Applications for Public Service Commission scholarships starting in 2027 close on 15 March 2027, and the bond a scholar signs runs from four to six years depending on where the degree is read. The terms sit in the PSC’s undergraduate scholarship information, and pre-university students do not need their final examination results in hand to apply.
A suitable candidate who applies before results are out can receive a provisional offer, which is confirmed once the final results are released.
Step 1: Confirm you are eligible
The PSC scholarships are for Singapore citizens only. Permanent residents and foreigners cannot apply.
Pre-university applicants qualify with GCE A-levels, the International Baccalaureate, the NUS High School Diploma, a polytechnic diploma with merit, or another high school diploma or equivalent. Beyond results, the PSC looks for leadership potential and a good record outside the classroom as well as in it.
Undergraduates can also apply as mid-term applicants. They need at least one semester of university results and must apply before the final year of their degree. A student already in the last year of a degree is out of the mid-term window.
Step 2: Choose a career track
The scholarships fall into three career paths, and the choice decides where a scholar works after graduating.
- Public Administration: the PSC Scholarship and the PSC Scholarship (Sustainability). Scholars are posted to a ministry or statutory board according to the needs of the Service and their suitability.
- Professional Service: the PSC Scholarship in Engineering, Foreign Service, Judicial Service/Legal Service, Medicine or Dentistry, Public Finance, and Teaching Service. Each comes with a tied agency from the start.
- Uniformed Service: the Singapore Armed Forces Scholarship and the Singapore Police Force Scholarship.
For the professional schemes, the degree must be in a field relevant to the tied agency. A Teaching Service scholar is developed as a teacher; an Engineering scholar is developed as an engineer.
Step 3: Work out the bond
The bond length depends on the country of study, not on the scheme.
- Degree in an English-speaking country, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand: six years.
- Degree in a non-English-speaking country: five years.
- Degree in Singapore: four years.
Medicine and Dentistry run on their own terms. Both are read in Singapore only, with up to five years of study for Medicine and up to four for Dentistry, and both carry a six-year bond.
Set side by side, the gap is two years. A scholar who reads in Singapore owes four years of service, and the same scholar reading in Britain or the United States owes six. The PSC also caps study time by country: three years for a British degree and four for an American one.
Step 4: Know what the award pays
The scholarship covers tuition fees and other approved charges. Scholars studying overseas also get a return airfare. Maintenance and other allowances are paid on top, and scholars on the Uniformed Service track draw a full salary, including bonuses, while they study.
The award also sponsors the PSC’s development programmes, approved student exchange or summer programmes, and a master’s degree where the requirements are met. The PSC also helps scholars find internships.
Mid-term scholars are treated differently on money. Tuition and compulsory fees paid before the award are back-paid, but allowances start only from the date of the award.
Step 5: Gather the documents
The PSC’s application guide, last updated on 20 August 2026, asks pre-university applicants for:
- Secondary 4 or Year 4 year-end school reports, with results and teachers’ comments
- Secondary 4 or Year 4 co-curricular activity and Community Involvement Programme records
- Pre-tertiary co-curricular and community involvement records
- Certificates for qualifications already obtained, such as the GCE O-level, A-level, IB Diploma, NUS High School Diploma or polytechnic diploma
Preliminary examination results are not required. Mid-term applicants add their university transcripts and co-curricular records, plus employment, National Service and public service internship testimonials where they have them.
Step 6: Apply on a computer with Singpass
The application form opens with Singpass. Since 21 December 2023, the scholarship portal has not supported mobile phones or tablets, so a laptop or desktop is needed.
The form covers personal and family details, education history, achievements, career and course preferences, and university applications. An essay goes with it. An application counts as complete only when the form, the essay and every supporting document have all been submitted.
A video interview link arrives within seven days of a successful submission.
Step 7: Go through the assessments
Applicants receive an application outcome by June. Those shortlisted move on to psychometric assessments of general, verbal and numerical reasoning, game-based assessments, and a psychological interview. Only candidates who complete all of them go before the PSC Scholarships Selection Board for a panel interview.
Assessments and interviews run from August each year to June the following year. An interview outcome can come within two weeks, though some evaluations take longer, and all outcomes are due by June.
There are three possible results: unsuccessful, referred to ministries for their own scholarships, or offered a PSC scholarship. A referral means the ministry concerned contacts the candidate directly.
The PSC’s scholarship information was last updated on 1 September 2026. Questions on a particular scheme go to the Public Service Commission, and the closing date for PSC scholarship applications for 2027 is 15 March 2027.
