LASALLE College of the Arts

Founded in 1984 by De La Salle educator, Brother Joseph McNally, LASALLE is a specialist tertiary institution leading contemporary arts education in Design, Fashion, Fine Arts, Media Arts, Dance, Music, Theatre, Asian Art Histories, Art Therapy, and Arts Management in Asia Pacific. The LASALLE name is associated with progress, quality and uncompromising standards in creative arts education. It has a reputation built from a strong track record of nurturing some of Singapore’s leading creative talents, who have formed the backbone of the creative industries regionally and internationally. 

Contemporary in focus and innovative in approach, LASALLE has been nurturing some of Singapore’s leading creative practitioners. Their hero graduates and accomplished faculty staff include established artists at the Venice Biennale, acclaimed designers recognised by the British D&AD and red dot, respected curators, writers, musicians, dance and theatre pioneers, and countless practitioners from the creative industries in Singapore and beyond.

LASALLE offers the most comprehensive range of diploma and degree awards in design, fine arts, film, media arts, fashion, dance, music, theatre, art history, art therapy and arts management in the region. As an accredited institution of The Open University, the United Kingdom’s largest university, the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes offered by LASALLE are benchmarked against the best universities in the UK, making them internationally recognised and equivalent to UK MA, BA(Hons) and DipHE qualifications.

The College is a non-profit, private educational institution, operating autonomously with financial support from Singapore’s Ministry of Education (MOE). Singaporeans and Permanent Residents are eligible for subsidised fees for diploma studies through the MOE Tuition Grant Scheme (conditions apply).

Off-campus accomodation only. Accomodation has to be handled by students themselves. 

Cost of Living

It is possible to live frugally yet comfortably in Singapore, just as you can easily indulge in a luxurious lifestyle, and enjoy the delights of metropolitan living.

Please note that the following are only a guide to what you can expect to spend every month. Actual expenses vary with each student, according to lifestyle and individual preferences.

Shoestring: Set aside approximately S$700 to S$900 per person per month

• You share a room in a small HDB flat in the heartlands or suburbs; and eat simple meals at home or at hawker centres.
• You walk or cycle to and from the Institution, occasionally taking public transport, but rarely taxis.
• You make few overseas calls; your mobile phone subscription plan is the cheapest available.
• During your free time, you enjoy low-cost or free activities like hiking in the park or swimming at a public pool.

Moderate: Set aside approximately S$1200 to S$1600 per person per month

• You have your own room, but share a HDB or private apartment in the suburbs with one to three housemates.
• You eat at hawker centres and food courts, and go to mid-range cafes and restaurants now and then.
• Only occasionally do you use the air-conditioner and take taxis.
• You subscribe to value-for-money plans for Internet and mobile phone access.
• During your free time, you may catch a movie or go window shopping.
• Once in a while, you may visit a club or take a day trip to a neighbouring country.

Comfortable: Set aside approximately S$2000 to S$3000 per person per month

• You share a private apartment in the city with one or two housemates; the apartment's amenities may include a gymnasium, tennis court and swimming pool.
• You eat at mid-range cafes and restaurants, and shop at specialty supermarkets.
• You use the air-conditioner almost every night and make regular overseas calls.
• You often take taxis.
• During your free time, you may frequent clubs and pubs, go for costly pastimes like scuba diving and wakeboarding, and occasionally travel to neighbouring countries.

LASALLE's campus is an exercise in sheer imagination. Conceptualised and designed by Singapore-based architectural firm, RSP Architects, it represented Singapore in the architectural section of the Venice Biennale in 2004 and won three international architectural awards, PUSH Award 2009, Singapore Institute of Architects; Building of the Year Award 2008, 9th Singapore Institute of Architect’s Design Awards; and President’s Design Award 2008.

Its open campus design is inspired by geology, and invites visitors to enjoy and explore the grounds and witness the creation of art.

Six organically shaped buildings, seven storeys high, feature inroads and alleyways running between them - much like lava flowing through a valley and canyons created by natural geological processes. This can be likened to the creative forces pouring from the students and teachers within.

The buildings are distinguished by facets of glass on the inside, and an external cladding made of stone and aluminium. They are linked by an integrated atrium and sky bridges. An innovative roof structure covers the entire site seamlessly.

The entire campus is a living sculpture and contemporary architectural masterpiece that serves as a major landmark within the cityscape.

Campus facilities:

• 1,500 sqm of contemporary art exhibition and gallery spaces;
• The region’s first Theatre and Art Production Workshop which will let you create full-scale sets on-campus;
• Three theatres, including Singapore’s first black box theatre with flexible ‘in-the-round’ seating Dance studios with total approximate size of 662 sqm;
• 10 computer labs equipped with iMacs;
• 10 classrooms to accommodate up to 30 students;
• Three lecture theatres totaling 304 sqm;
• ‘Converged’ network communications infrastructure by Cisco, including a wireless network environment, supporting services like e-learning, video conferencing, education, digital media, and campus security.

LASALLE's campus is located between Short Street and Prinsep Street in Singapore’s Arts, Culture, Learning and Entertainment hub, right in the heart of the city. Situated in the Arts, Culture, Learning and Entertainment hub of Singapore, the city campus encourages interaction through its glass facade and gateless walls. The design provides many platforms for interaction and inspiration. In keeping with the integrative nature of contemporary art and design practice, multiple break-out spaces and sky bridges encourage diverse art forms to coalesce and co-mingle, providing an inspiring learning environment for students.