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The Academic Unit System
The University’s academic structure for its undergraduate
programmes is based on the academic unit system. The
system provides opportunities for students to broaden their
learning experience and progress at a pace most suited at
their individual needs while maintaining the high academic
standards.
The main features of the Academic Unit System are the
semester arrangement of the academic year and the use of
academic units (AU) for measuring academic workload.
Academic Calendar
The academic year starts off with an orientation week. It is
divided into two semesters, Semester 1 of 18 weeks and
Semester 2 of 17 weeks. Examinations are held at the end of
each semester. There are two special terms during the
Semester 2 vacation.
Academic Units
Under the Academic Unit System, each course is assigned a
certain number of academic units (AU).
The academic unit is a measure of the student's workload
associated with both class attendance and preparation. For a
typical one-semester course, the number of academic units is
calculated as follows:
(a) one hour of lecture/tutorial per week
:
1 AU
(b) 3 hours laboratory/fieldwork per week
:
1 AU
Curricular Requirements
(1)
Curriculum Structure
The curriculum structure comprises 2 categories of
requirements:
a. Major Requirement
The courses of study are classified under 2 groups:
(i) Core Courses
- these are compulsory courses required to satisfy
programme requirements.
(ii) Major Prescribed Electives
- these are courses for specialisation in a particular
degree programme.
b. General Education Requirement (GER)
This is a curriculum requirement for broadening study and
is divided into 3 areas of studies as follows:
(i) Core Courses (GER-Core):
- these are courses relating to :
→ Communication Skills
→ Singapore Studies
→ Human Resource Management*
/ Environmental Sustainability#
(ii) Prescribed Electives (GER-PE):
- the courses are categorised into 4 sub-areas of
studies relating to:
→ Art, Humanities & Social Sciences (AHSS)
→ Business & Management (BM)
→ Liberal Studies (LS)#
→ Science, Technology & Society (STS)
(iii) Unrestricted Electives (GER-UE)
- these are courses chosen by students to broaden
their learning experience.
Unrestricted electives may be taken from the list of
courses offered by the School or, with the approval of
the Chair concerned, from courses offered by other
Schools in the University. Although unrestricted
electives may be taken in any year of study, students
are advised to plan carefully when to take the
unrestricted electives in order not to delay their
graduation.
For the purpose of fulfilling the requirements of the
programme and for classification of the degree, once
a course is confirmed by the student as being
registered as a prescribed elective, it cannot be
re-classified as an unrestricted elective, and
vice-versa.
* applies to students admitted before AY 2011-12 (except students in the Sport
Science & Management programme), full-time students admitted directly to
Year 2 in AY 2011-12 and part-time students admitted in AY 2011-12
# applies to all students in the Sport Science & Management programme and
full-time students admitted to Year 1 with effect from AY 2011-12
(2)
Prerequisites
Some courses may only be offered to students who have
obtained at least the specified grade in related courses
offered at a lower level. These lower-level courses are
called the “prerequisites” for the higher-level courses.
(3)
Academic Structure
The number of academic units that students must obtain
(4)
Period of Candidature (for students admitted to NTU
with effect from AY 11 - 12)
(a) The period of candidature for each programme is as
follows: