SINGAPORE \u2013 Singapore\u2019s first arts university will see its inaugural cohort of students graduate in August, two years after it opened.<\/p>\n
The University of the Arts Singapore (UAS), formed by an alliance between Lasalle College of the Arts and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), is a private university supported by the Government. They will hold their first joint commencement on Aug 7.<\/p>\n
A total of 135 students will graduate, comprising 102 from Lasalle and 33 from NAFA. Most of them were on the two-year pathway after completing a related diploma.<\/p>\n
Another 52 Master of Arts degree holders from Lasalle graduated in November 2025.<\/p>\n
UAS has taken in about 760 students each year since 2024 and is expected to have an annual intake of about 1,000 students within the next five years.<\/p>\n
The university launched with 29 programmes, including eight new degrees in areas such as biophilic design, design for social futures, as well as Master of Arts degrees in arts and ecology, fine art, and music therapy.<\/p>\n
One graduate, Jolene Ariana, 22, who studied biophilic design, was drawn to the benefits of incorporating nature into human spaces.<\/p>\n Jolene Ariana completed her degree in two years after getting a diploma in interior architecture and design.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Biophilic design aims to connect building occupants more closely to nature through elements like natural lighting, materials and ventilation to improve overall well-being.<\/p>\n \u201cI was intrigued because it\u2019s an area that isn\u2019t well known in the industry yet,\u201d said Ariana.<\/p>\n Graduate Tiew Fang Kee, 25, was from the design for social futures course. She aims to design solutions for societal issues like environmental sustainability and the challenges of an ageing population.<\/p>\n The interdisciplinary programme spans areas such as service design, speculative design and systems design.<\/p>\n Tiew said a unique experience from the course were the masterclasses she attended. She learnt from renowned design futurists Clive van Heerden and Jack Mama \u2013 founders of London-based design consultancy vHM Design Futures \u2013 and speculated on Singapore\u2019s coastal resilience against rising sea levels.<\/p>\n Tiew Fang Kee is among the first batch of graduates for the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) design for social futures programme.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u201cI designed a system that placed a levy on seafood purchases to encourage more responsible and conscious consumption in a hypothetical future,\u201d said Tiew, who hopes to enter the social or environmental sectors.<\/p>\n UAS\u2019 deputy vice-chancellors Venka Purushothaman and Tan-Soh Wai Lan said there is strong demand for such interdisciplinary courses.<\/p>\n Purushothaman, who is also president of Lasalle, said this is especially so for programmes that combine artistic excellence with interdisciplinary and future-focused skills, like art histories and curatorial practices or music business.<\/p>\n Tan, who is also president of NAFA, added: \u201cWe are seeing aspiring creatives seek an education that not only deepens artistic excellence, but also equips them to engage meaningfully with communities, and respond to evolving cultural, social and environmental challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n Pauline Lim, 40, from the inaugural batch of the Master of Arts in arts and ecology course, is an adjunct lecturer at Lasalle who teaches the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) programme in fashion design and textiles.<\/p>\n Pauline Lim was keen to explore more about sustainability through the Master of Arts in arts and ecology programme.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Having her own fashion label previously highlighted the issue of fabric waste in the industry from excess raw materials and offcuts. This led her to question her purpose in the field. Seeking a more sustainable approach, she decided to sign up for the programme.<\/p>\n \u201cThe course isn\u2019t just about making art about nature, it\u2019s about embedding ecological thinking into creative practice. And that wasn\u2019t an approach that was familiar for me, it was something I wanted to explore,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n As part of her course, she looked at how she could extend the lifespan of materials and decided to repurpose old kimonos into new garments.<\/p>\n Pauline Lim explored repurposing second-hand kimonos into new garments as part of her course.<\/p>\n PHOTO: LASALLE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n As kimonos are constructed from rectangular lengths of fabric, they lend themselves to a low-waste approach. By utilising rectangular and square cuts for her tops and dresses, Lim minimised offcuts.<\/p>\n She said her course was a reminder about the need to learn continuously. \u201cI thought enrolling in the programme would make me an expert in sustainability, but I think it gave me humility instead. The more you learn about ecology, the more you realise that you don\u2019t know a lot,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n May Tan, the National Arts Council\u2019s director for education and manpower development, said the graduation of UAS\u2019 inaugural cohort marks a significant milestone that reflects Singapore\u2019s commitment to nurturing a strong and diverse local talent core.<\/p>\n Noting that UAS equips graduates with more than artistic or technical skills, Tan said its practice-led curriculum ensures industry readiness while providing structured pathways to advance research in the applied arts. Graduates also get to leverage on the strengths of NAFA and Lasalle to build professional networks and collaboration.<\/p>\n She added that arts graduates today have more career options. Beyond becoming artists or performers, many apply their creative skills in areas like arts management, creative production, design and education.<\/p>\n \u201cArts education develops capabilities such as creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and problem-solving. Outside of the creative sector, these are skills that are transferable and increasingly valued across many industries,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 Singapore\u2019s first arts university will see its inaugural cohort of students graduate in August, two years after it opened. The University of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":73773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=73772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/73773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=73772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=73772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=73772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
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