What does it really cost to raise a child through university in Singapore?

The full formal pathway — MOE school fees ages 7–18, then a standard local degree (tuition + modeled living) — in today’s dollars.

Both figures are computed from the same official tables. The difference is entirely the residency tier: the Citizen child pays S$13/month at primary school; the PR child pays S$343/month for the same seat. The education fund calculatorruns this for your child’s exact age, tier and pathway.

What each stage costs per year — Citizen rate first, PR rate after it.

P1 through degree, today’s dollars: MOE fees ages 7–18 + standard local degree tuition (with Tuition Grant) + modeled living at university.

These are the subsidised (Tuition Grant) rates. An international student who declines the grant pays the full fee — at NUS that’s S$39,700/yr for the same programme.

Most parents budget for university. For non-Citizen families, that’s the wrong headline number.

For a PR family, the twelve school years cost S$77,184 — more than the entire degree that follows (S$69,480). And school fees arrive monthly, from age 7, with no grant scheme attached. Here’s what a single year costs a PR child at each stage:

Per-year subsidised tuition for a Singapore Citizen, straight from the official tables.

Put whole routes side by side (Citizen rates, today’s dollars, modeled living at the tertiary stage): the JC-to-degree route runs about S$57,072; a polytechnic diploma as the destination is about S$25,374; an ITE Higher Nitec about S$11,672. Poly graduates who continue to university add the degree cost on top — and overseas degrees are a different league entirely (the calculator carries planning ranges for the UK, Australia and the US rather than us quoting a single number here).

The fees above are already heavily subsidised — and several schemes reduce the cash you need on the day.

Every number above assumes the saving parent keeps earning for the whole runway. If that income stops — death, disability, critical illness — the pathway doesn’t shrink; the funding does. That’s why education planning and protection planning are the same conversation: MoneySense’s rule of thumb is death/TPD cover of 9× annual income, which is precisely the kind of sum that keeps a S$146,664 pathway intact for a PR family. Check your own number in two minutes with the protection gap calculator.

Unlike retirement, education costs land on a known date. Run the calculator’s own engine for a Citizen newborn aiming at a standard local degree: S$59,208 in today’s dollars becomes about S$103,100 by enrolment at 3% education inflation — and starting from birth, that’s roughly S$303/month at a 4% planning return. Wait until secondary school and the same target needs several times the monthly amount. The education fund calculatorcomputes this live for your child’s age, residency tier and pathway — every institution on this page, plus overseas options.

Quick answers

Sources

• MOE — Revised school fees for non-citizens, 2024–2026
• NUS Registrar — Undergraduate tuition fees AY2026/27
• NYP — Annual course fees (all five polytechnics follow the MOE-subsidised tariff)
• ITE — Training fees for full-time Higher Nitec courses AY2026
• SIT — Undergraduate programme fees AY2025
• SUSS — Full-time undergraduate tuition fees AY2026

General information, not financial advice. Fee figures are computed from official published fee schedules (MOE 2026 school fees including standard miscellaneous fees; subsidised AY2026 tertiary rates) held in our education database as at 2026-09-06; fees are set per cohort and change yearly, so confirm current rates with the institution. Living and spend figures are modeled planning values, not official fees. This page covers formal education costs only — not childcare, food, housing or other costs of raising a child. Speak to a licensed financial adviser before making decisions.