New liberal arts and sciences institutions in India and Singapore: The role of STEM education

Abstract

India is facing a vast unmet demand for both a greater quantity and quality of higher education. The rise of India’s middle class, youthdominated demographics, and emerging high-tech sectors make the expansion of higher education in India an urgent priority. Private philanthropy has enabled the development of a new sector of private liberal arts and sciences universities. We describe several of these new universities in India, and how they each uniquely embody liberal arts in India. Yale-NUS College as an interesting counterpoint is also described, with its interdisciplinary curriculum that blends East and West. These new universities offer great promise to educate students in ways that are rooted both in the twenty-first century and in the cultures of India and Singapore.