Average Professor - Liberal Arts Salary in Singapore for 2026
A professor of liberal arts in Singapore earns about 150,000 SGD a year. That's 45% above the national average of 103,200 SGD.
Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in Singapore sit around 78,620 SGD a year, while the very top stretches to 225,300 SGD. Everything on this page is in Singapore dollar (SGD, symbol $), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.
The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in Singapore, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.
How much does a professor of liberal arts make in Singapore?
A typical professor of liberal arts working in Singapore brings home around 12,500 SGD a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 78,620 SGD, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 225,300 SGD for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.
The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior professor of liberal arts working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.
How professor of liberal arts pay ranges in Singapore
A good way to think about salary in Singapore is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all professors of liberal arts in Singapore earn less than 138,200 SGD a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".
Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 99,560 SGD (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 172,200 SGD (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of professors of liberal arts sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.
The very lowest reported salaries sit around 78,620 SGD. The highest stretch to 225,300 SGD, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.
Professor of liberal arts pay by experience in Singapore
Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a professor of liberal arts in Singapore, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical professor of liberal arts salary changes as you move through the career ladder.
- 0-2 Years91,380 SGD
- 2-5 Years+22% from previous111,700 SGD
- 5-10 Years+42% from previous158,700 SGD
- 10-15 Years+16% from previous183,700 SGD
- 15-20 Years+9% from previous201,100 SGD
- 20+ Years+6% from previous212,500 SGD
The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 42%. That is the point at which a professor of liberal arts typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.
Professor of liberal arts pay by education in Singapore
Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving professor of liberal arts pay in Singapore. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.
Below is the average professor of liberal arts salary in Singapore broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.
- Master's Degree124,400 SGD
- PhD+59% from previous197,600 SGD
Professor of liberal arts gender pay gap in Singapore
The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Singapore is no exception. Male professors of liberal arts in Singapore earn an average of 152,000 SGD a year, while female professors of liberal arts earn around 142,300 SGD. That works out to a 7% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.
A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.
Professor - Liberal Arts gender pay gap
6%
Men earn this much more than women on average in Singapore.
Pay raises for a professor of liberal arts in Singapore
Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.
A typical worker doing this role in Singapore sees a raise of about 12% every 17 months, which works out to roughly 8% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.
Across all jobs in Singapore, the national average raise is around 9% every 15 months.
By industry
Industries with the highest pay raises in Singapore:
- Banking
- Energy
- Information Technology
- Healthcare1%
- Travel
- Construction
- Education
By experience level
Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.
- Junior Level3% - 5%
- Mid-Career
- Senior Level
- Top Management
Professor of liberal arts bonus rates in Singapore
Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.
54% of professors of liberal arts in Singapore reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a professor of liberal arts a moderate-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.
Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5% of base salary. The remaining 46% of professors of liberal arts reported no bonus at all over the same period.
Which careers pay bonuses in Singapore
Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.
- Finance
- Architecture
- Sales
- Business Development
- Marketing / Advertising
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
- Insurance
- Customer Service
- Human Resources
- Construction
- Transport
- Hospitality
Professor of liberal arts: public vs private sector pay
Public-sector pay in Singapore is about 5% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.
Public vs private pay gap
5%
Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in Singapore on average.
Professor - Liberal Arts in Singapore: FAQs
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How much does a professor of liberal arts make per month in Singapore?
A professor of liberal arts in Singapore earns about 12,500 SGD a month before tax, based on an annual average of 150,000 SGD.
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What's the salary range for a professor of liberal arts in Singapore?
Entry-level professors of liberal arts in Singapore start near 78,620 SGD. Top-end pay reaches around 225,300 SGD. The middle 50% of earners sit between 99,560 and 172,200 SGD.
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Is the median professor of liberal arts salary in Singapore higher or lower than the average?
The median is 138,200 SGD, lower than the average of 150,000 SGD. Half of professors of liberal arts in Singapore earn below the median, half earn above it.
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What's the gender pay gap for professors of liberal arts in Singapore?
Men working as a professor of liberal arts in Singapore earn around 7% more than women on average (152,000 vs 142,300 SGD a year).
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Do professors of liberal arts in Singapore get bonuses?
About 54% of professors of liberal arts in Singapore reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5% of base salary.
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Do professors of liberal arts earn more in the public or private sector in Singapore?
In Singapore, the public sector pays a professor of liberal arts about 5% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.
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How often do professors of liberal arts in Singapore get a pay raise?
A professor of liberal arts in Singapore sees a raise of around 12% every 17 months, equivalent to roughly 8% a year.