Minister Lim Hng Kiang's written reply to Parliament Question on Discontinuation of NYU@NUS Law Programme

Question

​

Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the NYU@NUS dual graduate law programme which began in 2007 and is to be discontinued in 2014, (a) what is the total amount of funding disbursed to the programme, excluding scholarships; (b) what is the total number of Singaporean and non-Singaporean graduates respectively; and (c) what is the total number and financial value of scholarships given out by the Government to Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans.

Written Reply by Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry

The NYU@NUS Dual Degree Master of Laws Programme is a collaboration between the National University of Singapore, NUS and the New York University School of Law, NYU.  Students in the programme are cross-trained in Singapore and New York laws. Upon graduation, they will obtain both the NYU Master of Laws in Global Business Law and the NUS Master of Laws degrees, and are given the opportunity to sit for the New York bar examinations.

The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) had supported the NYU@NUS programme based on the recommendations of the Legal Services Inter-Agency Committee in 2003, to help develop Singapore into a regional hub for legal training and research, with capabilities to cross-train lawyers in other national laws.  The aim was also to deepen the talent pool of lawyers in Singapore with expertise in other legal jurisdictions to support the growth and development of our legal industry, which has been dealing with more international legal work.

The NYU@NUS programme was established with the aim of becoming financially self-sustaining after a few years. To support the programme during its initial phase, EDB provided $5.3 million in grants to NUS to date, equivalent to about 35 per cent of the cost of the programme. EDB estimates that an additional $2.2 million in grants will be disbursed to NUS, bringing the total grant amount to $7.5 million for the programme. EDB’s grant complements other sources of funding for the NYU@NUS programme, namely corporate sponsorships, student fees and NYU and NUS’s internal funds. 

To date, the NYU@NUS programme has produced 237 graduates who are cross-trained in Singapore and New York laws, of which nine are Singaporeans and three are PRs. About 15% of these graduates have chosen to stay and work in Singapore following their graduation, contributing to the legal talent pool in Singapore.  Besides the grants provided by EDB to support the operations of the programme, the Government does not provide additional funding for scholarships. Like any academic institution, the programme administers and offers scholarships to deserving students.

The NYU@NUS programme has added to the scope and diversity of Singapore’s legal education landscape. The programme has also contributed to NUS’s vision to be Asia’s global law school. It has provided a platform for knowledge sharing between the NYU and NUS law faculties, which in turn helped NUS to further strengthen its other graduate law programmes.

However, while the NYU@NUS programme has been largely able to attract the desired number of students, the high cost of the programme in comparison to alternative graduate law programmes here meant that the take-up of the programme depended on the availability of scholarships provided by the school. In addition, anticipated changes in regulatory policies in the US introduced the risk that students of the NYU@NUS programme would no longer have the opportunity to take the New York bar examinations beyond 2014. As a result, NUS and NYU decided to allow the programme to conclude following the graduation of its class of 2014. This arrangement ensures that no existing students will have their Master’s programme disrupted.

While we regret the conclusion of this collaboration, we respect the decision which NYU and NUS have made after careful consideration of the viability of the programme.

The Government remains committed to developing the legal services and legal education sector. We will continue to facilitate and support projects where there are benefits for Singapore, while ensuring that public monies are used judiciously. The Legal and Intellectual Property Programme Office, a joint initiative between EDB and the Ministry of Law, will continue to work on developing Singapore into an International Legal Services and Intellectual Property hub in Asia, including talent development for the legal services sector.