 exams at the time you apply, you’re not eligible to apply for these four programs at that stage, since NUS requires your actual final results in hand before considering you, not predicted or provisional ones. Applicants who already have their completed Class 12 results don’t face this restriction.

Separately, Medicine, Dentistry, Law, Architecture, Industrial Design, Landscape Architecture, and a handful of double-degree programs also require an interview or aptitude test as part of admission, on top of the academic requirements above.

Counselor Insight: Families frequently confuse Duke-NUS with “NUS Medicine” because both are in Singapore and both are selective, but mixing up the two means building an application timeline around the wrong eligibility rules entirely.

Source: NUS Office of Admissions; Duke-NUS Medical School

NUS Admission Requirements for Indian Students

This depends entirely on which board you’re from.

A few things worth knowing regardless of board:

• JEE Main/Advanced scores are not required, though a strong rank can strengthen your profile.
• There’s no university entrance exam specifically for Indian-qualification applicants; NUS discontinued its University Entrance Examination.
• Provisional or internet print-outs of your Class 12 result are accepted while you wait for official mark sheets, except for Medicine, Dentistry, Law, and Nursing, which need final results already in hand.

Counselor Insight: The most common, avoidable mistake we see from State Board applicants is submitting without an SAT or ACT score on file, assuming the CBSE/ISC exemption applies to them too. It doesn’t, and that single gap can stall an otherwise strong application.

Source: NUS Office of Admissions, Indian Standard 12 (CBSE/ISC and State and Other Boards)

For Master’s applicants, the process runs through a different portal entirely. Here’s what the actual NUS graduate application looks like, SOP included.

NUS Tuition Fees and Cost of Living for Indian Students 

Budget for two separate things: tuition, and everything else.

Tuition. For AY2026/2027, undergraduate fees with the MOE Tuition Grant run roughly SGD 21,400 to SGD 30,450 a year (Rs.16L to Rs.23L), depending on faculty, with Medicine and Law sitting at the top of that range. These figures already include Singapore’s 9% GST, so don’t add it again when budgeting. Taking the Tuition Grant comes with a 3-year bond to work for a Singapore-registered company after graduation, worth weighing seriously before you accept it, not after.

Living costs. NUS’s own published estimates put monthly living expenses at:

NUS recommends budgeting a minimum of SGD 19,500 a year (approx. Rs.14.6L) for living expenses alone, separate from tuition, at current exchange rates of roughly Rs.75 per SGD as of October 2026.

Counselor Insight: The MOE Tuition Grant looks like free money on paper, but the 3-year work bond is a real constraint on your post-graduation plans. Students who want to pursue a Master’s abroad right after NUS, or move to a different country for work, sometimes forget they’ve signed up for this until it’s time to graduate.

Source: NUS Registrar, Undergraduate Tuition Fees AY2026/2027; NUS cost-of-attendance estimates; live SGD/INR exchange rate

For a complete program-wise fee table across undergrad, Master’s, and MBA, see our NUS fees guide for Indian students. It also covers how the MOE Tuition Grant and its 3-year work bond affect your actual out-of-pocket cost.

Scholarships at National University of Singapore for Indian Students

One scholarship that shows up in a lot of generic roundups but doesn’t apply here: the ASEAN Undergraduate Scholarship is restricted to citizens of ASEAN member countries. India isn’t a member, so Indian applicants aren’t eligible for it, no matter how often it’s listed alongside NUS’s other awards.

Source: NUS Office of Admissions, Scholarships

NUS Application Timeline for Indian Students (AY2027/28)

NUS typically opens its application window for applicants with international qualifications, including Indian Standard 12, in early December, closing in late February. Outcomes are usually released between mid-May and end-July, with an appeal window in late May for applicants who want to contest a decision.

Exact dates shift slightly year to year, so treat the months below as the pattern, and confirm the specific AY2027/28 dates on NUS’s own admissions site once they’re published, rather than locking your plans to a date you saw on a third-party site.

Source: NUS Office of Admissions, Important Dates

3 Takeaways on NUS Acceptance Rate

• The NUS acceptance rate is never officially published, at any level; treat every number you see, including the ones here, as an informed estimate, not a confirmed statistic.
• Your odds depend far more on which program you’re targeting, your board, and how well your SOP or profile fits that specific faculty, than on a single published cutoff.
• Admission requirements, fees, and timelines genuinely differ by board and program, so check the exact table that applies to you rather than a general NUS “acceptance rate” headline.

Verified by: LeapScholar’s Singapore counseling team, who handle live NUS and NTU undergraduate and Master’s applications, SOP reviews, and Student’s Pass filings for Indian students year-round.

Have a specific question about NUS acceptance rate? Book a free session with a LeapScholar counselor.

Frequently Asked Questions About NUS Acceptance Rate