Second Major in Sustainable Urban Development
An Interdisciplinary Second Major in Sustainable Urban Development is offered by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering through the College of Design and Engineering (CDE). This Major is stackable to students’ primary Major in their chosen field and can be completed in four years with no additional academic workload.
The objectives of the Second Major are to provide students with broad exposure to the field of urban sustainability and to equip them with interdisciplinary knowledge and skills to be able to address the most pressing issues of urban development and its human impacts in cities in the context of changing climate from the sustainability viewpoint.
The Second Major is unique and integrates the cross-disciplinary expertise available in CDE to cater to the educational and professional needs of undergraduate students.
Student Learning Outcomes
Students doing the Second Major would be able to:
- Apply a cross-disciplinary framework to the analysis of natural and built environments in urban areas
- Integrate economic, environmental, energy and social theory, concepts, and principles to address urban sustainability challenges
- Utilize effective and practical strategies, at multiple scales, for urban sustainability planning, policy, and regulation in the context of changing climate and sustainable development in cities
- Gain critical-thinking, perspective-sharing and effective networking skills
- Engage in collaboration, advocacy, and leadership to implement transformational changes in cities for a sustainable future.
Curriculum Structure
The modular requirement for a Second Major is 40 units; Double-counting up to 16 units is allowed for this Second Major, providing the opportunity for participating students to do other enhancement programmes.
| Course Code and Title | Pre-requisites | Core/ Elective | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation Course (4 units) | |||
| GEC1040* A Culture of Sustianability, (Open to all)
OR |
Nil | Core | 4 |
| ENV1101 Environmental Studies: An Interdisciplinary Overview, (offered for students in College of Humanities and Sciences)
OR |
|||
| EG2501 Liveable Cities (offered for students in College of Design and Engineering) | |||
| Core Courses (16 units) | |||
| GESS1014 Managing Singapore’s Built Environment | Nil | Core | 4 |
| CE2003 Energy, Environment and Economy | Nil | Core | 4 |
| CE3001 Water-Food-Energy Nexus | Nil | Core | 4 |
| ESE3101 Resource Management and Circular Economy | Year 2 – Standing | Core | 4 |
| Elective Course – choose any 3 courses (12 units) | |||
| PF3210 Total Building Performance | Nil | Elective | 4 |
| PF3504 Energy Management | Nil | Elective | 4 |
| PF4208 Safety and Health Management | Nil | Elective | 4 |
| ESE4406 Energy Systems and Climate Change Mitigation | Nil (Preclusion: CN4248) | Elective | 4 |
| CE5315 Climate Science for Engineers | CE3132 or equivalent | Elective | 4 |
| ESE5880B Climate Change and Urban Ecosystems | Nil | Elective | 4 |
| Cross – Disciplinary Research Project (8 units)** OR 2 project -based courses to be selected from the following list | |||
| ESE3011 Integrated Project for Environmental Sustainability | Nil | Elective | 4 |
| AR3223 Introduction to Urbanism | Nil | Elective | 4 |
| ESE4408 Environmental Impact Assessment | Nil | Elective | 4 |
| PF4502 Green Development | Nil | Elective | 4 |
| Total | 40units◊ | ||
* GEC1040 is a new course, offered from AY2022-23 onwards.
** A self-initiated project related to the major, to be jointly supervised by 2 faculty members from different academic units; it can be double-counted towards the Integrated project.
◊ Double-counting up to 16 units is allowed for this Second Major.
Eligibility
The Second Major in Sustainable Urban Development is open to all students in NUS from Cohort AY2021/2022 onwards with strong interests in urban sustainability.
Students can declare their interest no later than the end of the 4th semester of their study.
Please refer to this URL for University’s framework for completing a Second Major https://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/academic-information-policies/undergraduate-students/special-programmes/double-major-programmes
Continuation & Graduation requirments
The Second Major in Sustainable Urban Development will be awarded to students who complete 40 units according to the curriculum structure given above and students must complete the primary major requirements to graduate. Details of prevailing graduation requirements recommended by NUS can be found at this URL https://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/academic-information-policies/undergraduate-students/continuation-and-graduation-requirements.
Employment Opportunities
The scope of urban sustainability is very broad, and there are job opportunities in every sector within multinationals, statutory boards, private companies, consulting firms, public administrations, non-profit organisations, and social enterprises.
Further Details
For queries on the Second Major in Sustainable Urban Development, please contact Prof Rajasekhar Bala, Deputy Head (Communication and Engagement) at ceerbala@nus.edu.sg or Mdm Sarimah at ceesm@nus.edu.sg .
The Straits Times featured and shared with its readers on the launch of our Second Major in Sustainable Urban Development in their article titled ” Singapore universities to launch new courses in green, digital subjects” on 24 Feb 2022
To read more on the article, you may click here
Click here for Frequently Asked Questions.