Yale-NUS had hoped eventually to secure as much private funding as do toptier American liberal-arts colleges, but by March had raised just a measly $320m.
In recent years, however, there are rumors that the hall will be sold by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to the central administration of the University.
Some universities had begun experimenting with interdisciplinary curriculums but it was with Yalenus, the city-state's first liberal-arts college, that Singapore signalled its commitment to a new approach.