Direct Poly Admission

What is the DPA Exercise?

1.    The Direct Polytechnic Admission (DPA) exercise is an alternative to consider if you wish to continue your post-secondary education in the polytechnics.


2.     2007 was the first year that the Ministry of Education (MOE) is introducing the DPA exercise. Under this exercise, your abilities, talents and interests in a specific area of applied learning will be considered for admission into a relevant polytechnic course, before you sit for your ‘O’ level examinations. For example, your passion and talents in film and video production would be considered by polytechnics when you apply through the DPA for a polytechnic course in Media Studies.  

3.    All five polytechnics – Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic - will each admit up to 2.5% of their Academic Year 20010 intake through DPA, or about 100 students per polytechnic on average.  There is also a course-specific cap of 30% for each polytechnic course under the DPA.  

Should I apply for the DPA Exercise?

4.    The DPA exercise benefits students who are clearly interested in, and have the aptitude for, an applied education in the polytechnics.  Polytechnics have the flexibility to select students based on their own criteria, which are transparent and based on merit. This exercise serves to recognise a wider range of student achievements and talents, other than examination results. Details on the selection criteria of each polytechnic are available in the respective website of the polytechnics.  For your convenience, we have provided a list of the polytechnics’ websites at the end of this page.

5.     If you are not interested to apply for admission to polytechnics before sitting for the GCE ‘O’ levels through this exercise, you can continue to apply for admission to polytechnics through other admission exercises conducted after the release of the GCE ‘O’ level examination results like the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) or the Joint Polytechnic Admissions Exercise (JPSAE).  

How do I apply for the DPA Exercise?

6.     The DPA Exercise will be conducted before your school preliminary examinations, between 8 July and 21 Aug 2009.  Please consider carefully what your own strengths and interests are, and which polytechnic course best meets your own needs, before you commit yourself to make your choice. 

7.     If you are selected for a polytechnic course, you can decide whether to accept or reject the offer. Upon acceptance of your DPA offer, you will be guaranteed a place in the polytechnic course, provided that you submit your acceptance no later than 21 Aug 2009. However, please note that you must meet the admission criteria for the respective polytechnic course based on your GCE ‘O’ Level results, in order to continue in the course after the release of GCE ‘O’ Level results . 

8.     Once you have accepted a DPA Offer, you will not be able to participate in the JAE and JPSAE, as long as you meet the admission criteria for the polytechnic course which you have been admitted to, based on your GCE ‘O’ Level results. Hence, please consider this very carefully before you accept your DPA Offer.

9.     You may withdraw from the DPA Exercise, even after you have submitted your acceptance to any offer. However, all withdrawals must be submitted by hand at the polytechnic you have been admitted, no later than 9 October 2009 at 5pm. Once you have submitted your withdrawal from the DPA Exercise, you will not be disqualified from participating in JAE/JPSAE later.

Direct School Admission Exercise for JC

10.    Students who are interested in studying in junior colleges and wish to gain direct admission to a JC can participate in the DSA-JC Exercise, which will be conducted in July.

11.    Students can participate in both DSA-JC and DPA Exercises but can only accept one offer at any one time - either a JC or a polytechnic offer.  If a student were to accept both a JC and a polytechnic offer concurrently, he/she will be disqualified from both the DSA-JC and DPA Exercises. Students can refer to the MOE website at www.moe.gov.sg/esp/schadm/dsa_jc for more information regarding the DSA-JC Exercise.

For Further Information

12.    For more information on the DPA Exercise, please refer to MOE’s website at http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/post-sec/dpa/. You are encouraged to read our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) provided on the website in case you have further queries. You may also call the MOE Customer Service Centre at 6872-2220.

List of Polytechnic Websites

• Nanyang Polytechnic http://www.nyp.edu.sg
• Ngee Ann Polytechnic http://www.np.edu.sg/
• Republic Polytechnic http://www.rp.sg/
• Singapore Polytechnic http://www.sp.edu.sg
• Temasek Polytechnic http://www.tp.edu.sg/