National University of Singapore

Ranked among the world’s top 30 universities in the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings 2008, NUS enjoys a stellar reputation for teaching excellence and research

The oldest institution of higher learning in the island nation, the National University of Singapore (NUS, estb.1905) enjoys a formidable reputation in the Asian continent and worldwide for excellence in teaching and research. The Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings 2008 places NUS 30th among the world’s top 200 universities, and fourth in Asia. Highly rated for its broad curriculum, high-calibre faculty, excellent research centres and international perspective, NUS offers degrees in 60 majors in its 14 faculties. Students also have the option to enroll in double and joint degree programmes offered in association with well-known partner institutions such as the Australian National, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, New York, Peking, Melbourne, and North Carolina (Chapel Hill) universities.

Moreover NUS is perhaps the only university in the Asian continent to have established five colleges in entrepreneurial hubs around the world — Silicon Valley and Philadelphia (USA), Beijing and Shanghai (China), Stockholm (Sweden), Bangalore (India) — to enable its undergrads with the academic ability and entrepreneurial drive to work as interns in start-up companies sited in these hubs. In Bangalore, NUS Overseas College has been promoted in partnership with the blue-chip Indian Institute of Science.

Comments Tan Chorh Chuan, president of NUS:  “I am particularly pleased with the strong global orientation of our progra-mmes. About 50 percent of our undergraduates have overseas educational exposure, with another 20 percent spending a semester or more abroad. Our five NUS Overseas Colleges provide a year of intense experiential education in vibrant entre-preneurial hubs in the US, China, Sweden and India. Moreover NUS offers 40 double-degree and joint-degree programmes with top univer-sities internationally, allowing our students unparalleled access to some of the best professors in the world, while gaining valuable cross-cultural exposure.”

Founded in 1905 as a medical college, NUS was constituted following a merger of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University in 1980. Currently it has an enrolment of 30,000 students from over 100 countries.

Singapore. A globally renowned national development success story, Singapore (pop. 4.9 million) has almost miraculously outgrown its third world status to emerge as the business and financial nerve centre of South-east Asia. With most of the world’s leading companies and corporates well-represented here, this trader entrepôt nation boasts state-of-the-art public transport and telecommunications infrastructure.

Singapore is also enlivened by a vibrant arts and culture environment. The centrepiece of its cultural calendar is the Festival of Arts, a month-long event traditionally held in June every year. Moreover the island republic has a rich nightlife throbbing with discos, bars, pubs, karaoke lounges and nightclubs. More than 140 cinemas screen the latest releases from around the world. And for sports enthusiasts, indoor and outdoor sports facilities are available in community and private clubs and the Singapore Sports Council, while for nature lovers, Singapore hosts nature reserves and public gardens.

The climate is tropical — warm and wet most of the year with December being the coolest month and May the warmest. Normal temperatures range between 22°-33°C. English is the language of administration, business, and technology. Other official languages are Malay, Chinese (Mandarin) and Tamil.

Campus facilities. NUS is spread across three campuses in Singapore — Kent Ridge, Bukit Timah and Outram. The Kent Ridge campus houses the university’s main academic and administrative buildings and most of its schools and faculties. The Bukit Tamah campus hosts NUS’ law faculty, while the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore is located on the Outram campus. In 2010, NUS will inaugurate its fourth campus which will house 10 residential colleges.

Served by eight libraries spread across its three campuses, students have access to over 1.4 million print and 43,000 electronic titles, 32,000 media programmes and 26,000 microform resources. Moreover the university’s museum houses over 7,000 artefacts and artworks with a strong focus on Asian art and culture.

Sports facilities include six multi-purpose sports halls, five squash courts, 13 tennis courts, an archery range, an olympic size swimming pool, basketball, netball and volleyball courts, dance studio and gymnasium. By way of extra-curricular education, the NUS Centre for Arts manages over 20 campus arts groups ranging from music and theatre to film-making and production, and organises a year-round calendar of art events and festivals for students.

Admission. The minimum criterion for admission into NUS undergrad-uate programmes is successful comple-tion of class XII. The medium of instruction is English and foreign students are required to have studied in the English medium. Moreover some study programmes require additional qualifications including submission of TOEFL, IELTS and/or SAT scores. For admission into the university’s postgrad programmes, a first class bachelor’s degree is mandatory.

For further information contact National University of Singapore, University Hall, Tan Chin Tuan Wing Level, Lower Ground, 21 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119077. Tel: (65) 6516 1010; e-mail: qdhelp@nus.edu.sg; website www.nus.edu.sg.

Accommodation. The residential accommodation capacity in NUS owned and leased hostels is 7,100. Students have the option of living on-campus in the university’s six fully-furnished, air-conditioned halls of residence and student residences. Meal plans are compulsory for students living in residence halls while student residences offer kitchen facilities.

Degree programmes. NUS offers 27 single-degree undergraduate and 115 Masters, doctoral and graduate diploma programmes in its 14 faculties. The university follows a semester-based modular structure and has adopted the best features of the British system, such as small group teaching (tutorials) and the American system (course credits). Students may transfer between courses within their first two semesters, enroll in cross-faculty modules and electives from different faculties.

Summiya Yasmeen