Methodology & Data Sources

Data Sources

A-Level IGP: Published by NUS, NTU and SMU. The 10th and 90th percentile scores of students admitted in the previous intake. They show who got in, not minimum requirements.

Polytechnic GPA: Published by the same three universities. The 10th and 90th percentile GPAs (4.0 scale) of admitted polytechnic applicants. Not every course publishes them, and some require specific diplomas.

Graduate Employment Survey (GES): Run jointly by the six autonomous universities and published by the Ministry of Education on data.gov.sg, covering 2013 to 2025. Graduates are surveyed about six months after their final exams. Graduates pursuing further studies or in voluntary unemployment are excluded.

Enrolment: Programme enrolment from NUS, NTU and SMU, shown on course pages where available.

Converting Older IGPs to 70 Points

Older IGPs were published on the 90-point scale. To compare them with the 70-point system, each grade string (such as AAA/A) is converted. H2 grades earn A=20, B=17.5, C=15, D=12.5 and E=10 points; H1 grades earn half. Published IGPs don't include General Paper, so we assume a C (7.5 points). The total is out of 80 and scaled to 70: (score ÷ 80) × 70.

Example: AAA/A becomes (60 + 10 + 7.5) ÷ 80 × 70 = 67.8 rank points.

This is an estimate. Actual GP grades varied, and the old system counted Project Work. Treat converted values as approximate, especially for competitive courses where small differences matter.

Matching Employment Data to Courses

The survey names degrees differently from admissions data. NUS Law is "Bachelor of Laws" in GES but "Law" in the IGP. We match them using hand-checked mappings for known mismatches (Medicine, double degrees, renamed courses), then exact names after normalisation, then close spellings. Variants such as direct and non-direct honours are kept separate. Courses with no match show no employment figures.

Data Freshness

Admissions figures are from the AY2024/25 intake. Employment figures are from the 2025 survey (2024 graduates). We update when new GES results (usually February–March) and new IGPs (usually July–August) are published.

Known Limitations

• GES gaps: Some courses are too new or have cohorts too small to report. Statistics are suppressed for small cohorts (typically under 30 graduates). We leave these blank rather than estimate.
• No IGP for SUTD, SIT and SUSS: These universities don't publish grade profiles, so their programmes appear with GES data only.

Corrections

Spotted an error? Send it through the feedback form with the course and the data point in question.