Beyond the degree

Baffled by postgraduate options? Associate Professor Themin Suwardy, the dean of Postgraduate Professional Programmes at SMU, offers tips for those planning further studies

Michelle Chin
Jan 10, 2019

Whether you are keen to reskill or upskill yourself, be astute when selecting a postgraduate course.

A postgraduate qualification must fit into your long-term plans — whether the aim is to switch career fields or to gain deeper expertise and domain knowledge to advance in your current field.

Associate Professor Themin Suwardy, the dean of Postgraduate Professional Programmes at Singapore Management University (SMU), recommends finding out about different pedagogies, diverse programme-specific features and competitive advantages such as partnerships, accreditations, overseas and practical stints, as well as career service components.

He says: “Different programmes may attract different profiles of candidates. The more technical programmes, such as accounting, finance or information technology, tend to attract those who want to gain specific skillsets in order to enter or advance in the discipline.

“Programmes such as the Master of Business Administration (MBA) or Master of Science in Management are broader and have a wider-ranging student profile, including aspiring entrepreneurs, career switchers and those seeking well-grounded business and management knowledge as they scale the corporate ladder.”

New developments
SMU has over 20 postgraduate professional programmes, from general management programmes (such as MBAs) to specialised master’s programmes in accounting, analytics, finance, law and others.

In 2018, SMU offered a new Master of Science in Accounting (Data and Analytics), and a revamped Master of Science in Economics (MSE) with tracks in applied economics, econometrics and quantitative economics.

This year, look forward to the Judicial Studies track under its Master of Laws (LLM) programme, as well as full-time versions of the Master of Science in Innovation (MI), Master of Science in Communication Management (MCM) and Master of Human Capital Leadership (MHCL).

Fruitful collaboration
This year, there will also be a new digital learning platform launched to support selected existing programmes.

The Future of Management Education Alliance — comprising Imperial College Business School, ESMT Berlin, BI Norwegian Business School, Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) at Singapore Management University, EDHEC Business School and Ivey Business School — is offering the platform.

Associate Professor Suwardy says: “This platform combines faculty expertise with cutting-edge technology to meet growing demand from students and executives for a more flexible, bespoke and globally accessible study experience.

“The alliance will enable partner schools to enhance the student experience through face-to-face, experiential and online learning methods.”