FEES

The tuition fee for the entire programme will be $81,750 (Inclusive of GST*).

The fee is made payable four times over the first 2-year period.  Students will have to make payment of their first billing of their tuition fee before the first term starts in mid-August. The remaining 3 billings will be paid before the course enrolment of each new academic term. 

Note:

• The tuition fees do not cover textbooks and course materials.
• Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a tax collected on behalf of the Singapore Government and will be charged at the prevailing rate.
• The first two instalments are extremely close to each other. Make your financial arrangements accordingly.
• There will not be any government subsidy for this programme. E.g . MOE Tuition Grant, Service Obligation Scheme. All applicants will have to be self-funded or to take a loan from the bank.

Fee Payment Modes

Payment should be made online via the student self service portal. The check is no longer accepted at SMU

Discounts & Student Financial Assistance Schemes

SMU ALUMNI DISCOUNT

With effect from the 2025 admission intake, SMU undergraduate and postgraduate alumni who are offered a place in the J.D. programme will automatically be granted a $8,000 discount on the J.D. tuition fee.  The discount will be spread equally over the 4 payment instalment periods. SMU exchange and non-graduating students are not eligible for the alumni discount and SMU reserves the right to amend the discount schemes for new incoming cohorts when required.

SMU ALUMNI COURSE EXEMPTION DISCOUNT

With effect from 2025, a $3,000 discount above the $8,000 SMU alumni discount may be granted to the alumni if one (1) credit unit (CU) law module is approved for transfer, up to 4 CUs.  The maximum discount amount for course exemption is $12,000 even if more than 4 CUs have been approved for transfer.

SUTD ALUMNI DISCOUNT (PPDP)

With effect from the 2019 admission intake, SUTD alumni who are offered a place in the J.D. programme will be granted a 10% discount under the Pre Experience Postgraduate Degree Experience Programme Agreement (PPDP). The 10% discount will be spread equally over the 4 payment instalment periods. The discount is only applicable to SUTD alumni when they apply within 5 years from the time they graduate from SUTD.  SUTD exchange and non-graduating students are not eligible for the PPDP discount.

Please note that you can utilise the following to offset part of your tuition fees:

SkillsFutureCredit (SFC) – For students who are Singapore Citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents only. Please check your SFC course codes for your programmes before submitting the online application to utilise the fund; refer here for guidelines on the submission.

Bank Loans – Please approach these local banks directly to enquire and apply for the various study loan packages.

SMU PG Emergency Grant – This is a one-off limited emergency financial grant by SMU to assist postgraduate students facing unforeseen financial crisis and would require interim financial assistance while their families seek for long-term solutions to meet their financial needs. 

Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) – For students who are Singaporean only. Please ensure that you have sufficient funds to use prior to the application and refer to the section under Payment Modes on the submission of the completed form. For enquiries on PSEA application process and approval, please contact the Office of Finance (select: Office of Finance Request > Financial Assistance > PSEA Ad-Hoc Application under Request Type).

Other relevant company sponsorships or subsidies that may be available to you.

Note: You are not eligible to use the CPF Education Scheme (CPF), the SMU Tuition Fee Loan (TFL) and Interbank GIRO for the deduction of tuition fees.

 

Scholarships

 Please refer to the scholarship webpage here for the various scholarships and awards available to JD students.

Admission Milestones

*UPDATED 22 January 2026

Academic Calendar

Please refer to the academic calendar here.
Details on timetable and course modules will be sent to you about a month before term starts.

In this rapidly changing world, lawyers encounter complex problems that cut across multiple disciplines and borders. Beyond traditional litigation practice, lawyers offer a range of other services, from advising on complex cross-border transactions and mediating family disputes to structuring state power and wealth management planning. Therefore, it is important to understand the law against the broader business, social, economic, institutional and political contexts.

Against this backdrop, our law curriculum is carefully designed to provide a firm theoretical foundation while being multi- and interdisciplinary, flexible and practice oriented.

Our curriculum is constantly updated with input from the legal industry. The law modules are supplemented by the SMU Core Curriculum and relevant modules from the other schools. Beyond the basic curriculum, students can pursue our new LLB tracks or take a second degree or major from another school.

In small classes of up to 45, students gain confidence through vibrant seminar-style discussions, group presentations and written research assignments. Beyond traditional classroom activities, you will learn through hands-on work and closely supervised practical assignments in skills-based courses. Our signature SMU-X courses take experiential learning to the next level through supervised projects addressing real-world problems.

Further, you will see law in action through 10 weeks of law internship and 80 hours of community service, including 20 hours of pro bono. These are mandatory graduation requirements not only because of the obvious benefits of experiential learning but also because we want to instil the value of lawyering for good.