SUSS History in the Making

  • Apr 2005

    With the Ministry of Education's approval, we established ourselves as Singapore’s only private university.

  • Jul 2005

    Our first Student Admissions Exercise was launched with an offering of 40 programmes.

  • Aug 2005

    We launched Singapore’s first and only Bachelor of Arts in Tamil Language and Literature (BATL) degree, which catered to adults who aspire to enhance their competency and knowledge levels in Tamil language and literature.

  • Jan 2006

    Classes commenced with our first intake. This included students from the SIM Open University Degree Programme, ran in collaboration with the Open University, from the United Kingdom.

  • May 2006

    We launched the Bachelor of Science in Management and Security Studies (BScMSS) degree, the first customised degree in Singapore jointly developed with the Singapore Police Force (SPF), offering an upgrading pathway for non-graduate police officers.

  • Sep 2006

    We held our first Convocation with the late former President of Singapore, Mr S R Nathan, as our Patron and Professor Cham Tao Soon as our Chancellor.



  • 2007

    Throughout the year, we launched five new degrees to plug the gaps in human capital and serve unfilled niches in various industries. They are the Bachelor of Arts in Translation and Interpretation, Bachelor of Science in Business Analytics, Bachelor of Counselling, Bachelor of Social Work and the General Studies Programme.

  • Oct 2007

    We launched our alumni network to nearly 8,000 members, including graduates of our partner universities such as the prestigious Beijing Normal University. This opened an exciting channel for lifelong intellectual and emotional connectedness between past and future graduates.

  • Feb 2008

    A government subsidy of up to 40% for tuition fees was introduced for our eligible undergraduate students. This subsidy served as an added incentive for working adults to continue pursuing education and resulted in a 60% surge in applications.

  • Mar 2008

    We signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ST Aerospace, Cranfield University and Singapore Polytechnic, collaborating on the launch of Asia Pacific’s first broad-based aerospace degree programme. We also announced the first specialised Human Resource Management Degree in Singapore.

  • Jul 2008

    We kick-started our first postgraduate programme – Master in Technology Entrepreneurship.

  • Oct 2008

    The results of Singapore’s first comprehensive graduate survey for working adults were released, showing that a degree from our university led to better pay, career mobility and prospects.

  • Aug 2009

    We signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NTUC’s SEED Institute for the first local Bachelor of Early Childhood Education programme. Supported by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports as well as Workforce Singapore, the programme was oversubscribed three times for its first run in January 2010.

  • Oct 2009

    We launched our Campus Development Master Plan to double the size of our current campus at Clementi Road by the year 2014. The Phase 1 Topping Up Ceremony was officiated by the late former President, Mr S R Nathan.

    Additionally, our university graduated the largest cohort since inception with a total of 1,162 graduates at Convocation 2009.

  • Feb 2010

    Working with the Land Transport Authority, we offered the Master of Management (Urban Transportation) programme (Formally the Master of Science in Urban Transport Management programme) – the first of its kind in the region, equipping aspiring professionals with specialised skills and knowledge to play a leading role in the management and development of land transport systems in cities around the world.

  • Jun 2010

    We held our first e-learning conference, ICT 2010 Singapore, with 300 participants from 16 countries in attendance. Supported by the Infocomm Development Authority, the conference included a forum and four keynote presentations, of which two were delivered via video-conference from San Diego (USA) and Berlin (Germany).

    Also, our university was registered under the Enhanced Registration Framework administered by the Council for Private Education for a 6-year period.

  • Jul 2010

    We set up the Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC) in July 2010 to promote excellence in teaching, support the learning needs of our students, and strengthen ties with associates to foster a vibrant academic community.

  • Jul 2011

    MOE increased funding for Singapore Citizens pursuing part-time degree programmes at our university from 40% to 55%.

  • Sep 2011

    We signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ST Aerospace to collaborate in the areas of research and training.

  • Nov 2011

    Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam, then President of Singapore, accepted our invitation to be the university’s Patron, succeeding the late former President, Mr S R Nathan.

  • Jan 2012

    We set up the Centre for Chinese Studies to raise awareness and understanding of the Chinese language, culture and contemporary Chinese society.

  • Mar 2012

    We completed Phase One of our Campus Development Master Plan, which was officially launched by former President, Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam.

  • Aug 2012

    Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that we were participating in the government's plan to increase the publicly-funded full-time cohort size. Our part-time students would also get to enjoy government bursaries and loans like their counterparts at other autonomous local universities.

  • Jan 2013

    The MOE Bursary Scheme was offered to all our eligible part-time undergraduate students, similar to other autonomous local universities.

  • Jul 2013

    Like the other autonomous Singaporean universities, the MOE Tuition Fee Loan and Study Loan schemes were extended to all our eligible part-time undergraduate students.

  • Oct 2013

    Mr Heng Swee Keat, then Minister for Education, announced that we would be setting up Singapore's third law school during our Convocation ceremony on October 16. We also launched new publicly-funded full-time bachelor’s programmes in Accountancy, Finance and Marketing.

  • May 2014

    Mr Gerard Ee, widely recognised for his social service contributions, succeeded Professor Cham Tao Soon as our Chancellor and Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

  • Jul 2014

    We launched our part-time undergraduate degree programmes in Art Education and Music Education, alongside Sports and Physical Education.

  • Aug 2014

    We admitted our first intake of full-time bachelor’s students in Accountancy, Finance and Marketing.

  • Apr 2015

    We celebrated our university’s tenth year anniversary with former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and more than 500 guests from our university, academic and industry circles.

  • Sep 2015

    Mr Richard Eu, Group Chief Executive Officer of Eu Yan Sang International Limited, joined our Board of Trustees as our Chairman. Dr Aline Wong, the Academic Advisor of the university, was also appointed as our Chancellor, making her the first female chancellor in the history of education in Singapore.

  • Dec 2015

    We partnered with the Institute for Adult Learning to further research in areas such as workforce development and lifelong learning, as well as the capability development of educators and researchers.

  • Feb 2016

    The Ministry of Law announced that our university will offer a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) for undergraduates and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) for graduates, with classes to start in January 2017.

  • Apr 2016

    We conquered the great Gobi Desert by trekking 112 km through areas that were part of the old Silk Road.

  • Jul 2016

    Together with the other autonomous universities, we hosted the 18th ASEAN University Games .

  • Aug 2016

    We launched the full-time Supply Chain Management and Social Work bachelor degree programmes, as well as the Master of Applied Research in Social Sciences.

  • Oct 2016

    Mr Ong Ye Kung, then Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills), announced that SUSS would be the sixth autonomous university in Singapore.

  • Jan 2017

    Ms Indranee Rajah SC, then Senior Minister of State for Law and Finance, addressed our inaugural class of law students, handpicked from over 400 applicants of our Bachelor of Laws and Juris Doctor programmes.

  • Mar 2017

    We were renamed the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), as part of our restructuring into Singapore’s sixth autonomous university (AU).

  • May 2017

    A Bill was passed in Parliament to formalise the autonomous university (AU) status of SUSS. With this, SUSS was another step closer to becoming Singapore's sixth AU, one focused on lifelong learning, the social sciences and applied education. We also pioneered the SkillsFuture Work-Study Post-Diploma (formerly known as SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme) for polytechnic students.

  • Jul 2017

    We were formally accorded the status of an autonomous university (AU) by the Singapore Government and held our inaugural Convocation where we unveiled the new SUSS mace at the Ceremonial Procession. To commemorate our AU status, we launched The Heart of Learning, a book where SUSS faculty members shared their perspectives on key socio-economic issues and higher education.

  • Sep 2017

    Our university became the first Singapore tertiary institution to collaborate with Alibaba Cloud, jointly offering a university-accredited programme aimed at helping tertiary students scale up their start-ups.

  • Feb 2018

    President Halimah Yacob officiated the renaming of our School of Human Development & Social Services to the
    S R Nathan School of Human Development (NSHD)    , in honour of the late former President Mr S R Nathan.

  • Jul 2018

    We launched the new SUSS Core Curriculum, focusing on holistic education alongside the launch of e-textbooks to drive digital learning.

    In the same period, our Advancement Office was established, raising more than S$3.5 million to help students in need of financial assistance, including S$200,000 in scholarships for aspiring lawyers at the School of Law.

    The School of Arts and Social Sciences was also renamed the School of Humanities and Behavioural Sciences with a renewed focus on human experiences and behaviour.

  • Aug 2018

    Ex-SIA Chairman and employer relations veteran, Mr Stephen Lee Ching Yen succeeded
    Dr Aline Wong    , who was the university's Chancellor since 2015.

  • Sep 2018

    We launched SUSS LifE, our lifelong and experiential learning brand of education designed to offer continual educational opportunities to develop people throughout their lives. Mr Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State for Education and Trade & Industry, was the Guest-of-Honour for the launch. Our new College of Lifelong and Experiential Learning (CLEL) was also incepted to spearhead SUSS LifE. It consolidates, integrates and synergises our various lifelong learning and experiential activities for greater effectiveness and efficiency.

  • Oct 2018

    Our first batch of full-time students graduated at Convocation 2018 with SUSS Patron President Halimah Yacob and Chancellor Stephen Lee gracing the opening session. In the same month, we also launched the Enhanced Transcript to capture students’ competencies and skills based on the National SkillsFuture Framework.

  • Apr 2019

    We celebrated our 14th anniversary in the company of Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, former Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic & Social Policies; Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Education; and Mr Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade & Industry and Ministry of Education. In the same month, we welcomed the Institute for Adult Learning as an autonomous institute of SUSS.

  • Jun 2019

    We hosted the 7th Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Service-Learning for the first time in Singapore, in our capacity as Secretariat of the Service-Learning Asia Network and welcomed 365 participants from close to 20 countries.

    Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for National Development, Mr Desmond Choo, was the Guest-of-Honour at the event.

  • Sep 2019

    Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was the Guest-of-Honour at our inaugural Ministerial Forum, with “The Role of Education in Singapore” as the theme.

  • Oct 2019

    Indonesian President Mr Joko Widodo attended Convocation 2019 in his personal capacity as the father of one of our graduates, Kaesang Pangarep, who also received one of the three inaugural SUSS-EMP Alumni Entrepreneurship Awards from President Halimah Yacob, also our university's Patron.

  • Nov 2019

    We extended our collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs with the development of a full-time Bachelor of Public Safety and Security (Honours) Programme.

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