YEAR ONE
Your journey starts here.
Navigate to your section of interest:
AY25/26 Undergraduate First-Year Guide
Transition to Higher Education (T.H.E.) Programme
Jumpstart your NUS journey with our curated T.H.E. Programme! Dive into exciting courses crafted to equip you with essential knowledge and skills for a seamless start to NUS.
FRESHMAN ORIENTATION
PROGRAMMES
Begin your NUS experience with a warm welcome!
Hear from our Dean of Students, on the programmes, connections, and memories that are waiting for you.
FRESHMAN FAQ: YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO UNIVERSITY LIFE
Quick answers to the most common questions – start your journey with confidence!
Administrative Matters
With the exception of students from Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Faculty of Dentistry, all NUS undergraduate students will select course classes, tutorials and labs, as well as drop courses within CourseReg@EduRec.
Do keep a lookout for the Course Registration timeline – there is no turning back once you miss the dates!
Find out more about Course Registration in the First-Year Guide, or visit the CourseReg website for more information.
Orientation
NUS runs a whole range of orientation programmes, spread across the period of June to August. Major orientation programmes will conclude at the end of Week 0, Semester 1, and the regular instructional weeks (i.e. lessons) will begin from Week 1.
Find out more about:
It is not compulsory to attend NUS orientation programmes, but incoming freshmen are strongly encouraged to do so as these camps grant freshmen a better opportunity to get to know their batch mates and seniors, who can provide valuable advice and insights on NUS student life and academics. Find out more about the different Freshmen Orientation Programmes available here.
Different orientation programmes will have different costs. Students are advised to check the respective organising committee/club’s website or social media pages for updates. Find out more about the different Freshmen Orientation Programmes available here.
Transition to Higher Education (T.H.E.) Programme
THE1001 (A Culture of Respect and Consent) and THE1002 (Student Essentials) will continue to be compulsory for all first-year students as these are foundational for students to collaboratively contribute towards and benefit from a conducive environment which fosters collaborative learning on campus. Find out more about these 2 courses here.
The other courses are optional to allow students to decide how they want to enhance their learning. This approach helps promote the long-term goal of encouraging self-directed learning.
The two mandatory courses, THE1001 A Culture of Respect and Consent and THE1002 Student Essentials, must be completed by the stipulated deadlines (i.e. early in the semester) to familiarise first-year students with the expectations of an NUS student early in their higher education journey. Find out more about these 2 courses here.
For the other 3 courses (i.e. THE1003A, THE1004, THE1005), students have the flexibility to complete them at any point during their candidature in the university. Find out more about the T.H.E. Programme here.
Student Life
Dive into the excitement of university life, and discover the myriad activities that your NUS journey will set you on. Find out more about these possibilities here.
Furthermore, NUS has over 200 student organisations – from sports and performing arts to clubs and groups. You name it, we (most likely) have it. Find out more about the list of NUS student organisations here.
NUS offers four different types of residential options for full-time students. Find out more about the Halls of Residence, Houses, Residential Colleges, and Student Residences here.
You might have heard of “ISB” – this refers to the NUS Internal Shuttle Bus, which is a bus service provided at no cost to students, to travel within the campus and between campuses. Find out more about the Internal Shuttle Bus Network here.
And yes – campuses. NUS has 3 campuses at Kent Ridge, Bukit Timah, and Outram. Find out more about getting to each campus via public transport here.