Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Bachelor of Science (Information Systems)

The BSc (Information Systems) degree equips students in technical skills to develop IT solutions that create value for businesses and society. Students learn to use data analytics to discover organisational issues, integrate existing and emerging technologies to drive innovation, and design, implement and manage IT solutions for digital transformation.

Information Systems degree students take 1 to 2 tracks that help enhance the flexibility of career options for graduates.

Track options:

  • Business Analytics
  • Financial Technology
  • Product Development
  • Smart-City Management & Technology
  • Dual Tracks (combination of any 2 of the above)

This programme will prepare students for a wide variety of job roles.

Here are some examples:

Account Technology Strategist; Business Analyst; Business Development Consultant; Business and Product Strategist; Digital Business Integration Analyst; Enterprise Architect; Financial Application Developer; Full Stack Developer; Revenue Assurance Manager ; Software Engineer; Systems Analyst; User Experience Designer; Digital Product Manager; Health Informatics Officer; IoT Solution Architect; Project Management Associate; Smart Systems Analyst; Smart City Partnership Strategist; Sustainable Solutions Designer; Technopreneur; Urban Planner

You need to complete at least 36 courses. Of which:

  • 12 SMU Core Curriculum courses to equip students with skills necessary to operate in an increasingly complex digitised environment and enable our students to learn to think outside of the box as demands in life situations vary.
  • 12 Information System (IS) Major Core courses to provide the foundation skills for the students to better align a company's business needs with their IT capabilities and technologies.
  • 6 Information Systems (IS) Major electives for students to specialize in one of the tracks of their interest and career needs.
  • 6 Free Electives for students to choose from within SCIS or other SMU schools for a holistic education.

For details on SMU's Core Curriculum, please visit, https://cis.smu.edu.sg/core-curriculum/overview.

For the full BSc (Information Systems) Curriculum stack, please visit, https://computing.smu.edu.sg/bsc-information-systems/curriculum.

It is not mandatory for you to do a second major with Information Systems as your first major. However, you are encouraged to do a second major as it will help you to be better prepared for your long-term career goals.

Second major options offered within SCIS for Information Systems students:

  • Computing Studies with specialization in one of the following tracks
  • Frontier Artificial Intelligence
  • Cybersecurity
  • Software Systems
  • IT Solution Management

For the full listing of 2nd majors offered also by other SMU Schools, please visit https://computing.smu.edu.sg/undergraduate/academic-experience/double-degrees-second-majors.

General Information

The first major refers to a student's core field of study (i.e. his/her degree). At SMU, the first major requires one to complete 36 course units which include SMU core courses, Major core courses and electives, and Free Electives.

In the Information Systems and Computer Science major, you pick one or two tracks to go deeper in one or two areas of specialization.

The second major exposes you to a wider breadth of knowledge and is designed to provide greater depth of study in an additional discipline. It requires you to take a set of 8 courses that give you additional knowledge in the chosen field. Some of these courses can be double counted. Therefore, you will end up taking an additional 3 to 6 courses on top of your 36 courses required for your degree after double-counting. Double counting means that the same course can be used to fulfil both your first major and second major requirements.

If you do a double degree, you will be exposed to more breadth and depth as you must fulfil the degree requirements of each programme. This would require you to take a greater number of courses compared to doing a second major.

Both double degree and second major allow you to expand your horizon and acquire skill sets in possibly two academic fields of study.

Double degree students can declare a maximum of two majors (1st and 2nd majors) for the primary degree and one major (1st major) for the secondary degree. You do not need to declare your major(s) until your second year of study in SMU.

A track is an area of specialization within a degree that allows a student to acquire relevant technical/business skills based on their career aspirations.

The Information Systems programme offers 4 tracks (with option to choose dual track, ie. combination of any 2 tracks):

  • Business Analytics
  • Financial Technology
  • Product Development
  • Smart-City Management and Technology

The Computer Science programme offers 3 tracks (with option to choose dual track, ie. combination of any 2 tracks):

  • Frontier Artificial Intelligence
  • Cybersecurity
  • Software Systems

Yes, it is possible. However, you will need to fulfil these transfer criteria by the end of year 2:

  • Qualifies to be admitted to that programme had he/she applied to that programme in the first place at the time of admission to SMU;
  • Meet the grade requirement(s) below for the programme to which the student is applying to transfer; and
  • A Cumulative GPA of at least 3.40 (out of a total of 4). To transfer to LLB programme, students must meet a Cumulative GPA requirement of at least 3.80.

Yes, SCIS has an Undergraduate Research (UResearch) Programme that allows students to experience the challenges and exhilaration of research, discovery, and innovation. The programme will enrich students' academic experience by enabling them to work at the frontiers of research in technology besides preparing them for graduate studies.

For more details refer to https://computing.smu.edu.sg/undergraduate/academic-experience/uresearch.

Yes. If you have good academic records, you can pursue masters programme along with your undergraduate studies and complete both degrees within 4.5 years.

You can pick from a list of integrated post-graduate programme offered by SCIS:

  • SMU Master of Science in Computing (MSC) Fast Track
  • SMU Master of IT in Business (MITB) Fast Track
  • SMU-Carnegie Mellon Masters Fast Track

You would be able to work in diverse job roles in a range of industries. Some of the job positions of our recent graduates includes Applications Programmer, Business Support Engineer, Cybersecurity Specialist, Data Analyst, Data Scientist, Information Technology Project Manager, Product Manager, Software Engineer, Technology Analyst, and User Experience Designer.

The companies that have employed our graduates include ByteDance, Citi, Dell Technologies, Goldman Sachs, GovTech, Google, and Meta.

You can also choose to pursue post-graduate studies at a local or foreign university. Our alumni have completed graduate studies from reputable universities like Carnegie Mellon and Cornell Universities.

The Dato' Kho Hui Meng Career Centre (DKHMCC) assigns a career coach to every undergraduate SMU student to help them navigate their career preparation. Students will be assisted with self-discovery, career exploration, career planning and decision-making while being supported with various job-search activities such as training programmes and workshops.

For more details refer to https://careerservices.smu.edu.sg/.

At SMU, we strive to build an inclusive learning community by making our campus accessible and promoting equality of opportunity for persons with disabilities. Student Accessibility Support offers a range of facilities and services to support students with accessibility needs:

  • Academic accommodations
  • Accessible course materials
  • Orientation and mobility training support
  • Special Education Needs (SEN) fund application for assistive technology and devices
  • Assistance to access campus services and facilities
  • Student Assistants (SAs)

For more details refer to https://studentwellness.smu.edu.sg/services/student-accessibility-support.

Admissions Related

SCIS offers the following four undergraduate programmes:

  • BSc (Information Systems)
  • BSc (Computer Science)
  • BSc (Software Engineering)
  • BSc (Computing & Law) 1

1 interdisciplinary programme jointly offered by SCIS and YPHSL

If you have outstanding academic results (A level, Poly GPA or equivalent), you can apply to do a double degree at the point of application to undergraduate programme. Note that you are still expected to achieve a minimum cumulative GPA 3.40 at the end of second year of study to remain in the double degree programme.

If you are not offered direct entry into the double degree programme, you can still apply for the double degree programme at the end of your first or second year if you have performed well (good cumulative GPA), satisfied all prevailing requirements for the double degree, and must be deemed able to complete the double degree within the normal candidature period. Note that applications will still be subjected to the Dean's approval.

Yes. You will be taught programming from scratch. A computing education requires logical thinking and problem-solving skills rather than prior programming experience.

Many of the courses enjoy a high teaching team (faculty, instructor, and teaching assistants) to student ratio (3 to 4 teaching members for a class of 40 to 50 students). With ample support from the teaching team, your seniors without any background have excelled in our programmes.

There is also a strong peer coaching and learning culture within the student community in our school.

Coders Assembly is a peer assisted learning initiative by the SCIS Society, Ellipsis.

Our Special Interest Group, .Hack, also conducts Code Clinics and workshops on a regular basis.

For more details refer to https://ellipsis.computing.smu.edu.sg/student-life.

You can refer to the Indicative Grade Profile here, https://admissions.smu.edu.sg/admissions-requirements/indicative-grade-profile. The grade requirement will vary from year to year.

At SMU, we are committed to a holistic and aptitude-based admissions approach, where we look for students who have not only been successful academically but who possess qualities that we value. In addition to academic grades, we will look for evidence of these qualities such as aptitude, positive attitude, impactful involvement in community service and volunteer programmes, intellectual curiosity, critical thinking and communication skills as demonstrated through leadership in co-curricular activities.

Significant awards and achievements in areas relevant to the course applied for, noteworthy involvement in work/internships relevant to the course applied for will be considered.

During the application, do include the necessary information for us to make a holistic evaluation of you.

As this is the first year of the revised University Admission Score (UAS) computation, a corresponding Grade Profile has not been established. Prospective applicants may refer to the 3 H2 subject grades (with Pass in General Paper) in the IGP as an indication of the competitiveness of admission to the programme.

If you are a polytechnic student, this will depend on your diploma and grades for relevant courses. The usual number of exemptions ranges between 3 to 8.

If you are a JC student, you are likely to be eligible for 2 to 4 exemptions depending on your subject combination and grade obtained.

If you wish to find out the estimated number of exemptions that you will get, you can use the exemption calculator: https://admissions.smu.edu.sg/exemptions-calculator

SMU offers a wide variety of scholarships and financial aid options. In fact, 1 in 3 SMU freshmen receives a scholarship or financial award every year!

SMU offers various flagship scholarships such as:

There are also other scholarships that are available for computing applicants:

  • SMU SCIS Aspirations Scholarship
  • SMU SCIS Achievements Scholarship
  • SMU School of Computing and Information Systems (SCIS) Scholarship
  • SMU Steven Miller Scholarship
  • NG Kai Wa Scholarship

For the full list of SCIS scholarships, please visit https://computing.smu.edu.sg/undergraduate/admissions-aid

Applications for AY2026-27 intake will close on 19 March 2026, 11.59pm Singapore Time.