Welcome

We are glad that you are considering spending one semester/year/special term with us as a Non-Graduating (Exchange or Non-Exchange) student.  Come and join students from leading universities all over the world for an enriching and rewarding experience at the National University of Singapore (NUS)!

Application and Admission to NUS Non-Graduating Programme

1. General Criteria
2. Programme of Study
3. Academic Matters
4. Fees
5. Scholarships and Awards
6. Application Procedures
7. Application Outcome
8. Enquiries

General Criteria for Non-Graduating (Exchange/Non-Exchange) Students

You must be a current student registered at another University and have completed at least two semesters (one full year) of college/university level and must continue to assume this status throughout your intended duration of study at NUS under the non-graduating programme.

As English is the main language of instruction at the University (except for Asian/European studies where a good command of the respective Asian/European language is a pre-requisite), you must be proficient in the English language in order to benefit from your studies at NUS. 

You are required to submit either the Test of English as a Foreign Language [TOEFL] or the International English Language Testing System [IELTS] result if you are:-

• from a non-English medium institution (non-exchange coursework applicants only)
• applying to read modules from NUS Faculty of Law and from a non-English medium institution (exchange and non-exchange)
• applying to read graduate level modules from NUS School of Business (i.e. modules with prefix BMA5XXX) and are not from one of NUS' MBA Programme partner universities. (Note: GMAT score is also required in addition to TOEFL/IELTS)

The following requirements must be met:

a. Test of English as a Foreign Language [TOEFL] score of at least:

(i) 600 for the paper-based test; or
(ii) 250 for the computer-based test; or
(iii) 100 for the Internet-based test

b. International English Language Testing System (IELTS) result of at least 6.5; or

c. any other qualifications as determined by the respective faculties/schools in NUS.

These candidates may also be subject to a telephone interview.

To come here as an Exchange student, you must be currently enrolled at one of our exchange partner universities and be nominated by your home university.  Please contact the relevant office at your university which is responsible for student exchange programmes, or our International Relations Office, to determine your eligibility.

If your home university does not have a formal exchange agreement with NUS or if you have not been selected by your home university to study abroad under an exchange agreement, you may apply as a fee paying Non-Exchange student.  Non-Exchange students follow the same programme of study as incoming exchange students, except that they do not enjoy tuition fee waiver.

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Programme of Study

Non-Graduating students studying at NUS may pursue the following:

• Coursework (Undergraduate / Graduate Level)
• Research (Undergraduate / Graduate Level)
• Combination of coursework and research

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1. Workload Requirements

Based on the full-time NUS undergraduate student’s average workload, a full-time Non-Graduating student should read not more than 20 MCs worth of modules (approximately 5 modules) per regular semester, regardless of whether modules are set to audit or examinable. A workload of 20MC would typically require a student to spend an average of 50 hours of study per week over 13 weeks of classes.

Non-graduating international students are required to read a minimum workload of 12 MCs (approximately 3 modules) or pursue full-time research during regular semester. They are responsible for ensuring that the modules registered would fulfil the graduation requirements at the home university.  This minimum workload is also a requirement to qualify for a Student's Pass issued by the Immigration Checkpoints Authority (ICA).

2. Module Selection & Enrolment

As part of your application, you will be asked to indicate the modules that you would like to be enrolled in at NUS from a list of available modules on offer. Please ensure that the modules selected (a minimum of 3 modules with at least 3 additional modules as reserves) are offered during the semester for which you have applied. Exchange students admitted under some Faculty/Department specific programmes may have to meet additional requirements.  Please check with your Home Faculty/Department before you proceed to select your modules.

If you intend to apply to read language module(s) offered by the Centre of Language Studies (CLS) (i.e. modules with prefix ‘LA’ e.g. LAC/LAM/LAF/LAG, etc), you are required to provide a certification letter from your Home University to declare your level of proficiency in the language(s). Please note that you may be required to sit for placement test(s) as approval to read the language module(s) at the appropriate level shall be subject to test result and available vacancy. For placement test schedules and other relevant information, please refer to the CLS website.

Approval of modules selected would be required from the relevant academic departments.  Please note that while we will do our best to assist you with your module selection, we are unable to guarantee your enrolment in the modules selected as they are subject to fulfillment of the prescribed pre-requisites, availability and timetabling factors.

3. Module Restrictions

Due to demand and space constraints, please refer here for the list of modules that have limited or restricted access for Non-Graduating students.

Note:
Modules from the following Faculty/Department/Centre CANNOT be done on an audit** basis:

• School of Business
• School of Computing
• Department of Industrial and System Engineering
• Centre for English Language Communication
• Centre for Language Studies
• Division of Industrial Design
• UROPS modules from Faculty of Science (subject to approval from the respective department offering the module)
• Theatre Studies (TS) modules from Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (namely TS1101E/GEM1003, TS2233, TS2237, TS2240, TS3238)
• English Language (EL) modules from Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (namely EL3254)
• Geography (GE) modules from Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (namely GEK2001/SSA2202, SSA2215)

** Candidates who are admitted on an audit basis will only attend lectures and will not  be permitted to sit for examinations. Participation in other practical components (e.g. tutorials, laboratory work, fieldwork) will be at the discretion of the respective faculty/department.

4. Class & Examination Timetables

It is important that you check the class and examination timetables of all the modules you intend to take to ensure there are no clashes. The timetable builder can be located here in June of each AY. If the timetables for the upcoming semester are not available at the time of your application, you may view the previous academic year’s timetables as a benchmark.

Please note that in the event of any schedule clashes for any of your modules selected, we will not be able to accommodate in any way and you will have to forgo one of the clashed modules.

5. Changing of Modules

You may make changes to your choice of modules at the beginning of the semester after you have registered. For the general time schedule within which students must add or drop a module, please click here (refer to the one for graduate students).

As the actual dates may vary each semester, students are advised to check their registration booklet (enclosed in your offer package) for the applicable deadlines in each semester.

Module enrolment for Non-Graduating students is not done through the NUS Centralized Online Registration System (CORS). Details on the procedures to add/drop modules will be provided in your offer package.

6. Transcript & Credit Transfer

For Exchange students, two copies of your transcript (one of which is a complimentary copy for the student) will be sent directly to the relevant offices of your home university responsible for student exchange programmes, approximately two months after the completion of the semester (unless otherwise arranged with the partner university). You will have to make your own arrangements to collect your complimentary transcript from the relevant office(s) at your home university.

For Non-Exchange students, a copy of your transcript will be sent directly to you at the mailing address as updated in our records, approximately two months after the completion of the semester.

For additional copies of transcripts, students are required to submit an online request. Prevailing fees will apply.

Transfer of credit is entirely at the discretion of your home university.  Please check with your home university as to whether you will receive credit for your proposed modules to be taken at NUS.

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Fees

If you are an Exchange student, your tuition fee is generally waived. However, you are still required to pay for the Student Activity & Services fee and the Health & Insurance Scheme.

If you are a Non-Exchange student, you are required to pay tuition fees as well as the Mandatory Miscellaneous Fees.

Notes:

1. All fees shown here are inclusive of prevailing GST and are valid from AY2010/2011. Fees for AY2009/2010 can be found here.
2. Audited modules are charged as per table above.
3. Fees may be subject to revision from time to time.
4. Late payment charge of S$25 will be imposed for any outstanding fees after the respective payment due date.

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Exchange students may refer to our International Relations Office for information on the availability of scholarships/awards.

For Non-exchange coursework students, the University currently does not provide any scholarships/awards.

For Non-exchange research students, please check with the department, to which you wish to be attached, for availability of sponsorship, if any.

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If you are applying for research attachment only, please submit your application at least 3 months prior to the commencement of your research period at NUS (the above deadlines do not apply).

An email acknowledgement will be sent to you upon receipt of your application and supporting documents.

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Application Outcome

With the above application schedule, you will be notified of the outcome by first week of June (for those coming in August) or first week of November (for those coming in January).

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Enquiries

Should you have further queries, please contact the following: