Education
Seminar-style education at Tembusu College
Reading seminar-style courses at Tembusu College is a key part of the college experience. All of our seminars are capped at 15 students, and there are no quizzes or exams, only discussion, written work, and special projects taking a variety of forms. Classes are held in the 'Learn Lobe', situated next to Tembusu's residential tower. In our Junior and Senior Seminars, and our Ideas & Exposition Courses, we foster a collegial atmosphere in which students learn from each other as well as faculty members. All of our offerings are interdisciplinary in nature, and students from every department in the university sit around the same table. The emphasis is on curiosity, critical thinking, exploring beyond your boundaries, and actively participating in your own education.
The University Town College Programme (UTCP)
For AY2022/2023 onwards:
Incoming Freshmen are automatically enrolled in the University Town College Programme (UTCP), which means they read four courses at Tembusu College over two years: one Junior Seminar, one Ideas & Exposition course and two Senior Seminars (one with a Singapore Studies focus, coded UTS). These courses meet the requirements of four General Education Pillars as a block, including the Communities and Engagement Pillar. Freshmen also read a fifth course outside the college based on their faculty requirements in one of the 21st Century Competencies pillars: Digital Literacy or Data Literacy.
For students from Law, Medicine, Dentistry and selected programmes with curricular constraints (e.g. Nursing, Music, Architecture, Industrial Design and Joint Degree Programmes), an academic pathway is tailored for you to still read courses with your College as part of your College experience.
Find out which course are on offer at Tembusu College by browsing our 'Junior Seminar' and 'Ideas and Exposition' pages.
For AY2021/2022 onwards:
Incoming Freshmen are automatically enrolled in the University Town College Programme (UTCP), which means they read four courses at Tembusu College over two years: one Junior Seminar, one Ideas & Exposition course and two Senior Seminars (one with a Singapore Studies focus). Freshmen also read a fifth course outside the college based on their faculty requirements in one of the 21st Century Competencies pillars: Digital Literacy or Data Literacy.
For students from Law, Medicine, Dentistry and selected programmes with curricular constraints (e.g. Nursing, Music, Architecture, Industrial Design and Joint Degree Programmes), an academic pathway is tailored for you to still read courses with your College as part of your College experience.
Find out which course are on offer at Tembusu College by browsing our 'Junior Seminar' and 'Ideas and Exposition' pages.
For Cohort AY2020/2021 and before:
Tembusu College is a certificate-granting institution. Most first-year students are automatically enrolled in the University Town College Programme (UTCP), which means they read five courses at Tembusu College over two years. Two of these are Ideas and Exposition Courses, which focus on the development of academic writing skills as well as communication and critical thinking. Students also read one Junior Seminar and two Senior Seminars, which are discussion-based classes focused on the exploration of a multi-faceted topic.
Find out which courses are on offer at Tembusu College by browsing our 'Junior Seminar', 'Senior Seminars', and 'Ideas and Exposition' pages.
Students who successfully complete the UTCP will be granted a certificate in addition to their NUS degree. This will also be reflected on their transcript.
Third Year and Fourth Year
Students who have graduated from the UTCP or who qualify through alternative arrangements may apply to be part of the Tembusu Senior Learning Experience Project. This involves participation in a project-based course that supports students developing workplace-relevant knowledge and skills in an area related to areas of research in which the college has strengths and expertise: teamwork, independent inquiry, problem-solving, interdisciplinary dialogues, critical reflection and clear expression in speech and words. Students will use the techniques of inquiry and communication that they developed in prior Tembusu seminars in an interdisciplinary context. A very small number of students who have successfully completed the Senior Learning Experience will have the chance to stay for a Fourth Year.
Fit with Faculty-based degree programmes at NUS
For AY2021/2022 onwards:
With effect from AY2021/2022, students from faculties in the modular system are required to complete six General Education (GE) courses under the enhanced GE curriculum (https://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/academic-information-policies/undergraduate-students/general-education/for-students-admitted-from-AY2021-22).
The UTCP is designed as an alternative pathway to the GE programme at NUS.
Please visit the following website for more details on how the programme fits into your faculty curriculum.
For Cohort AY2020/2021 and before:
Classes taken at Tembusu are not 'extra' or over and above students' graduation requirements. Most degree programmes at NUS require students to read five courses outside their home department as General Education (GE). The UTCP replaces four of the five courses of the GE curriculum. This means that four UTCP courses will be read in place of the GE courses and the fifth UTCP course is taken as an Unrestricted Elective (UE).
The university requires all undergraduates (with the exception of Law, Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing) to complete the GER1000 Quantitative Reasoning (QR) course. This is the fifth GE course, and serves to complete the GE requirement for UTCP students. This course will be pre-allocated to you in your first or second semester
This has two main advantages: firstly, it gives students the opportunity to fulfill four university-level requirements and an unrestricted elective in the form of seminar-style learning closely integrated with residential life; secondly, it provides students with a certificate upon completion of the five-course programme. In other words, a college education adds substantial value to one's university degree programme at no extra cost in time or tuition.
Note that some NUS degree programmes are not compatible with the UTCP. For students with no General Education requirements – such as those from non-modular faculties (Law, Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing), students who enter the College in their second or third year, and students with structural constraints in their degree programmes – adjusted learning plans that are less intensive than the UTCP will be created. Students from every faculty at NUS are encouraged to apply to the college.