Double Degree Programme in Engineering & Economics

Overview

The double degree programme (DDP) in Engineering and Economics is a special degree programme that combines two disciplines that have significant synergies. This DDP is designed to develop the core engineering skills of students so that they would fulfil the requisite professional requirements of their chosen engineering fields. At the same time, the programme will equip students with the necessary knowledge in economics which will help them succeed in the global marketplace.

Programme structure and requirements

In general, students from Cohorts AY2017/2018 to AY2020/2021 are required to complete a minimum of 182 units for a single-honours DDP and minimum of 202 units for a double-honours DDP.

For Cohort AY2021/2022 onwards, students will need to complete around 180 units for a double-honours DDP. There is no option for a single-honours DDP for this cohort onwards. 

The programme structure and requirements of this DDP for Cohort AY2021/2022 onwards follow those for double degree programmes between the College of Design and Engineering and College of Humanities and Sciences. Find out more on this page:

https://cde.nus.edu.sg/undergraduate/programmes/cde-chs-double-degree-programme/

Single honours - for students whose home Faculty is CDE

Students who are pursuing a single honours DDP (i.e. Bachelor of Engineering with Honours plus Bachelor of Arts) need to fulfil the following requirements:

Requirements Units/MCs Remarks

General Education courses

  • GER1000 Quantitative Reasoning (4 units)
  • GEQ1000 Asking Questions (4 units)
  • Human Cultures (GEH) (4 units)
  • Singapore Studies (GES) (4 units)
  • Thinking and Expression (GET) (4 units)
20
  • These courses are classified as CA and contribute toward the GPA for both degree programmes.
  • These courses can be fulfilled by those from University Town College Programme, Ridge View Residential College programme, and University Scholars Programme

Engineering core and elective courses

  • Refer to list of core and elective courses for each Engineering major
100 or 104
  • 100 units for all Engineering majors except Civil Engineering which requires 104 units.
  • These courses are classified as C1, except CS2101 (for Computer Engineering) and ES2531 (for other Engineering majors) which are classified as CA.
  • Students in this DDP are exempted from compulsory internship for the Engineering major. The units of internship can be fulfilled using free/unrestricted electives (if necessary).
  • Additional Engineering courses are needed to fulfil this requirement if students choose to read less than 8 units of common courses (see below).

Arts and Social Sciences Faculty requirements

  • Three Level 1000 exposure courses:
    • Asian Studies (4 units)
    • Social Sciences (4 units)
    • Humanities (4 units)
  • One of the following writing or communication courses:
    • FAS1101 Writing Academically: Arts and Social Sciences (4 units)
    • FAS1102 Public Writing and Communication (4 units)
    • FAS1103 Effective Workplace Communication (2 units) and CFG1002 Career Catalyst (2 units)
16
  • These courses are classified as C2.
  • Choose one of the following for Level 1000 exposure course for Asian Studies: CH1101E, CL1101E, JS1101E, MS1102E, SE1101E, SN1101E.
  • Level 1000 exposure course for Social Sciences to be fulfilled using EC1101E Introduction to Economic Analysis.
  • Choose one of the following for Level 1000 exposure course for Humanities: EL1101E, EN1101E, TS1101E, HY1101E, GET1029.
  • DDP students from Computer Engineering must read FAS1101, while students in all other Engineering majors must read FAS1102 or FAS1103 plus CFG1002.

Economics core courses

  • EC2101 Microeconomic Analysis I (4 units)
  • EC2102 Macroeconomic Analysis I (4 units)
  • EC2104 Quantitative Methods for Economic Analysis (4 units)
  • EC3101 Microeconomic Analysis II (4 units)
  • EC3102 Macroeconomic Analysis II (4 units)
  • EC3303 Econometrics I (4 units)
24
  • These courses are classified as C2.
Economics elective courses 12
  • These courses are classified as C2.
  • At least 8 units must be at Level 3000.
  • Additional Economics courses are needed to fulfil this requirement if students choose to read less than 8 units of common courses (see below).

Common courses

  • One common Engineering course (4 units)
  • One common Economics course (4 units)
8
  • These courses are classified as CA and contribute toward the GPA for both degree programmes.
  • Students who read less than one common Engineering and/or one common Economics courses must complete additional courses for their Engineering major and Economics electives.
  • Each common Engineering/Economics course that is not read must be replaced by one additional course for the Engineering major and one additional course for Economics electives.
Total (minimum) 180 or 184
  • 180 units for all Engineering majors except Civil Engineering which requires 184 units.

Double honours - for students whose home Faculty is CDE

Students who are pursuing a double honours DDP (i.e. Bachelor of Engineering with Honours plus Bachelor of Social Sciences) need to fulfil the following requirements:

Requirements Units/MCs Remarks

General Education courses

  • GER1000 Quantitative Reasoning (4 units)
  • GEQ1000 Asking Questions (4 units)
  • Human Cultures (GEH) (4 units)
  • Singapore Studies (GES) (4 units)
  • Thinking and Expression (GET) (4 units)
20
  • These courses are classified as CA and contribute toward the GPA for both degree programmes.
  • These courses can be fulfilled by those from University Town College Programme, Ridge View Residential College programme, and University Scholars Programme.

Engineering core and elective courses

  • Refer to list of core and elective courses for each Engineering major
80 or 84
  • 80 units for all Engineering majors except Civil Engineering which requires 84 units.
  • These courses are classified as C1, except CS2101 (for Computer Engineering) and ES2531 (for other Engineering majors) which are classified as CA.
  • Students in this DDP are exempted from compulsory internship for the Engineering major. The units of internship can be fulfilled using free/unrestricted electives (if necessary).
  • Additional Engineering courses are needed to fulfil this requirement if students choose to read less than 28 units of common courses (see below).

Arts and Social Sciences Faculty requirements

  • Three Level 1000 exposure courses:
    • Asian Studies (4 units)
    • Social Sciences (4 units)
    • Humanities (4 units)
  • One of the following writing or communication courses:
    • FAS1101 Writing Academically: Arts and Social Sciences (4 units)
    • FAS1102 Public Writing and Communication (4 units)
    • FAS1103 Effective Workplace Communication (2 units) and CFG1002 Career Catalyst (2 units)
16
  • These courses are classified as C2.
  • Choose one of the following for Level 1000 exposure course for Asian Studies: CH1101E, CL1101E, JS1101E, MS1102E, SE1101E, SN1101E.
  • Level 1000 exposure course for Social Sciences to be fulfilled using EC1101E Introduction to Economic Analysis.
  • Choose one of the following for Level 1000 exposure course for Humanities: EL1101E, EN1101E, TS1101E, HY1101E, GET1029.
  • DDP students from Computer Engineering must read FAS1101, while students in all other Engineering majors must read FAS1102 or FAS1103 plus CFG1002.

Economics core courses

  • EC2101 Microeconomic Analysis I (4 units)
  • EC2102 Macroeconomic Analysis I (4 units)
  • EC2104 Quantitative Methods for Economic Analysis (4 units)
  • EC3101 Microeconomic Analysis II (4 units)
  • EC3102 Macroeconomic Analysis II (4 units)
  • EC3303 Econometrics I (4 units)
  • EC3304 Econometrics II (4 units)
28
  • These courses are classified as C2.
Economics elective courses 29
  • These courses are classified as C2.
  • At least 25 units must be at Level 4000 while the remaining 4 units at Level 3000.
  • Additional Economics courses are needed to fulfil this requirement if students choose to read less than 28 units of common courses (see below).

Common courses

  • One common Engineering course (4 units)
  • One common Economics course (4 units)
  • One essential common course (4 units)
  • Integrated Honours Project/Thesis (16 units)
28
  • These courses are classified as CA and contribute toward the GPA for both degree programmes.
  • Students who read less than one common Engineering and/or one common Economics courses must complete additional courses for their Engineering major and Economics electives.
  • Each common Engineering/Economics course that is not read must be replaced by one additional course for the Engineering major and one additional course for Economics electives.
  • Students who do not read Integrated Honours Project/Thesis must replace it with additional 16 units of courses for their Engineering major and 16 units of courses for their Economics major, which may include a separate final year project / honours thesis for each major.
Total (minimum) 201 or 205
  • 201 units for all Engineering majors except Civil Engineering which requires 205 units.

Double honours - for students whose home Faculty is CHS

Students who are pursuing a double honours DDP (i.e. Bachelor of Engineering with Honours plus Bachelor of Social Sciences) need to fulfil the following requirements:

Requirements Units/MCs Remarks

General Education courses

  • GER1000 Quantitative Reasoning (4 units)
  • GEQ1000 Asking Questions (4 units)
  • Human Cultures (GEH) (4 units)
  • Singapore Studies (GES) (4 units)
  • Thinking and Expression (GET) (4 units)
20
  • These courses are classified as CA and contribute toward the GPA for both degree programmes.
  • These courses can be fulfilled by those from University Town College Programme, Ridge View Residential College programme, and University Scholars Programme.

Engineering core and elective courses

  • Refer to list of core and elective courses for each Engineering major
76 or 80
  • 76 units for all Engineering majors except Civil Engineering which requires 80 units.
  • These courses are classified as C2.
  • Students in this DDP are exempted from compulsory internship for the Engineering major. The units of internship can be fulfilled using free/unrestricted electives (if necessary).
  • Additional Engineering courses are needed to fulfil this requirement if students choose to read less than 28 units of common courses (see below).

Arts and Social Sciences Faculty requirements

  • Three Level 1000 exposure courses:
    • Asian Studies (4 units)
    • Social Sciences (4 units)
    • Humanities (4 units)
  • Two writing and communication courses:
    • FAS1101 Writing Academically: Arts and Social Sciences (4 units)
    • FAS1102 Public Writing and Communication (4 units) or FAS1103 Effective Workplace Communication (2 units) and CFG1002 Career Catalyst (2 units)
20
  • These courses are classified as C1.
  • Choose one of the following for Level 1000 exposure course for Asian Studies: CH1101E, CL1101E, JS1101E, MS1102E, SE1101E, SN1101E.
  • Level 1000 exposure course for Social Sciences to be fulfilled using EC1101E Introduction to Economic Analysis.
  • Choose one of the following for Level 1000 exposure course for Humanities: EL1101E, EN1101E, TS1101E, HY1101E, GET1029.
  • DDP students from Computer Engineering will read CS2101 (classified as CA) in lieu of FAS1102.
  • FAS1101 is classified as CA and replaces ES2531 for DDP students from all Engineering majors except Computer Engineering.

Economics core courses

  • EC2101 Microeconomic Analysis I (4 units)
  • EC2102 Macroeconomic Analysis I (4 units)
  • EC2104 Quantitative Methods for Economic Analysis (4 units)
  • EC3101 Microeconomic Analysis II (4 units)
  • EC3102 Macroeconomic Analysis II (4 units)
  • EC3303 Econometrics I (4 units)
  • EC3304 Econometrics II (4 units)
28
  • These courses are classified as C1.
Economics elective courses 29
  • These courses are classified as C1.
  • At least 25 units must be at Level 4000 while the remaining 4 units at Level 3000.
  • Additional Economics courses are needed to fulfil this requirement if students choose to read less than 28 units of common courses (see below).

Common courses

  • One common Engineering course (4 units)
  • One common Economics course (4 units)
  • One essential common course (4 units)
  • Integrated Honours Project/Thesis (16 units)
28
  • These courses are classified as CA and contribute toward the GPA for both degree programmes.
  • Students who read less than one common Engineering and/or one common Economics courses must complete additional courses for their Engineering major and Economics electives.
  • Each common Engineering/Economics course that is not read must be replaced by one additional course for the Engineering major and one additional course for Economics electives.
  • Students who do not read Integrated Honours Project/Thesis must replace it with additional 16 units of courses for their Engineering major and 16 units of courses for their Economics major, which may include a separate final year project / honours thesis for each major.
Total (minimum) 201 or 205
  • 201 units for all Engineering majors except Civil Engineering which requires 205 units.

Common Engineering and Economics courses

Engineering major Engineering courses/modules that can be counted as common courses/modules Economics courses/modules that can be counted as common courses/modules
Biomedical Engineering
  • BN4301 Principles of Tissue Engineering
  • IE4240 Project Management %
  • EC3353 Health Economics I
  • EC4353 Health Economics II
  • EC4372 Technology and Innovation
Chemical Engineering
  • CN4122 Project Synthesis and Simulation and CN4123R Design Project *
  • CN5191 Project Engineering
  • EC2383 Environmental Economics
  • EC4372 Technology and Innovation
  • EC4383 Environmental Economics and Policy
Civil Engineering
  • CE3121 Transportation Engineering
  • CE5603 Engineering Economics & Project Evaluation
  • CE5804 Global Infrastructure Project Management
  • TP5026 Transportation Management & Policy
  • EC2383 Environmental Economics
  • EC3381 Urban Economics
  • EC3385 Maritime and Shipping Economics
  • EC4372 Technology and Innovation
  • EC4382 Transport Economics 
  • EC4383 Environmental Economics and Policy
Computer Engineering
  • CS3243 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
  • CS3244 Machine Learning
  • CS4244 Knowledge Representation and Reasoning
  • CS4246 AI Planning and Decision Making
  • EE3031 Innovation & Enterprise I
  • EE3801 Data Engineering Principles
  • EE4211 Data Science for the Internet of Things
  • EE4305 Fuzzy/Neural Systems for Intelligent Robotics
  • EE4511 Renewable Generation and Smart Grid
  • EE4802 Learning from Data
  • EC3312 Game Theory & Applications to Economics
  • EC3322 Industrial Organisation I
  • EC4303 Econometrics III
  • EC4322 Industrial Organisation II
  • EC4372 Technology and Innovation
  • EC5104R Mathematical Economic
Electrical Engineering
  • CS3233 Competitive Programming ^
  • CS3243 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence ^
  • CS4244 Knowledge Representation and Reasoning ^
  • EE3031 Innovation & Enterprise I
  • EE3801 Data Engineering Principles
  • EE4211 Data Science for the Internet of Things
  • EE4305 Fuzzy/Neural Systems for Intelligent Robotics
  • EE4511 Renewable Generation and Smart Grid
  • EE4802 Learning from Data
  • EC3312 Game Theory & Applications to Economics
  • EC3322 Industrial Organisation I
  • EC4303 Econometrics III
  • EC4322 Industrial Organisation II
  • EC4372 Technology and Innovation
  • EC5104R Mathematical Economics
Environmental Engineering
  • ESE2001 Environmental Challenges in the Anthropocene
  • ESE3101 Resource Management and Circular Economy
  • ESE3201 Air Quality in Changing Environments
  • ESE5901 Environmental Technology
  • EC2383 Environmental Economics
  • EC3353 Health Economics I
  • EC4353 Health Economics II
  • EC4372 Technology and Innovation
Industrial & Systems Engineering
  • IE2110 Operations Research I
  • IE2140 Engineering Economy ^
  • IE3120 Manufacturing Logistics
  • IE4220 Supply Chain Modelling
  • IE4240 Project Management %
  • IE4242 Cost Analysis and Management
  • IE4243 Decision Modelling & Risk Analysis
  • IE4244 Energy: Security, Competitiveness and Sustainability
  • EC3312 Game Theory & Applications to Economics
  • EC3322 Industrial Organisation I
  • EC3332 Money and Banking I
  • EC3333 Financial Economics I
  • EC3385 Maritime and Shipping Economics
  • EC3386 Port Economics
  • EC4303 Econometrics III
  • EC4322 Industrial Organisation II
  • EC4372 Technology and Innovation
  • EC4382 Transport Economics
  • EC5104R Mathematical Economics
Materials Science & Engineering
  • IE2110 Operations Research I
  • MLE3102 Degradation and Failure of Materials
  • MLE3103 Materials Design: Aerospace to Biomedical Applications
  • EC4372 Technology and Innovation
Mechanical Engineering
  • EE4305 Fuzzy/Neural Systems for Intelligent Robotics
  • ME2162 Manufacturing Processes
  • ME4103 Mechanical Engineering and Society
  • ME4262 Automation in Manufacturing
  • EC3322 Industrial Organisation I
  • EC3385 Maritime and Shipping Economics
  • EC4322 Industrial Organisation II
  • EC4372 Technology and Innovation

Notes:

* For Cohorts AY2019/2020 and AY2020/2021, 5 units from CN4122 (3 units) and CN4213R (2 units out of 6 units) will be counted towards the one Engineering course for the common course requirement. 

^ For Cohort AY2018/2019 only.

% This course will no longer be offered from Semester 1 AY2023/2024 onwards.

Essential common course - for double honours DDP only

Engineering major Essential common course/module
Biomedical Engineering BN2102 Bioengineering Data Analysis
Chemical Engineering

Cohort AY2018/2019:

  • CN3421 Process Modelling and Numerical Simulation (4 units)

Cohorts AY2019/2020 and AY2020/2021:

  • CN3421A Process Modelling and Numerical Simulation (3 units)
  • The 1-unit deficit for essential common course is plugged by a 1-unit excess for common courses
Civil Engineering CE2407 Engineering & Uncertainty Analysis
Computer Engineering ST2334 Probability and Statistics
Electrical Engineering

Cohort AY2018/2019:

  • EE2012 Analytical Methods in Electrical and Computer Engineering (4 units)

Cohorts AY2019/2020 and AY2020/2021:

  • EE2012A Analytical Methods in Electrical and Computer Engineering (3 units)
  • Even though there is a 1-unit deficit for essential common course, students can still fulfil the minimum requirement of at least 84 units of EC-coded or EC-recognised courses and the minimum requirement of at least 108 units for an Engineering major. 
Environmental Engineering CE2407 Engineering & Uncertainty Analysis
Industrial & Systems Engineering ST2334 Probability and Statistics
Materials Science & Engineering ST1131 Introduction to Statistics
Mechanical Engineering ST1131 Introduction to Statistics

NOTE: These courses replace the core course EC2303 Foundations of Econometrics in the Economics major and are alternative pre-requisites for the later EC3303 Econometrics I. DDP students must still complete one of these courses even if they have already taken EC2303.

Integrated Honours Project/Thesis

Students who enroll in the double honours DDP may complete a 16-unit Integrated Honours Project/Thesis which will count towards the requirements and GPA of both degree programmes. The project will provide the best students with opportunities to explore the meeting points of their two disciplines. It will be jointly supervised by faculty members from Engineering and Economics, and students are encouraged to work with the members on possible topics that are interdisciplinary in nature which may lead to an integrated project/thesis.

Alternatively, students in the double honours DDP may also choose to undertake separate final year project or honours thesis courses for both degree programmes.

Registration process for Integrated Honours Project/Thesis

Students whose home Faculty is CDE should first register for a final year project within their Engineering major. Thereafter, they may will consult with a faculty member from the Department of Economics on the possibility of framing the research topic such that it is also suitable for the Bachelor of Social Sciences degree. Conversely, a student whose home Faculty is CHS should first register for honours thesis course in Economics and then consult with a faculty member from their Engineering major about the relevance of the research topic to that major.

By the end of the first semester of the final year project or honours thesis, a joint committee for the DDP in consultation faculty members from both Engineering and Economics will assess whether a student may be allowed to switch from the final year project or honours thesis course in his/her primary degree programme to the Integrated Honours Project. The assessment may be done by requiring the student to give a formal presentation and/or submit a written report to his/her supervisors (alternatively, the supervisors may dispense with the presentation and/or report if they know the student’s work well enough and are able to indicate their assessment of his/her work in writing). If the student’s work has sufficient scope for both degree programmes, the joint committee will allow the student to switch to the Integrated Honours Project/Thesis and complete it in the following semester. One of the following course codes will be shown in both semesters of the Integrated Honours Project/Thesis:

  • XFE4401 Integrated Honours Project: for students whose home Faculty is CDE.
  • XFA4401 Integrated Honours Thesis: for students whose home Faculty is CHS.

However, if there is insufficient overlap between the two disciplines, the student will be required switch to undertake separate final year project or honours thesis courses for both degree programmes. Students who are not working towards Honours (Highest Distinction) for their Bachelor of Social Sciences degree may replace the honours thesis course in Economics with three Level 4000 Economics courses.

Admission

Students will be admitted into this DDP only if they meet the requirements of both the College of Design and Engineering (CDE) and College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS). A committee comprising staff members from both CDE and CHS will review the applications.

Prospective NUS students with relevant A-Level or equivalent qualifications

Prospective NUS students may apply via the Office of Admissions website (http://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/).

Applicants must meet the admission requirements of both courses:

Current NUS students - Cohorts AY2018/2019 to AY2020/2021

Current students enrolled in an Engineering major or the Economics major who aspire to enroll in this DDP are strongly advised to apply by the end of their first year so as to start the DDP at the beginning of their second year. Students must apply through their home Faculty during the application period from late April to mid May. Shortlisted applicants may then be interviewed.

CDE students who plan to enroll in this DDP after their first year must have completed EC1101E Introduction to Economic Analysis (or EC1301 Principles of Economics for earlier cohorts) and at least one other Economics course (except EC2303 Foundations for Econometrics which is not required for this DDP) in the first year to enable them to better understand the discipline’s focus and methodologies. The selection criteria include the following:

  • Grade for EC1101E.
  • Grades for MA-coded courses in the Engineering major as a strong mathematical background is required to pursue an Economics degree.
  • Minimum GPA of 4.00.

CHS students who plan to enroll in this DDP after their first year must have completed at least two courses from their chosen Engineering major. The selection criteria include the following:

  • Grades for the Engineering courses
  • Minimum GPA of 4.00

As the grades obtained for the Engineering and Economics courses will be taken into account in the shortlisting process, the S/U option should not be exercised on these courses.

An applicant’s co-curricular achievements may also be considered as part of the selection criteria, and applicants may be required to attend an interview.

Current NUS students - Cohort AY2021/2022 onwards

The admission process and requirements for this DDP for Cohort AY2021/2022 onwards follow those for double degree programmes between the College of Design and Engineering and College of Humanities and Sciences. Find out more on this page:

https://cde.nus.edu.sg/undergraduate/programmes/cde-chs-double-degree-programme/

Candidature period and tuition fees

The normal candidature period for the single honours and double honours DDP are 9 and 10 consecutive semesters, respectively. Students in a DDP are require to pay only the prevailing tuition fee of their home Faculty's degree programme.

Students who take longer than the normal candidature period to complete this DDP will have to pay partial non-subsidised fees, culminating in full non-subsidised fees, during the extended semesters (click here for more information).

Completion and exit

Students from Cohorts AY2018/2019 to AY2020/2021 are required to leave this DDP if any of the following occurs:

  • GPA below 3.75 for the first degree programme for two consecutive semesters
  • GPA below 3.25 for the second degree programme for two consecutive semesters
  • Combination of both for two consecutive semesters

Students from Cohorts AY2021/2022 are required to leave this DDP if their GPA for one or both degree programmes is below 3.50 for two consecutive semesters.

Students can also choose to leave this DDP on their own accord by submitting their request to their home Faculty between the release of examination results of the immediate past semester and by the first week of the following semester. Students should consider their decision carefully as it is irrevocable. Those who have withdrawn from this DDP will not be readmitted into the DDP regardless of their GPA.

Upon exit from this DDP, students will return to their home Faculty for their single degree programme. Students whose home Faculty is CDE must complete the compulsory internship requirement in their single degree programme. The separate GPAs for the two degrees will be combined into a single GPA, using all modules from both degree programmes.

Contact us

You may contact Ms Lesley Poong at lesley@nus.edu.sg or 6516 1339 if you have questions about this DDP.