The SAF Scholarship

A military profession is not for everyone. For those who are bold enough to take the leap of faith, they can expect grooming and developmental opportunities at every level in the SAF. In particular, recipients of The SAF Scholarship will be given the opportunity to serve Singapore and Singaporeans beyond the SAF through secondment opportunity to other public sector agencies if they perform well.

As The SAF Scholarship is jointly offered by the Public Service Commission (PSC) and MINDEF/SAF, you will be equipped with a myriad of leadership and managerial skills, and systematically groomed to assume key appointments within and beyond the SAF.

Applications for The SAF Scholarship open from September to mid-March of the following year. You may submit your application for The SAF Scholarship via the PSC website at, (https://go.gov.sg/mindefsafscholarships-applynow-psc). In your PSC Gateway application, under “Career and Course Preferences”, please indicate “Uniformed Services – Singapore Armed Forces” as your top career choice.

Specific to female applicants, you are strongly encouraged to concurrently apply for the SAF Merit Scholarship in order for MINDEF/SAF to assess your suitability and to facilitate your enlistment for Basic Military Training (BMT).

Shortlisted candidates have to undergo the PSC panel interview. The panel interview is usually held from January to May each year. Candidates who are found suitable by PSC would be offered The SAF Scholarship on a provisional basis and be referred to MINDEF/SAF for further assessment.

As we are looking for talent with the potential to assume key leadership positions in the SAF, we place emphasis on their military performance. As such, you must qualify for Officer Cadet School (OCS) based on your own merits as your performance during OCS will have a bearing on your suitability for the scholarship. The SAF Scholarship would be confirmed if you are found suitable by MINDEF/SAF during our selection board in May/June.

The selection board looks for candidates with leadership potential, good character, commitment to serve Singapore and Singaporeans, and a keen interest to pursue a challenging and fulfilling profession with MINDEF/SAF.

As we are looking for bright young talent to assume key leadership appointments in the SAF, you must perform well in BMT, and qualify for OCS. Failure to gain entry to OCS would be a veto criterion for the scholarship.

Applicants are required to be Singapore Citizens at point of application.

Yes, MINDEF/SAF benchmarks the results of such equivalent qualifications against that of the GCE ‘A’ levels.

The bond is six years and will take immediate effect after you graduate and return to service. Consistent with other scholarship awarding agencies where bond is imposed, the period of studies is not counted towards the fulfilment of the bond.

If you are not found suitable for The SAF Scholarship during MINDEF’s internal selection board, you may be considered for other PSC Scholarships, if offered by PSC. Depending on the circumstances, MINDEF/SAF may exercise the flexibility to offer other scholarships such as the SAF Merit Scholarship.

You are expected to apply for universities of your choice as admission is dependent on individual merit. You should also arrange to sit for the necessary pre-admission tests such as the SAT, where necessary.

You may request for an extension of the deadline on the basis that you are being considered for a scholarship and are pending an outcome. Many established universities are familiar with our scholarship selection process and are likely to consider an extension.

You may disrupt for studies upon completion of the Service Term in Officer Cadet School (OCS). As a guide, you may depart for studies in August/September if you are proceeding to US universities, and end September if you are proceeding to UK universities. If you choose to pursue your studies in other countries, your disruption date would commensurate with the course commencement date.

Yes, you are allowed to pursue a Master’s Degree in most disciplines (except Medicine, Dentistry and Architecture) if you meet the eligibility criteria and complete it within the stipulated study period of four years.

You can pursue a double major if you are able to complete your studies within the stipulated study period of four years.

You can choose the university and course of your study (with the exception of professional courses such as architecture, medicine, dentistry etc.). You may pursue a degree in Law. However, you will not be called to the Bar while serving in the SAF.

Currently, the SAF recalls our scholars during the summer vacation for attachments in SAF units as well as developmental programmes organised by PSC. Through this, you can keep updated with the developments in the SAF. Also, you will be assigned a mentor prior to graduation, who will be attached to you for several years upon your return from studies. You will be scheduled for route of advancement courses to prepare you to take up your respective appointments upon return.

Yes, you may indicate which Service you would like to join. Your suitability for the respective Service will be based on your individual merit.

As a The SAF Scholarship recipient, you will be put in appointments where you will be constantly challenged to apply your analytical skills and ground experience. Through various tours you will not only hone your skills as a leader, but also as a manager, a planner and a strategist. You will be equipped with valuable skill sets and strong leadership competencies to tackle myriad challenges such as organisational management, project management, competency development, people development, resource management, and incident management.

You can expect to contribute to long-term planning that determines MINDEF/SAF’s future development. You will also have the chance to represent MINDEF/SAF to work with officers from the other Ministries to formulate government policies at the national level. All in, the job nature is extremely challenging and offers a wide spectrum of variety.

As you are applying for a military scholarship, it is mandatory for you to undergo military training in order for us to assess your suitability as military leader. At the same time, we recognise that serving in the military is a path less trodden.

During BMT, you will be training with other female trainees. You will be equipped with basic soldiering skills and can expect to go through key events such as field camp, grenade throwing, urban operations to name a few. You will also be trained physically and inculcated with a sense of military discipline.

Training would be tough but you would develop resilience and fitness through endurance and physical training exercises so that you can cope with the training both physically and mentally. With a positive mind set and strong bonds forged with your platoon mates, you will be able to pull through the training and excel in BMT.

During officer cadet training, you will pick up knowledge of military management and be given the opportunity to hone your leadership skills and capability as a commander.

We recognise that joining the SAF is a big leap from your civilian life, and everyone will start off with differing fitness levels. As such, the SAF adopts a progressive training approach to level everyone up to the requisite fitness level. With a positive mind-set, good teamwork and the bonds forged with your platoon mates, we are certain that it will help you pull through the training and excel in BMT.

Entry into OCS is based on numerous considerations such as organisational requirements, your military performance, your commanders’ recommendations, education qualifications and medical fitness.