Singapore Citizens/Singapore Permanent Residents with International Qualifications

Applicants are required to meet the Mother Tongue Language (MTL) requirement as set by the Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE). The Mother Tongue Language (MTL) requirement can be met by having one of the following:

• Minimum of 'D7' grade for the higher MTL at Singapore-Cambridge GCE O-Level (the IGCSE MTL First Language examination does not fulfil the requirement)
• Minimum of ‘S’ grade for the H1 MTL paper or General Studies in Chinese taken at the Singapore Cambridge GCE A-Level examination
• Minimum of 'S' grade for the H2 MTL paper taken at the Singapore Cambridge GCE A-Level examination
• Pass in MTL ‘B’ or a ‘S’ grade for H1 MTL/MTL-in-lieu, H2 MTL Language and Literature or H1 General Studies in Chinese at Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level
• Pass in MTL-in-lieu subject approved by MOE
• Exemption from MTL approved by MOE

Applicants who do not fulfil the MTL requirement may apply for admission with no prejudice to their application. However, if accepted, they will be required to fulfil the MTL requirement before they graduate.

Applicants who have been away from Singapore’s school system for some years and not kept up with the study of their MTL or a language that can be offered as MTL subject-in-lieu may apply for MTL exemption.

The MTL exemption application will be facilitated by the University as part of the application, and results will be made known to applicants who receive admission offer from NUS. MOE does not accept direct applications for MTL exemption. The application for MTL exemption will not prejudice the evaluation of the application for a place in the university.

Applicants unable to fulfil the MTL requirement but satisfy all other admission requirements may apply for admission with no prejudice to their application. Successful applicants will be admitted on a provisional basis. They are required to fulfil the MTL requirement before they graduate from NUS.

• Attain the minimum requirement listed above by fulfilling the MTL paper at International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme or Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level examinations; or Higher MTL subject at Singapore-Cambridge GCE O-Level examinations. Information on the Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level MTL paper or Singapore-Cambridge GCE O-Level Higher MTL paper for private candidates are available at the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) website.

Submission of the official MTL examination results slip/transcript/exemption approval is required for the University to review your fulfilment of the MTL requirement.