Singapore, SG · 17 months
NUS MBA: cost, salary and payback
NUS reports an $88,002 average salary for its class of 2024, below the $90,000 pre-MBA salary our model assumes, on tuition of SGD 106,850.
Paid back after graduation in
16.5 years
Total cost $210,986 · 10-year NPV -$203,936
| Tuition and fees, whole program | $83,486 |
| Living budget | $0 |
| Salary given up, 17 months | $127,500 |
| Total cost | $210,986 |
| Salary after: average salary | $88,002 |
| 10-year net present value | -$203,936 |
| Return on the cost (present values) | -98% |
US dollars at the ECB rate of the last update. Raises of 5% a year with the MBA and 3% without, discounted at 5%, before tax. The school publishes no living budget: the figure above is yours. How this is calculated.
Fees and budget read on October 13, 2026 · employment: Class of 2024 (school standard) · Built by Radif Partners · Method
- Tuition and fees
- SGD 106,850
- Total cost, salary given up included
- n/a
- average salary
- $88,002
- Payback, reference person
- not computable
The NUS full-time MBA charges SGD 106,850 for the August 2027 intake, about $83,486 at the ECB rate, for a program that runs from 12 months up to 17. The school mentions mandatory miscellaneous fees without giving an amount, and it publishes no living budget for Singapore, so the direct cost of the degree is not complete from its own figures. On outcomes, the career page reports that 93% of the class of 2024 had an offer within three months and an average post-MBA salary of $88,002; it gives no median and does not say whether the figure is base salary or total pay. That average sits below the $90,000 that our reference person earns before the MBA, so for someone already at that level the reported figure would not be a raise. Without a living budget, our model computes no total cost and no payback, and NUS is not ranked. What stands out is the gap between a large tuition bill and a modest reported salary, which makes the salary you give up during 17 months the line to examine first.
A salary that needs context
The $88,002 average is the only salary figure the school publishes for a dated class. It is the highest average of the Asian schools in our data that publish one, though those figures are not all of the same kind. Two things limit how far it can be read. It is an average, which a few high offers can lift, and the school does not say whether it includes bonuses. It also mixes graduates who stayed in Singapore with those who moved elsewhere, a large share of the class according to the school, without telling you who earned what. A graduate who stays in the region and one who moves to the United States should not plan on the same number.
The career page also quotes an alumni salary three years after graduation and a percentage rise on pre-MBA pay. Neither is a starting salary, so neither is used here. For a calculation, type in the field "Salary after the MBA" what employers in your target market pay for the role you want.
A fee or a salary in US dollars
In US dollars
$111,880
| 1 EUR | $1.119 |
ECB reference rate of October 13, 2026. Prices on the ground do not follow exchange rates one for one.
The length decides the cost
NUS lets full-time students finish in 12 months or stretch the program to 17. The longer route adds months without a salary: at $90,000 a year, 17 months away cost about $127,500 before tax, against $90,000 for 12. Nanyang (NTU), the other Singapore school on this site with published fees, charges SGD 92,955 for 12 months, SGD 13,895 less than NUS. Merit awards are considered for every full-time admit without a separate application, and named scholarships target Singaporeans, Southeast Asian candidates and alumni of local universities.
The salary you give up while you study
Salary given up, net of the internship
$157,500
| Gross salary not earned | $157,500 |
| Per month away | $7,500 |
Pension contributions and raises you would have had are not counted here.
What to ask before applying
Three figures would turn this page into a full cost and payback: a living budget for the length you choose, the amount of the mandatory fees, and a median base salary by region. The class profile page was not readable when we collected the data, so the class size and the share of international students are missing too. Ask admissions for the latest employment report, and compare with the schools in the Asia ranking, which orders them on the share of graduates placed in the region.
Where NUS stands in our rankings
Not ranked: NUS does not publish a living budget for students or the split of the class by industry, which our ranking needs. Its cost is complete above.
Our fit score, reference person earning $90,000 before the MBA (method). Third-party rankings play no part in it. For reference, NUS was ranked 29 in the FT Global MBA 2026.
What the NUS MBA costs
| Item | SGD, and US dollars |
|---|---|
| Tuition, whole program | SGD 106,850 $83,486 |
| Living budget | not published |
NUS employment report: Class of 2024
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Average salary | $88,002 |
| Graduates who had an offer within three months | 93% |
Not published by NUS in the documents we read: a living budget for students; the split of the class by industry; where graduates went to work; the split by job function. We leave these blank rather than fill them with an estimate.