NHB Scholarship: 2025 Profile
Download printable cheat-sheet (CC-BY 4.0)18 Feb 2025, 09:20 Z
TL;DR\ NHB's scholarship cultivates future museum, heritage, and culture leaders by paying for your university degree, giving you hands-on museum attachments, and bonding you to steward Singapore's cultural institutions.
Scholarship Snapshot
- Status: Application cycle closed (last checked 18 Feb 2025)
- Official Listing: NHB Scholarship
- Who It Targets: JC/IP graduates passionate about museums, cultural policy, conservation, or heritage education
- Eligibility: Singapore Citizens with excellent academics, strong cultural literacy, and a demonstrated commitment to heritage work
- Tenable Institutions: Local autonomous universities (NUS, NTU, SMU, SIT, SUTD) and approved overseas universities in humanities, arts management, or conservation
- Bond: Four to six years depending on study location
Award Components
- Tuition fees and compulsory charges for approved degrees (history, anthropology, arts management, conservation, etc.)
- Monthly allowance, book grants, and hostel/accommodation subsidies
- Overseas exposure opportunities including museum internships, field schools, or conservation labs
- Customised rotations through museums, heritage institutions, and policy units upon graduation
- Mentorship by senior museum professionals and access to NHB's professional development network
Eligibility Highlights
- Strong portfolio showing involvement in museums, heritage trails, arts festivals, or community heritage projects
- Excellent communication skills—written storytelling, public speaking, bilingual proficiency are valued
- Analytical mindset for policy development, research, and curatorial work
- Cultural sensitivity and ability to work with diverse communities and stakeholders
- Medical fitness and readiness to undergo security clearance when handling national collections
Application Roadmap
- Compile academic transcripts, recommendation letters, and a portfolio reflecting your heritage engagement.
- Submit the NHB scholarship application with a personal statement detailing your motivation and intended specialisation.
- Shortlisted applicants sit for written assessments and panel interviews covering cultural issues and strategic thinking.
- Participate in group exercises or case studies that simulate museum programming or heritage policy scenarios.
- Upon selection, align your degree plan, internships, and overseas exposure with NHB's manpower strategy before signing the bond.
- Attend scholar induction, receive mentorship pairing, and schedule pre-university museum attachments.
Preparation Playbook
- Stay updated on national heritage policies, digitalisation efforts, and community partnerships featured by NHB.
- Visit museums regularly; reflect on exhibition design, curatorial narratives, and visitor engagement improvements.
- Build research skills—oral history interviews, archival work, or collections documentation all demonstrate readiness.
- Volunteer as a docent or programme facilitator to hone communication and interpretive abilities.
- Plan how you'll balance specialised study (e.g., conservation science) with broader heritage leadership development.
