Since it was incorporated on 12 January 2000, SMU is set up as Singapore's first private university offering a style of education modeled after The Wharton School, SMU occupies a state-of-the-art city campus located in the heart of Singapore's civic, cultural and business districts.

SMU is home to more than 6,000 students and comprises six schools: the School of Accountancy; Lee Kong Chian School of Business; School of Economics; School of Information Systems; School of Law; and School of Social Sciences.