July 8, 2025

As the inaugural NUS Commencement season approaches, graduates are ushered into the working world, marking the end of their formal education and the beginning of an adulthood defined by professional employment. Many Singaporean youths, eager to savour the last bit of carefree freedom afforded by their youth, may choose to embark on grad (graduation) trips with their close friends. Not to be confused with the often-studied gap year, a period of 3 to 24 months during which an individual steps away from formal education, Singaporean grad trips represent a distinct phenomenon.  

In ”If not now, then never’: Conceptualising the grad trip’ (Tourist Studies, 2023), Yinn Shan Cheong (NUS Geography), Harng Luh Sin (Singapore University of Social Sciences), and Professor T. C. Chang (NUS Geography) identify and portrays the grad trip, offering an Asian perspective on youth travel, and distinguishing it from the Eurocentric understanding of the gap year. 

In Singapore, the grad trip takes place immediately after university graduation and is typically completed within a narrow window of opportunity before starting full-time employment. The timing and duration of the trip are crucial for Singaporean youth due to their implicit obligations in the nation’s work-driven culture. Unlike the gap year, which is often seen as a sabbatical offering a break from standard routines, the grad trip is a brief, specific period dedicated to celebrating the transition from education to professional life. 

The researchers conducted 12 focus group discussions with groups of friends who went on grad trips together. Through these intimate sessions, they discovered that grad trips are characterised by two distinctive features: their urgent timing and their brief duration. 

Regarding its urgency, the grad trip is sandwiched between graduation and the start of formal employment. It is seen as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be seized due to the anticipated lack of time once formal work begins. This trip occurs during a unique transitional period, representing a liminal space of brief autonomy over their schedule before the onset of adult responsibilities. The notion that time is a resource to be seized plays a significant role in the decision to undertake a grad trip. 

The grad trip is also noted for its short duration. According to respondents in the focus group discussions, their travels rarely extended beyond three weeks. Many indicated they had “no time for a gap year”, suggesting that the grad trip serves as a quicker alternative. In Singapore’s hustle culture, a longer break is often impractical, as it could potentially set one back in the competitive “rat race”. Thus, the concept of a grad trip contrasts sharply with the Western notion of a gap year, where such a break is typically viewed as an opportunity for productive activities to enhance one’s professional resume. 

Ultimately, the grad trip represents youths’ efforts to capitalise on fleeting opportunities within their tightly regulated schedules, shaped by Singapore’s context of time scarcity and work-driven norms.  

Read the article here.