Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

An education at CDE will be an exciting, interdisciplinary experience for students where their learning journey takes centre stage. We are equipping students with an adaptable toolbox of skills across disciplines, moving them beyond a knowledge-based education to a mindset-based approach to problem-solving. The CDE common curriculum provides a broad intellectual foundation on which you can continuously upgrade, evolve and re-pivot in a fast-changing world. Our majors build on top of the common curriculum to allow you to explore your chosen field, and our unrestricted elective space gives you the freedom to customise your educational experience. 

The common admissions “Engineering” course has a single set of entry requirements. If you are admitted to this common admissions you have access to any one of the 10 majors in the common admissions pool; which one you choose is up to you. In contrast, each of our direct entry courses have their own admissions requirements. If you gain admission to one of our direct entry courses this will predetermine which degree programme you will follow, be it Architecture, Computer Engineering, Industrial Design, or Landscape Architecture.  

If you select Engineering as one of your choices, you will then be asked to declare a preferred major. Alternatively, you can also choose “Major to be Decided” and decide on your major at the point of matriculation. 

Yes, if you are admitted to the Engineering common admissions course you can choose any one of those 10 majors and will have a place in the major of your choice.

This depends on two things, your pre-university qualification and which of our degree programmes you are interested in. For our Engineering common admissions course, A-level students should take H2 Mathematics, and IB students should take HL Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches. Polytechnic students should have an accredited diploma. Our direct admissions courses have different admissions requirements. The details can be found here https://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/apply-to-nus.

The new curriculum structure includes ten modules of Unrestricted Electives (UE), which you can use to decide how broad, deep or integrated you want your education to be. If you wish to go deeper within your chosen discipline, you can opt to read a specialisation (or two) within your UE space. If you prefer instead to broaden your knowledge and skills in a complementary or contrasting area, consider taking a minor or second major. 

Yes, certainly. NUS is a comprehensive university, and you will have access to all second majors and minors offered by our various Faculties and Schools.  

A short list of curated double major and major-minor combinations is available at the point of application. However, this list contains only a small fraction of the 1000+ possible combinations that are available. Upon matriculation, you are welcome to declare or apply for a second major or minor, up until your fifth semester of study.