Undergraduate Education

3.1       Admission

Students apply to join USP. Application is by transcript, an essay, a personal statement, and an interview with USP faculty members and alumni. Students are admitted based on their academic potential and co-curricular achievements, together with their passion, motivation, and curiosity.

Prospective students complete and submit a separate application to USP when they apply to NUS for admissions to any of USP’s partner faculties or schools, namely, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), NUS Business School (BIZ), School of Computing (SOC), School of Design and Environment (SDE), Faculty of Engineering (FOE), Faculty of Law (FoL) and Faculty of Science (FOS). They can apply online through the USP admissions portal (usp.sg) by the closing date, which is typically on 2nd April (or 1 day after the closing date for NUS application) each year. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.

NUS students in their first semester may also apply to join the USP during USP’s second admissions exercise from October to November each year.

USP is not a scholarship disbursement programme. USP students may however apply for NUS scholarships, or can be recipients of other scholarships. For details, please visit nus.edu.sg/oam/scholarship.

Students who are interested to pursue one of the double degree programmes available in NUS may apply to USP, provided the two degrees are offered by our partner faculties or schools, with the exception of NUS Law. In most cases, students who are admitted to both programmes will need to extend their candidature in NUS in order to complete all the necessary requirements.

USP students can apply to change their course of study up to the end of their second year. The application will be subject to the review and approval of the Admissions Selection Committee in NUS, and the relevant faculties or schools involved.

From the academic year AY2011/2012, USP includes a residential component where USP students live and learn together in the new USP residential college (also known as Cinnamon College) in NUS’s University Town.  Upon acceptance to USP, students will proceed to apply to live in the residential college via the University Hostel Management System, administered by the NUS Office of Students Affairs.

3.2       Academic Structure and Requirements

An undergraduate in the University Scholars Programme takes 30% of his or her modules in USP and the remaining modules (70%) in his or her home faculty or school as well as from other faculties or schools. While in USP, the student is exempted from certain requirements that apply to students not in USP, so that all students, regardless of whether they are in USP or not, graduating with an honours degree, will have roughly the same overall requirements (in terms of number of Modular Credits (MCs). In the event that the fit of the USP requirements at the home faculty or school is not perfect, it is possible that students may graduate with slightly more MCs compared to their non-USP peers.

3.2.1.         For students matriculated in 2011 and before

USP students matriculated before Academic Year 2012/2013 are required to complete the First-Tier and Advanced curricula whilst they are in the Programme.  For latest updates, please visit http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg/acad_structure/index.html.

First-Tier Modules worth 32 Modular Credits (bold sub heading)

Students read eight First-Tier modules for intellectual broadening across three main Domains of skills and knowledge: (a) Writing and Critical Thinking, (b) Humanities and Social Sciences, and (c) Sciences and Technologies. Students can also opt to read the University Scholars Seminar module towards their First-Tier curriculum requirements.

See 3.2.1(a) for more details regarding the First-Tier Curriculum requirements.

Advanced Modules worth 16 Modular Credits

The Advanced Curriculum offers students sufficient choice and flexibility, whilst taking advantage of the best educational programmes available at NUS. Students will be able to fulfil the Advanced Curriculum requirements via one of the three options listed as follows:
A.     Academic Inquiry, which allows students to pursue a Research-Intensive Programme or a Multidisciplinary Programme;
B.     Cultural Immersion, upon completion of one of the specially designed programmes USP has with prestigious overseas partner universities, namely, Peking University, Waseda University and University of Delhi;
C.     Entrepreneurial Development, upon completion of the NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) programme or the innovative Local Enterprise Achiever Development (iLEAD) programme.

See 3.2.1(b) for more details regarding the Advanced Curriculum options.

USP strongly believes in developing students with a global mindset. A plethora of study-abroad opportunities are available to students through Student Exchanges, NUS Overseas Colleges, and joint or double degree programmes with prestigious overseas universities. Some of these opportunities are exclusive to, or primarily for USP students, such as:
·       Ph.B./B.Sc. (Hons.) and Ph.B./B.A. (Hons.) Joint Degree Programmes (with the Australian National University)
·       USP-Yuanpei Cultural Immersion Programme (with Peking University)
·       NUS-in-Yale Summer Programme
·       Harvard College in Asia Project (HCAP) Exchange Conference
·       Student Exchange with the University of Oregon Clark Honors College

3.2.1(a)     First-Tier Curriculum

Visit: http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg/first_tier_modules/index.html for latest updates

Students in USP are classified as either
·       Arts-based students (defined as students from FASS or BIZ), or
·       Science-based students (defined as students from FOS, FOE or SOC)

Students from SDE may choose to be considered as Arts-based or Science-based students.

Compulsory module requirements:
Students must take

• the compulsory Writing and Critical Thinking module (students may choose from many sections offered under this module). They must read this module in their first or second semester of enrolment in USP, and
·    
• one module from the list of modules designated as Singapore Studies themed modules within the USP curriculum.

Domain distribution requirements:

The Humanities and Social Sciences as well as the Sciences and Technologies Domains are further divided into six areas of study:

At the beginning of each semester, students will register for USP modules along with their faculties’ or schools’ modules through the Centralised Online Registration System (CORS).

3.2.1(b) Advanced Curriculum

Visit: http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg/advanced_modules/index.html for latest updates

Students will be able to fulfil the Advanced Curriculum requirements via one of the options as mentioned earlier:

A.     Academic Inquiry, which can be pursued via one of the following two options:
(i)    Research-Intensive Programmes – intended for students who are considering a career in research, the research-intensive option allows students to do in-depth and independent study in their major. Students are expected to play the primary role in identifying a research topic and developing a research programme, although guidance is provided by faculty mentors. For this, the students read research-focused Independent Study Modules (ISMs); this option also allows students to pursue double or joint degree programmes such as the ANU-NUS Ph.B./B.Sc.(Hons.) Joint Degree Programme;
(ii)   Multidisciplinary Programmes – intended for students who would like to further broaden their intellectual horizon and foster multidisciplinary insights, this option addresses both breadth and depth in academic inquiry by providing opportunities for students to engage in team-based undergraduate multidisciplinary research; this option also facilitates students to pursue double degree/double major programmes, such as Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) and Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours), Bachelor of Engineering in Material Science & Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Science in Physics (Honours), and the M.Sc. (Management) concurrent degree programme.

B.     Cultural Immersion, intended for students who wish to develop substantial capability in a second culture (including history, society, and economy), this option allows students to pursue a specially designed programme in a prestigious partner university. In addition to cultural immersion, this option provides invaluable opportunities for students to network with future leaders of the host country. It is open to all students in USP, and not restricted to students who major in the relevant culture. The available programmes under this option are:

• USP-Yuanpei Cultural Immersion Programme (with Yuanpei programme, Peking University, China)
• USP-Waseda Double Degree Programme (with School of International Liberal Studies, Waseda University, Japan)
• USP-Delhi Student Exchange Programme (with Lady Shri Ram College for Women as well as Hindu College, University of Delhi, India)

C.     Entrepreneurial Development, upon completion of one of the following university-level programmes:

• NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) programme targets NUS undergraduates with the academic ability and entrepreneurial drive, who are keen to be immersed as interns in start-ups located in leading entrepreneurial and academic hubs of the world. At the same time, they will study entrepreneurship related courses at highly prestigious partner universities. The aim is for them to be developed into enterprising, resourceful, independent self-starters and eventually blossom into successful entrepreneurs. Currently, students can pursue this at colleges in Silicon Valley and Philadelphia (USA), Stockholm (Sweden), and Beijing and Shanghai (China)
• The innovative Local Enterprise Achiever Development (iLEAD) programme offers NUS students an opportunity to intern at innovative companies and be exposed to the entrepreneurial challenges in Singapore. Students would be placed in companies that are innovative, knowledge-intensive and/or highly technology-oriented, and have demonstrated potential for growth and global expansion. The objective is to cultivate students with an entrepreneurial mindset and to develop their leadership and management skills.

3.2.2.  For students matriculated in 2012 and after

Visit http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg/acad_structure/index.html for latest updates
Starting from Academic Year 2012/2013 onwards, USP offers a revised three-tier structure. The three tiers build upon each other in an intuitive manner, so that each prepares students for the interdisciplinary work they encounter in the subsequent tiers.

Foundation Tier -- contains three modules. The first tier hopes to nurture a solid series of skills that will equip students for the interdisciplinary work they will encounter in the subsequent tiers.

Inquiry Tier -- consists of eight modules balanced equally between the two domains. Students take interdisciplinary modules in two domains, Humanities & Social Sciences (H&SS) and Sciences & Technologies (S&T). The overall goal of the second tier is to promote interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary inquiry, so that students can make intellectual connections outside of their majors. The curriculum is thus designed to encourage students in broad intellectual inquiry beyond their chosen majors, and incorporates the requirement to take at least one independent study modules on topics of their choice. 

We encourage students to have international experience, and indeed we aim to have all of our students undergo some form of study, whether formal or informal, outside Singapore. We thus allow the substitution of modules in a number of cases. Students going on USP and their faculties’ Student Exchange Programmes, subject to approval, can substitute two modules per semester. Those on a Double Degree Programme, our own Cultural Immersion Programmes in Japan, China, and India, and on NOC or iLEAD, can gain exemptions up to four modules in total. In each case, we consider that the intellectual experiences the students undergo, whether broadening across disciplines, cultural facility in a new academic environment entrepreneurship, partially fulfill the goals of the second tier of modules in stimulating broad-based inquiry. In order to preserve the sense of the Scholars Programme as a learning community, however, we impose an overall requirement of eight modules across the three tiers. 

Reflection Tier -- consists of one module, the senior seminar. In each module, the issues of a particular topic are developed through seminar discussions, readings, and paper assignments in such a way as to allow students to reflect on the conditions of their own disciplinary knowledge and the assumptions fostered in disciplinary training, and to develop their own theoretical framework the nature of intellectual discourse in general rather than just within their own disciplines. The third tier thus builds both on the broadening of inquiry in the second tier, and upon the disciplinary knowledge that students have gained within their major.

A student in the Scholars Programme must read and pass:

• 3 compulsory foundation modules worth 12 MCs

• Writing and Critical Thinking
• Quantitative Reasoning Foundation
• University Scholars Seminar

• 8 other inquiry modules worth 32 MCs
• 1 reflection module worth 4 MCs.

3.3 International Programmes

3.3.1 Student Exchange Programme

USP has student exchange tie-ups with the following partner universities:

• Arizona State University – Barett, the Honors College
• Carleton College
• Pennsylvania State University – Schreyer Honors College
• University of Arizona – Honors College
• University of Connecticut – Honors College
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – Honors College
• University of Oregon – Clark Honors College
• Tec De Monterrey
• Peking University – Yuanpei College
• University of Delhi – Lady Shri Ram College for Women
• University of Delhi – Hindu College
• Chinese University of Hong Kong – Morningside College
• Bilkent University
• SciencesPo – Le Havre Campus
• University of Amsterdam – Amsterdam University College 
• Utrecht University – University College Utrecht
• Jagellonian University
• Freie Universitat Berlin

The approach to education of these partner universities or their relevant colleges is similar to USP: to inspire students to a lifetime of broad intellectual curiosity, self-sustained inquiry and personal growth through carefully-designed small classes, close advising, and a collegialenvironment. Students will be notified via email when applications for USP Student Exchange Programmes open.

3.3.2 Joint Degree Programme

USP offers two joint degree programmes with the Australian National University (ANU).

The first is a four-year Joint Degree Programme (JDP) between Bachelor of Science (Honours) of NUS and Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) of ANU, which can be taken in three fields of study: Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics. It is only offered to Faculty of Science (FOS) students in USP.

The second is a four-year Joint Degree Programme (JDP) between Bachelor of Arts (Honours) of NUS and Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) of ANU, which can be taken in four fields of study: English Literature, History, Philosophy and Theatre Studies. It is only offered to Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) students in USP. 

Please refer to the Section R on “Other Multidisciplinary / Special Programmes” in Part II of the NUS Bulletin for more details of the above-mentioned JDPs.

3.3.3 Other International Programmes

Besides the Student Exchange Programme and Joint Degree Programme, USP also offers a range of opportunities, which helps students become sensitive to, and familiar with, the modern world by initiating, leading and joining international academic and community programmes and projects.

Examples of such opportunities in the past or ongoing include:

Overseas Study Programmes (may include summer programmes, module study trips, seminars, forums, symposia or conferences) 

• Buddhism-in-Asia Study Programme (Thailand, India, Taiwan)
• Builders Connect Development Work Study Programme (The Philippines)
• Global Cross-Disciplinary Tournament (Australia, others)
• Internship Exchange Programme with SP Jain Institute of Management & Research (India)
• Lee Shiu Centre of Intercultural Learning Summer Programme (China, Hong Kong)
• NUS-in-Yale Summer Programme (United States)
• Politics of Heritage Module Study Trip (Cambodia)
• Princeton Interactive Crisis Simulation Conference  (United States)
• Project Himalaya Study Trip (India)
• State Minority Relations in Southeast Asian Module Study Trip (Laos, Thailand)
• Study Programme on Civilisation in Tehran (Iran)
• Study Programme on Inter-Civilisational Dialogue (Turkey, Malaysia)
• Transportation Systems of Tomorrow Module Study Trip (Japan)
• Tufts University Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship Symposium (United States)
• USP - George Washington University Twin-City Dialogue (United States)
• Women as Global Leaders Conference at Zayed University (UAE)

Overseas Youth Expeditions

• Action Africa: Expedition to South Africa
• Big Hands, Bigger Hearts: Expedition to the Philippines
• Dispense-A-Dream: India
• Expedition Yemen
• Niem Vui Vietnam: Expedition to Danang, Vietnam
• Play to Aid(s): Expedition to Thailand
• Project Maitri: Expedition to India
• Venture Kampuchea: Expedition to Cambodia
• Venture Relief: Expedition to Sri Lanka
• Venture Yunnan: Expedition to China

Students are encouraged to propose and organise International Programmes, as well as take up leadership roles in the process. The aim is to create an environment in which students are exposed to a wide range of dynamic and interesting opportunities and are self-motivated to make the best of them.

3.4       Student Grants Programme

USP is committed to providing opportunities for its students to broaden their creative and critical faculties, to hone their intellectual and leadership qualities, and to cultivate a global outlook. The aim of the USP Student Grants Programme is to provide financial support to students to enable them to take advantage of such opportunities. There are two categories of Student Grants.

• Study and Research Grant (bold)

The objective of this grant is to provide funding for outstanding USP students to pursue research and learning opportunities on an individual basis.

Funding is provided to enable students to:
·       Present a paper in an academic conference
·       Attend a conference, course or workshop that has clear leadership (e.g. HPAIR, Global Village for Future Leaders) or research components
·       Participate in internship or attachment
·       Pursue research opportunity

B.       Study Activity Grant
USP strongly encourages students to initiate and organise activities that are congruent with the educational objectives of the Programme, in particular those that further intellectual, leadership and/or personal growth, and enhance community building among USP students.

Funding is provided to enable students to organise activities that are:
·       Congruent with the educational objectives of USP
·       Intended for participation by a group of USP students
·       Beneficial to USP as a whole

3.5  USP Career Services

The USP Career Services is committed to supporting students at every stage of their career development process, from when they first enter USP as freshmen to their transition to USP alumni. In recognizing the value of early exploration, the USP Career Services adopts an open and personalised approach with a focus on active engagement with students, industry partners, and alumni. This involves initiating discovery of students’ self awareness and career desires, understanding the industry partners’ recruitment needs, and inviting USP alumni to share career insights. We seek to help students make informed decisions about their futures - be it a career in the private sector, the public sector, non-governmental or non-profit organisations, becoming an entrepreneur or pursuing graduate studies - by providing them with comprehensive and individualised resources and counsel to support their career aspirations.

Among the recent graduates of the USP, more than one-third go on to pursue postgraduate studies at both local and overseas universities, including top universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, MIT, Imperial, Harvard, Berkeley, Stanford, London School of Economics, Tsinghua, Karolinska Institute in Sweden, and Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School. Five USP alumni have received Fulbright scholarships and awards. Others find employment in major organisations in the private and public sectors, with many holding prestigious management associate appointments.

3.6       Certificate and Testimonial

The USP Certificate is awarded to the student at the Commencement ceremony upon:
(i)    Completing all USP academic requirements;
(ii)   Completing the honours requirement of the home faculty or school; and
(iii)  Receiving at least a Second Lower Class of Honours

Outstanding graduates may be recommended for placement on the NUS President’s Honour Roll and/or be awarded the Joanna Wong Gold Medal or NUSS Medal for Outstanding Achievement.    

Each student is eligible to receive a testimonial, which documents his or her accomplishments – both academic and co-curricular – while at USP. The purpose of the testimonial is to help students highlight their participation in USP as they move within and beyond NUS in further academic or professional capacities. A student may request for a testimonial from USP when he or she graduates, having completed the USP requirements, or when he or she leaves USP for some other reasons.

3.7       Academic Advising

Each student in USP is assigned a faculty member who will help guide the student’s academic planning and personal development, especially within the Programme. Students will be informed of their supervising Academic Advisors when they join the Programme. USP encourages students and their Academic Advisors to develop close and supportive relationships to ensure that students’ experiences in the Programme will be as enriching and fulfilling as possible.

The goals of the Academic Advising system are:
·       To help students understand the USP structure
·       To guide students in choosing the USP modules that will challenge them intellectually while offering them a chance to expand their interests
·       To help students think through and work towards their career and personal goals
·       To help students with any problems that they may experience within the Programme itself
·       To put students in touch with others who may be of assistance concerning questions and problems outside the Programme

Apart from approaching the Academic Advisors for advice, students can also seek assistance from administrative advisors at the USP office.

3.8       Academic Expectations

USP students are expected to maintain a Cumulative Average Point (CAP) of 3.5 and above throughout their course of studies. 

Each student whose cumulative average point (CAP) is below 3.5 for any semester will receive a warning that his or her academic performance is inadequate. Students with inadequate academic performance will be counselled. USP sees the internal CAP requirement of 3.5 as a stepping stone to the student’s fundamental academic goal of achieving honours in his or her home faculty or school.

At the end of their second year, students are required to have completed at least three USP modules. Those who have not will be asked to produce justification, and a study plan on how they aim to complete the programme.

In addition, students are expected to participate actively in learning-beyond-the-classroom activities offered by USP. They are also encouraged to gain significant international experience through study abroad opportunities offered by USP, NUS, and others, including student exchange, overseas internships and attachments, international summer programmes, overseas expeditions and community projects, and international conferences and leadership forums.

3.9  Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Programme (CTPCLP)

Launched in November 2011, the Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Programme (CTPCLP) aims to develop Singapore’s next generation of community leaders. These future leaders will not only be intellectually engaged with social and community issues in Singapore, but will also be passionate about addressing social and community challenges. They will be tomorrow’s change makers, driven by a sense of true calling to mobilise the community to collectively solve social problems.

Currently, the programme has partnerships with various government agencies, social service and welfare organizations that deal with differing societal challenges facing Singaporeans (e.g. Southeast CDC, Boys’ Town, Bizlink Centre, Simei Care Centre, The Helping Hand, Tsao Foundation, Communicable Disease Centre). These partnerships expose students to a range of societal challenges while also providing them with in‐depth, on‐the ground experiences of community development.  This programme resides in the University Scholars Programme (USP) and is supported by USP.