Academics

Courses

  • List of courses available to undergraduate exchange students - update in March/April
  • Course Restrictions 
    • Business courses are only available to students in the Dyson school on the Dyson exchange.
    • Law courses are not open to study abroad/exchange students from Cornell. 
    • Students who are not majoring in Economics, Psychology, Computer Science and Computing (Information Sciences) will be unable to take courses in those fields, and majors may find that courses are unavailable.  
    • 4000 level modules are typically not available exchange students. 
    • Modules at the 5000 level (graduate classes) are NOT available to exchange students. 
  • Brief course descriptions - update in July or August.
  • Class & Examination Timetables - update in July or August

All students are advised to be as flexible as possible with their module requirements. 

In NUS, generally the faculties tend to prioritize their courses for applicants are from the same majors back at their home universities. If there are surplus places, those may go to student applicants of other majors, subject to fulfillment of prerequisites.

Students may take modules across disciplines (with the exception of business and law). The ability to register will depend on a student's prerequisites, the availability of the module, and if the module will fit within a student's timetable (schedule) without overlapping other modules. Students typically register for modules in the 1000-3000 levels.Modules are graded on a bell curve. Students must be prepared to study independently and participate in class.  

Course Selection & Enrollment

  • You can review the list of modules available and review the course syllabi. To review the syllabi, put the course code in the module code text box (ex. GEH1061). You will then put in the appropriate academic year and the semester you are taking the course (ex. semester 2 for spring semester)
  • For assistance in selecting courses, see your faculty or college advisor. (Note: You may earn elective, distributional, minor or major credit depending on your major and college.)
  • You may need to look at courses from a previous semester (i.e.: the most recent spring semester if you want to select classes for a future spring abroad) 
  • Language study is not required. Since English is one of the four official languages in Singapore, Cornell students are not required to enroll in a language course at NUS. However, there are language courses available through the Centre for Language Studies (CLS) if you are interested.

Research Opportunities

Students interested in pursuing research are able to do so through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme in Science (UROPS). Students must be supervised by a faculty member and are expected to proactively reach out to faculty members regarding supervision for the semester. Students participating in the UROPS program typically earns 4 NUS credits (basically one course) and are able to register for up to four more regular semester courses. The research is unpaid and students will not receive financial sponsorship. 

Course Load & Credits

  • A normal full load equivalent to 15 credits is five courses. At NUS this is 20 units. Special permission from your college is required to take fewer than 15 credits.
  • Decisions on the final allocation of credit are made upon successful completion of the course (must earn grade equivalent of a “C” or higher—all courses must award a letter grade).
  • For more information on courses and credits from abroad, including policies regarding start/end dates, refer to the Academic Policies page on the Education Abroad website. 

Cornell Transcript & Grades

  • Grades will appear on the Cornell transcript in the same format as they are recorded on the original transcript generated by the host institution. Grades are not factored into the Cornell GPA.
  • For information on how grades appear on the transcript and frequently asked questions, including transcript dates for graduating seniors, please refer to the Transcripts and Credits page on the Education Abroad website.
  • NUS does not send a hardcopy transcript or official electronic transcript to Cornell after you complete your study abroad experience.  You do not need to order a transcript, just follow the steps below:
    • NUS will send your official transcript electronically to your personal email address, as recorded on myEduRec (you will have an account as an NUS student).The electronic transcript will be sent as a file attachment with the file extension “.opencerts”. 
    • You must forward the official .opencerts transcript and the OpenCerts viewer to abroad@cornell.edu. 
    • Note: Cornell does not need you to order an expensive hard copy transcript because the OpenCerts system is locked and verifiable.