Admissions · Singapore
National University of Singapore (NUS) Acceptance Rate: Admissions Statistics and English Requirements
NUS does not publish an acceptance rate, and neither NUS nor Singapore's Ministry of Education publishes how many applications or offers it makes. The official figure is intake: 7,308 full-time first-degree students entered NUS in 2024.
Any NUS acceptance rate you see quoted is an estimate: the University publishes no applications or offers totals, and the Ministry of Education (MOE) publishes intake, enrolment and graduates by university but not applications. This page shows those official numbers, explains what they count, and lists the English test scores NUS asks of international applicants.
Figures read from official sources on · LingoLeap Admissions Research
National University of Singapore (NUS) acceptance rate by year
| Cycle | Applicants | Admitted | Acceptance rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 · intake (full-time first degree) | Not published | 7,308 students | Not published source |
| 2023 · intake (full-time first degree) | Not published | 7,470 students | Not published source |
| 2022 · intake (full-time first degree) | Not published | 7,273 students | Not published source |
What NUS and MOE do publish
| Group | Cycle | Rate | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate enrolment (all years) | 2024/25 (8 Sep 2024) | 30,373 full-time | 31,476 including part-time and flexible-workload students. A headcount, not an admission figure. source |
| International students, all autonomous universities | 2022 (MOE) | About 10% | MOE's figure for the share of undergraduates who are international students across Singapore's autonomous universities; not published for NUS alone. source |
What the numbers mean
MOE's intake counts every student who started a full-time first-degree programme at NUS that year, including those who entered directly into the second or a later year. It is the number of new students, not offers, and nothing in the official data says how many people applied. Without an applications figure no acceptance rate can be computed.
Singapore citizens have priority. In a 2020 parliamentary reply MOE said its institutions first admit Singaporeans who meet the admission standard, then raise the criteria and admit a small proportion of foreign students. In 2022 MOE put international students at around 10% of undergraduates at the autonomous universities. For international applicants that means a higher bar than the published grade profiles suggest.
What NUS does publish for applicants is the standard: indicative grade profiles for local qualifications, minimum requirements for each international qualification, and the English test scores below.
National University of Singapore (NUS) TOEFL and IELTS requirements
Minimums for international applicants from the university's own pages. Since 21 January 2026 TOEFL iBT reports a 1–6 band score; the notes give the older 0–120 equivalent where the university states one. Convert TOEFL and IELTS scores.
Undergraduate (applicants whose qualification requires an English test)
TOEFL iBT: 4.5 in Overall, Reading and Writing on the 2026 1–6 scale (TOEFL iBT, Special Home Edition or Paper Edition). Tests taken before 21 January 2026 are 'assessed accordingly'; NUS does not state a 0–120 minimum in this document.
IELTS Academic: 6.5 in Overall, Reading and Writing
Scores valid for 2 years up to the start of the academic year. TOEFL scores must come from a single test date (no MyBest); IELTS Indicator and One Skill Retake are not accepted. Whether you need a test depends on your qualification.
NUS Office of Admissions, English Language Test Scores (updated September 2026) · checked 3 October 2026
Check your score against National University of Singapore (NUS)
Take a free 2026-format TOEFL mock test for a 1–6 band estimate, then compare it with the minimum above and with other universities' requirements.
Free TOEFL mock testFAQ
What is the NUS acceptance rate?
NUS does not publish one, and there are no official applications or offers figures to calculate it from. The official number is intake: Singapore's Ministry of Education records 7,308 full-time first-degree students entering NUS in 2024, 7,470 in 2023 and 7,273 in 2022. Acceptance rates quoted by other websites are estimates.
What is the NUS acceptance rate for international students?
Not published. MOE says Singapore's autonomous universities admit Singaporeans who meet the standard first, then raise the criteria for international students, who made up around 10% of undergraduates across those universities in 2022.
How many students does NUS admit each year?
About 7,300 to 7,500 full-time first-degree students a year in MOE's data (7,308 in 2024). That count includes students admitted directly into the second or a later year. NUS had 30,373 full-time undergraduates enrolled in September 2024.
What TOEFL score does NUS require?
For TOEFL iBT taken from 21 January 2026, NUS asks for 4.5 in Overall, Reading and Writing on the 1–6 scale, from a single test date (MyBest scores are not accepted), valid for two years. NUS says tests taken before 21 January 2026 are assessed accordingly but does not state a 0–120 minimum in that document. Only applicants with certain qualifications need an English test.
What IELTS score does NUS require?
IELTS Academic 6.5 in Overall, Reading and Writing, valid for two years. The IELTS Indicator and One Skill Retake are not accepted.
Sources
- Singapore Ministry of Education, Intake by Institutions (data.gov.sg)
- NUS Registrar's Office, Summary of Undergraduate Student Enrolment 2024/2025
- MOE parliamentary reply, Full-fee paying international students in our Autonomous Universities (12 Sep 2022)
- NUS Office of Admissions, English Language Test Scores (updated September 2026)