Fact Sheet: The Defence Scholarships and Profiles of Scholarship Recipients

To date, there are more than 1500 recipients for the defence scholarships, with a total of 103 recipients awarded in 2024 across 8 categories of scholarship awards offered by MINDEF. They include The SAF Scholarship, Public Service Commission (PSC) Scholarship (Engineering) – Defence and Security, the SAF Merit Scholarship, the SAF Engineering Scholarship, the Defence Merit Scholarship, the SAF Medicine Scholarship, the SAF Dentistry Scholarship and the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) Scholarship. 

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Scholarship. Introduced in 1971, The SAF Scholarship, formerly known as SAF Overseas Scholarship (SAFOS), is a prestigious scholarship second only to the President's Scholarship. There are 370 recipients of The SAF Scholarship to date. 

Public Service Commission Scholarship (Engineering) – Defence and Security. The Public Service Commission (PSC) Scholarship (Engineering) was launched in 2017. In partnership with three engineering clusters in the Public Service, namely Defence and Security, Information and Communications Technology & Smart Systems, and Infrastructure & Environment, the scholarship aims to develop and groom individuals for leadership positions in the engineering and technology sectors. The Defence and Security cluster looks at the design, operation and maintenance of our national security infrastructure. There are 42 recipients of PSC Scholarship (Engineering) – Defence and Security to date. 

SAF Merit Scholarship. Introduced in 1983, the SAF Merit Scholarship is awarded to individuals who have excelled academically and who possess dynamic leadership qualities. There are 578 SAF Merit Scholarship recipients to date. 

SAF Engineering Scholarship. Introduced in 2016, the SAF Engineering Scholarship is awarded to aspiring engineers who will be joining the SAF as Military Experts. These scholars will form the next generation of leaders in our engineering corps who will catalyse the next phase of the SAF’s development. As military engineers, they will assume a range of challenging engineering appointments in MINDEF/SAF. There are also opportunities for them to be rotated to the wider defence technology ecosystem to build up engineering expertise and gain exposure in cutting-edge defence technologies. There are 42 recipients of the SAF Engineering Scholarship to date. 

Defence Merit Scholarship. Introduced in 2002, the Defence Merit Scholarship is awarded by MINDEF to selected individuals with the calibre to chart Singapore’s future. Recipients will be groomed to be a leader, a major contributor to defence policies and more. There are 193 Defence Merit Scholarship recipients to date.

SAF Medicine Scholarship and SAF Dentistry Scholarship. The SAF Medicine Scholarship was introduced in 1991 and is awarded to those who aspire to serve as military medical professionals. Recipients will pursue studies locally and embark on a career as a Medical Officer or Dental Officer in the SAF Medical Corps. There are 217 SAF Medicine Scholarship recipients and 12 SAF Dentistry Scholarship recipients to date.

Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) Scholarship. Introduced in 2000, the DSTA Scholarship is awarded to budding engineers and scientists with a keen passion for science and technology to provide leading-edge technological solutions for Singapore’s defence and security. It offers scholars the opportunity to pursue undergraduate studies of their choice in science and engineering at renowned universities worldwide. 

The breakdown of the scholarship recipients by awards, course and country of studies is in Table 1, 2 and 3 respectively

More Resources

105 Award Recipients, One Defence Community

Speech by Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen, at the 54th Defence Scholarships Award Ceremony