Table 3.1.1: Engineering Undergraduate Curriculum (except for the Engineering Science Programme) 

University Level Requirements (Ulr)	Programme Requirements		Unrestricted Elective Modules (UeMs)
General Education Modules (GEMs) (8 MCs) 1 Singapore Studies (SS) module (4 MCs) Breadth Modules (outside student’s Faculty) (8 MCs)	Faculty Requirements: Critical Thinking & Writing Human Capital in Organizations Engineering Professionalism	Foundational Requirements including: Mathematics I & II, Programming Methodology and others Discipline-specific modules for various programmes (Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Industrial & Systems Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering and Mechanical Engineering)	Unrestricted Elective Modules (UEMs)
Sub-total = 20 MCs (12.5%)	Sub-total = 10 MCs (6.25%)	Sub-total = 110 MCs (68.75%)	Sub-total = 20 MCs (12.5%)
Minimum required for graduation = 160 MCs

 

As illustrated in table 3.1.1, the minimum requirements for the Bachelor of Engineering degree programme are as follows:

University Level Requirements (ULR)                   20 MCs
Programme Requirements*                                  120 MCs
Unrestricted Elective Modules (UEMs)                20 MCs
Total                                                                           160 MCs

*        Note that the programme requirements could be more for some engineering programmes.

University Level Requirements (ULR)
Engineering undergraduates have considerable flexibility in their choice of elective study. In addition to technical electives within their discipline (via the programme requirements), students have a wide choice of General Education Modules (GEMs), Breadth Modules and Unrestricted Elective Modules (UEMs). These may be chosen and used in the many exciting ways described in this section. Students are strongly encouraged to consider some modules which will prepare them for their future roles as engineer - leaders. In most cases, these should be chosen from the list of business and management modules shown in Table 3.1.1b. Students should seek guidance from the departmental academic advisors on their elective choices.

The 20 MCs of the University Level Requirements (ULR) consist of:
•      Two General Education Modules (GEMs)
•      One Singapore Studies (SS) Module
•      Two Breadth Modules (outside student’s Faculty)

General Education Modules
General Education Modules (GEMs) are different from other modules in two respects. First, they are general because they aim at those aspects of knowledge and abilities that we expect of educated individuals in general, not the knowledge and abilities that are required in the specialisation in a particular discipline or profession. Second, they seek to inculcate higher order qualities of the mind and intellect that make a person educated, as opposed to practical know - how and abilities that might be useful in one’s daily life or to contribute to success in one’s career. Students are advised to consult http://www.nus.edu.sg/gem/ for further details concerning GEMs.

GEMs offered by the Faculty of Engineering are as follows:
GEK1500          Inside Your Personal Computer
GEK1501          Information Technology and Us
GEK1512          Understanding How the Internet Works
GEK1513          Wireless Communications — Past, Present and Future
GEK1514          Microelectronics Revolution — from Sand to ICs
GEK1522          Global Environmental Issues
GEK1523          Innovativeness in Engineering Design
GEK1524          Living with Fluids
GEK1546          Harnessing patterns of light
GEK2505          Introductory Biomedical Engineering
GEM1505A       Engineering by Design — Innovations in Conservation Devices & Systems
GEM1505B       Engineering by Design — Innovations in Electrical & Electronic Systems
GEM1505C       Engineering by Design — Natural Forms & Conceptual Design of Structures
GEM1505D       Engineering by Design — Biomimetic Principles in Engineering Design
GEM2501         Electric Energy — Powering the New Millennium
GEM2502         Modes of Invention

Engineering students
•    must read at least one GEM from Group B: Humanities & Social Sciences group
•    are encouraged to read a Design GEM Offered by the Faculty of Engineering (please see below)

Design GEMS offered by FOE
Engineering is about the innovative and creative application of mathematical and scientific principles to the creation of products, technology and services for the good of mankind. Engineering design essentially involves an engineering methodology for solving problems, and the final solution depends on a number of issues or constraints including cost and user requirements. The purpose of these introductory modules on Engineering Design is to introduce first year students to the exciting world of engineering by a combination of lectures, laboratory and “design-and-build” project work.  Learning will be accomplished by providing opportunity for students to apply principles of design and integrate fundamentals of engineering and science for novel or improved solutions of problems. Students will be working in small groups, interacting with faculty and research staff in an active laboratory where they will be required to think critically and implement solutions to a given “grand challenge” design problem in an integrated way. First-year engineering undergraduates are encouraged to read one of the following Design GEMs:

 

GEM1505A       Engineering by Design — Innovations in Conservation Devices & Systems
GEM1505B       Engineering by Design — Innovations in Electrical & Electronic Systems
GEM1505C       Engineering by Design — Natural Forms & Conceptual Design of Structures
GEM1505D       Engineering by Design — Biomimetic Principles in Engineering Design

Singapore Studies Modules
Students are required to take one module from a list of Singapore Studies (SS) Modules. SS modules heighten awareness and knowledge in history, politics, economics, law and urban environment of Singapore and Southeast Asia.

Breadth Modules (outside Student’s Faculty)
The Breadth Modules under ULR enable students to pursue topics beyond their field of specialization by reading subjects outside their faculty. As these modules can be used to satisfy Minor and Second Major requirements, students are advised to carefully plan the use of the Breadth Requirement (also see below).

Some modules that complement the professional development of engineering undergraduates include the following:

Table 3.1.1b:  Complementary Breadth Modules

Module	Prerequisites	Preclusions
ACC1002X Financial Accounting	None	None
BSP1004 Legal Environment of Business	None	None
BSP1005 Managerial Economics	None	EC1301, IE2140
EC1301 Principles of Economics	None	BSP1005, IE2140 & etc.
MKT1003 Marketing	None	TR2201
MNO1001 Management and Organisation	None	None
MNO2311 Leadership in Organisation	MNO1001	None
SC1101E Making Sense of Society	None	None
ES2007S Professional Communication	Students who are required to read ES1000 and/or EAP modules ( ES1301/ES1102/ES1102) must pass it/them before taking ES2007S.	CS2301 or IS2101,ES2002,ES2007A,ES2007D,ES2007E

Students should refer to their specific programmes for recommended Breadth modules from other Faculties.

Programme Requirements
Programme Requirements comprise the Faculty, Foundational and Discipline specific Requirements:
•      Faculty Requirements: EG1413 Critical Thinking and Writing, HR2002 Human Capital in Organizations and EG2401 Engineering Professionalism, and
•      Foundational Requirements: MA1505 Mathematics I, MA1506 Mathematics II, CS1010 Programming Methodology (or IT1005/CE2409) and others (depending on the student’s engineering discipline), and
•      Discipline Specific Modules: core/essential, technical elective and project/independent study modules (that are described in the departmental Major Requirements in section 3.2).

  Faculty Requirements include modules that aim to develop important abilities required of well-rounded engineers with professional maturity. EG1413 Critical Thinking & Writing is designed to prepare students to think, speak, and write critically and effectively. While oral communication skills are also emphasized through project-based modules, students are encouraged to read an oral communications module (such as ES2007), which teaches receptive and productive communication techniques needed in an increasingly global and competitive environment.

For details about the foundational and discipline - specific curriculum requirements of the various engineering programmes, please refer to the respective sections in this bulletin. 

Unrestricted Elective Modules (UEMs)
Unrestricted Elective Modules (UEMs) enable students to pursue their interests without any restrictions. Students may use UEMs to partially or wholly satisfy exciting academic programmes such as the Enhancement Programmes (see Section 3.4), Minor Programmes (see Section 3.3) and Second Major Programmes. To achieve a greater depth in their engineering major, students may also take technical electives to satisfy UE requirements.  Technical electives/modules taken as UE must be taken on a graded basis.

Engineering undergraduates are encouraged to read IE2105 Fundamentals in Systems Engineering which introduces fundamental concepts and underlying principles of systems engineering, including systems thinking, as well as the design and management of complex systems. This will enable students to develop a holistic view of complex problems and proposed technological solutions. Table 3.1.1c shows FoE modules that can be taken as UEMs.

Table 3.1.1c:  Possible Unrestricted Elective Modules (UEMs)

Module	Prerequisites	Preclusions
IE2105 Fundamentals in Systems Engineering	None	IE2101
IE2140 Engineering Economy	None	None
IE4240 Project Management	IE2140	None
IE4241 Work, Technology and Organisation	MNO1001	None

Important Advice Concerning UEM and ULR-Breadth Modules
Students should carefully plan the use of UEM and ULR Breadth modules which can be used simultaneously to satisfy the requirements of a number of exciting programmes such as the FoE Enhancement, Double degree, Second Major and Minor programmes. Students are strongly urged to take modules towards UEM in their upper years of study and to take note of the 60 MC limit on Level-1000 modules (see section 3.1.3).

The Industrial Attachment (EG3601) and Vacation Internship (EG3602) programmes, which are part of the FoE Enhancement programmes, provide students with the invaluable opportunity to bring their proficiencies from the classroom to a real industrial environment and to acquire the ability to translate theoretical knowledge into practical applications. Through these programmes, students not only attain the practical work experience by working alongside with experienced professionals in multinational corporations and research centres, they may also get a taste of working with diverse cultures, and develop a global outlook when doing the internship overseas. With this, interns could also get opportunities for employment by companies upon graduation. Students are therefore strongly encouraged to plan carefully to incorporate Industrial Attachments or Vacation Internships into their study plans. 

The credits earned under these two programmes will be used to satisfy UEMs and these are on Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory (S/U) basis (refer to Section 3.1.3). For more information on these Enhancement Programmes, please refer to Section 3.4.

3.1.2    General Degree Requirements

To be awarded a Bachelor of Engineering degree, students must:
i.        Satisfy the Modular Credit (MCs) requirements of their specific B.Eng. degree programme,
ii.       Obtain a cumulative average point (CAP) of 2.00 or higher,
iii.      Pass the requisite English for Academic Purposes module(s) by the fourth semester (only applicable to students who fail to meet the exemption criteria based on the Qualifying English Test (QET) results), and
iv.      Fulfil all the above within a maximum candidature of five years, unless otherwise approved by the University.

Students are advised to take careful note of the degree requirements. It is the students’ responsibility to understand their graduation requirements and plan their course of study appropriately. Important announcements related to curriculum updates will be placed at the Faculty of Engineering’s website at: http://www.eng.nus.edu.sg/ugrad/ and in the websites of the student’s respective departments.

The class of honours awarded to a candidate who completes the Bachelor of Engineering degree requirements will be based on the cumulative average point (CAP – see section 3.1.3) of all modules completed at all levels as given in Table 3.1.2.Table 3.1.2: Relationship between CAP and Honours Classification

Table 3.1.2: Relationship between CAP and Honours Classification

Class of Honours	CAP Cut Offs
First Class	4.5 and above, plus at least an ‘A minus’ in the Final Year Project
Second Class Upper	4.0 to 4.49
Second Class Lower	3.5 to 3.99
Third Class	3.2 to 3.49
Pass	2.0 to 3.19
Fail	Below 2.0

 

3.1.3    Other Academic Matters

Exemption Policy for Polytechnic Graduates

Polytechnic graduates who are admitted into the B.Eng. programmes may receive up to 40 MCs of module exemptions from the following list.
a)      Up to 8 MCs from University Level Requirements (ULR): one General Education Module from Group B (Humanities & Social Sciences) and one Breadth module
b)      Up to 12 MCs from Unrestricted Elective Modules (UEMs)
c)      Specific exemptions of up to 20 MCs from programme requirements comprising one or more modules as determined by the student’s department on a case-by-case basis.  Some of these exemptions would only be granted subject to the student passing advanced placement tests. For specific exemptions, please approach your department.

All polytechnic graduates are required to sit for the Qualifying English Test (QET).

Math Bridging Module for Polytechnic Graduates
Polytechnic graduates are required to read the Math bridging module MA1301. Those who have gone through special/advanced Math programmes, subject to the approval of the Faculty, would not have to read MA1301 and can proceed to MA1505 Mathematics I, a compulsory Math module for all engineering students.

Physics Bridging Modules for Polytechnic Graduates and GCE ‘A’ Level Students without H2 or H1 Physics
GCE ‘A’ Level students without H2 or H1 Physics are required to read the Physics bridging modules (PC1221 and PC1222). Polytechnic graduate students may also be required to read Physics bridging modules and should check with their respective departments for details.

English Requirement
ES1000 Basic English and/or ES1102 English for Academic Purposes (Engineering) must be taken by students who have not passed or been exempted from the Qualifying English Test (QET) at the time of admission to the Faculty. There are no MCs assigned to this module, but a pass is required for the award of the degree. Students are strongly urged to complete
ES1102 in the first semester so that they can proceed to read EG1413 Critical Thinking and Writing in the second semester of the first year of study.

Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
The Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) option is intended to encourage students to pursue their intellectual interests, without undue concern that exploring a new subject area may affect adversely their CAP.

For modules graded on an S/U basis, students will receive credit towards the degree only if they attain a ‘Satisfactory’ (S) grade. An ‘S’ grade is assigned if a student receives a ‘C’ grade or above for the module. Conversely, students will receive an ‘Unsatisfactory’ ‘U’ if the grade obtained is lower than a ‘C’ grade. The S/U option, once exercised, will be irrevocable for the module. Up to 12 MCs may be taken on an S/U basis during a student’s candidature, subject to the maximum number of MCs that may be excluded from the computation of CAP.

The S/U option is not applicable to modules taken to meet Faculty, Major, Second Major, Minor, or University Scholars Programme (USP) requirements. The S/U option is not available for technical electives/modules taken as UE.  Credits earned from modules taken on an S/U basis may also not be used to count towards the residency requirement.  Students will exercise their S/U option after the results are announced for any module that permits the S/U option.

Assessment of Modules
Each module is assessed by coursework and/or short tests during the semester and/or a formal examination at the end of the semester. Some modules such as research or design projects are assessed as specified by the department. Up to 40% of the final grade may be assigned to continuous assessment (CA), and may be higher for certain modules.

Students are not allowed to repeat modules they have passed (grade D or better). If they fail a module, they can retake the failed module in a subsequent semester.

There are two types of grading options:
•       All modules taken on graded basis will count towards the Cumulative Average Point (CAP). The CAP is computed for all modules taken using the point system given in Table 3.1.3a and the MCs of the modules taken.

The CAP is computed as follows:

CAP = (∑ MCi x GPi) / (∑ MCi)

where MCi is the number of Modular Credits (MCs) for the i-th module and GPi the grade point (refer to Table 3.1c) of the i-th module.
•       Modules taken on Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) will not count towards CAP. For a module to be awarded S, the student must achieve grade C for the module. Modules with grades that are lower than grade C will be considered as U.

Table 3.1.3a: Relationship between Grades and Points

Grade	Grade Point
A+	5.0
A
A-	4.5
B+	4.0
B	3.5
B-	3.0
C+	2.5
C	2.0
D+	1.5
D	1.0
F	0

For a module taken on S/U, a student will receive credit only if he attains a Satisfactory grade.

Stage Promotion

A student will be deemed to have progressed to the next stage of his study if he has obtained the stipulated MCs as shown in Table 3.1.3b.

Table 3.1.3b: Stage Promotion Criteria (for single degree students)

Stage 2	Completed at least 36MCs
Stage 3	Completed at least 76MCs
Stage 4	Completed at least 112MCs (*IA credits are not included.)

 

CAP for Continuation and Graduation
To graduate, a student must have a minimum CAP of 2.0. To remain in good academic standing, and to continue in an undergraduate programme of study, a student may not have:
•     CAP below 1.5 for two consecutive semesters; or
•     CAP below 2.0 for three consecutive semesters.

For any semester in which the student’s CAP falls below the CAP required for graduation (i.e. 2.0), the student will be issued a warning.  If, in the following semester, the student’s CAP again falls below the graduation requirement, but not sufficiently to warrant immediate termination of candidature (i.e. 1.5 ≤ CAP < 2.0), the student will be placed on probation. If the student’s CAP falls below 1.5 for two consecutive semesters, or remains below 2.0 for three consecutive semesters, the student will be issued a letter of dismissal by the Registrar, and denied re-admission.

Limit on Level-1000 Modules
Students should not read more than 60 MCs of Level-1000 modules towards their degree requirements (minimum of 160 MCs for graduation). For Polytechnic graduates, 12 MCs of the exempted UE modules will not count towards the 60 MC limit on level-1000 modules.

Minimum MCs per Semester
The minimum number of Modular Credits (MCs) per semester to be read by students is 15 MCs.

Maximum candidature
The maximum candidature for the:
•      B.Eng. (Hons) degree is five years;, and
•      Double Degrees involving the B.Eng. (Hons) is six years.

 

3.1.4    First Year of the Engineering Degree Programme

Some students are admitted to the common engineering programme while others are admitted into specific disciplines in the first year.

In the first year of study, common engineering students will be required to read:

• - MA1505 Mathematics I
• - MA1506 Mathematics II
• - CS1010E Programming Methodology (will be mapped to IT1005/CE2409 for students who enter Civil/Chemical Engineering)
• - At least one physics module (either PC1431 Physics IE or PC1432 Physics IIE) and
• - At least two engineering modules from MLE1101 Introductory Materials Science and Engineering, EG1108 Electrical Engineering and EG1109 Statics and Mechanics of Materials.

First-year common engineering students will also be encouraged to read EG1413 Critical Thinking and Writing in the first year of study subject to meeting its prerequisites.

Table 3.1.4 shows the physics and engineering modules that common engineering students  need to read to qualify for entry into the various engineering  programmes. Students with H2 Chemistry who plan to apply for Chemical Engineering should read CM 1502 and CN1111, while those who plan to apply for Environmental Engineering should read CM 1502 only.

Students should carefully choose a combination of Physics and Engineering modules which would qualify them for entry into at least three engineering programmes.

Table 3.1.4: Physics and Engineering modules for the various engineering disciplines

Engineering Programme	Physics Modules	Engineering Modules
Bioengineering	PC1431, PC1432	EG1108, EG1109
Chemical	-	MLE1101*
Civil	PC1431	EG1108, EG1109, MLE1101*
Electrical	-	EG1108 (will be mapped to EE1002)
Computer	PC1432	EG1108 (will be mapped to CG1108)
Environmental	PC1431	EG1109, MLE1101*
Industrial & Systems	-	EG1108, EG1109
Mechanical	PC1431	EG1108, EG1109
Material Science	PC1431, PC1432	EG1108, EG1109

* Students who have not read MLE1101 in their first year may still be considered for the program.