Definition

A Double Degree consists of a combination of two separate degrees from two discipline areas in the same Faculty/School or in two different Faculties/Schools.

Double Degree Programmes (DDPs)

There are specially designed Double Degrees developed by Faculties/Schools such as B.Soc.Sci.(Hons) in Economics and LLB, B.Eng.(Hons) and BBA, as well as Double Degree combinations initiated by students themselves.

Faculties/Schools have identified certain prohibited combinations for student-initiated DDPs. Hence, when putting together their own Double Degree combinations, students should always verify permissible combinations with their Home Faculties/Schools before embarking on one.

A student will, however, be allowed to pursue Honours in the second degree programme only if he/she pursues Honours in the degree programme which he/she was originally enrolled in, that is, a student may pursue either Honours in both degrees or only Honours in the first degree and non-Honours in the second degree. Pursuing Honours is subject to meeting the requisite qualifications.

Application to Enroll in Double Degree Programme

A student must declare his/her intention to enroll for a Double Degree just after completion of between 60 units to 80 units, that is, just after the third semester or fourth semester. The units must be obtained from NUS courses (letter graded or satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) graded) and must not include credits earned from Student Exchange Programmes (SEPs) or Advanced Placement Credits (APCs).

The student must apply to both Faculties/Schools and obtain the written approval of both Faculties/Schools. Each application will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The Faculty/Faculties must inform the Registrar's Office when the student's application has been approved.

Students who would like to pursue a Double Degree are advised to plan their courses carefully even before the third or fourth semester.

For specially designed Double Degrees developed by Faculties/Schools, students may apply for direct admission during the admissions exercise or after completing the first year of study.

Acceptance Criteria

The minimum GPA requirement for acceptance to the second degree programme for all Faculties/Schools is 3.75. Both Faculties/Departments would normally consider if the student has read some courses in the respective areas intended for the Double Degree, so as to make a judgment about the student's ability and potential.

Programme Requirements and Double Counting

1. The student will, in consultation with the undergraduate advisor of the Faculty/Faculties, work out the requirements for the Double Degree programme.

2.  University Level Requirements:

   For students admitted prior to AY2015/16:

   1. Students need to satisfy one set of Singapore Studies (SS) Course and General Education (GE) Course requirements only. The prevailing rules relating to satisfying the GE course requirements in the different subject groups shall apply. In accordance with the existing GE course requirements –

      1. Students taking Double Degree combinations involving degrees from Faculties/Schools in Group A (Science and Technology) and Group B (Humanities and Social Sciences) must take one GE course each from the Subject Group A and Subject Group B.

      2. Students taking Double Degree combinations in which one of the degrees is from the School of Design & Environment (which comes under both Group A and B) must take one GE course each from Group A and Group B.

      3. Students taking Double Degree combinations involving degrees from Faculties/Schools in Group A (Science and Technology) or within the same Faculty/School in Group A must take at least one GE course from Group B (Humanities and Social Sciences). Students taking Double Degree combinations involving degrees from Faculties/Schools in Group B (Humanities and Social Sciences) or within the same Faculty/School in Group B must take at least one GE course from Group A (Science and Technology).

   2. If a student reads GE courses that are cross-listed with the second degree programme, and uses them to fulfil the major requirement for the second degree, then the student should have taken other additional GE courses to fulfil the GE requirement.

   3. Students will not be required to take breadth courses if the degrees are from two different Faculties/Schools, as courses taken from one Faculty/School will satisfy the breadth requirements of the other Faculty/School. Students must take breadth courses if the degrees are within the same Faculty/School.

   For students admitted from AY2015/16 onwards (except students from Law, Medicine, Dentistry and the University Scholars Programme):

   Students will be required to read one General Education (GE) Course from each of the General Education pillars (5 pillars or 20 units for students admitted prior to AY2021/22, 6 pillars or 24 units for students admitted from AY2021/22) to satisfy the University Level Requirement for General Education. Please refer to the GE course website for the details.

3. Programme Requirements:

   For students admitted prior to AY2021/22, at least two-thirds of each major must be fulfilled by distinct (i.e., not overlapping) courses.

   • Faculty Requirements: A student reading for a Double Degree within the same Faculty/School will only need to fulfil one set of faculty requirements. If the two degrees are from two Faculties/Schools, both sets of faculty requirements will have to be fulfilled.

   • Major Requirements: At least two-thirds of each major must be fulfilled by distinct (i.e., not overlapping) courses. A minimum 60% of the units of each of the degrees must be letter graded and factored in the GPA of each degree.

   For students admitted from AY2021/22 onwards,

   • Up to 40% of each major / programme / Faculty’s requirement in a Double Degree can be double counted with another major / minor / programme / Faculty / College requirement in the Double Degree, to the extent practicable, i.e., at least 60% of each major / programme / Faculty requirement in a Double Degree must be fulfilled by distinct non-overlapping courses.

   • Up to 100% of each College requirement in a Double Degree can be double counted with another major / minor / programme / Faculty / College requirement in the Double Degree, to the extent practicable.  (A student pursuing a Double Degree with two sets of Common Curriculum, must fulfil both sets of Common Curriculum.) 

4.  Unrestricted Electives:

   For students admitted prior to AY2017/18:

   Students will not be required to take Unrestricted Elective (UE) Courses. However, if UE courses are taken, these can be used to count towards the requirements of either degree programme.

   For students admitted from AY2017/18 onwards:

   Students will not be required to take Unrestricted Elective (UE) Courses. However, if students take extra course(s) that can be counted as the programme requirements of one degree only, these cannot be used to count as UE of the other degree. If students take extra course(s) outside the programme requirements of both degrees, these can be used to count towards the requirements of either degree programme.

5.  USP Requirements: USP students must satisfy 32 units of USP requirements, that is, three Tier 1 (Foundations) courses (consisting of Writing and Critical Thinking, Quantitative Reasoning, and University Scholars Seminar), four Tier 2 (Inquiry) courses, and one Tier 3 (Reflection) course.

6. Courses used to fulfil the major requirements of both degrees may not be used to fulfil the requirements of a minor as well.

7. For more details on the Policy on Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Option, please visit the S/U website.

8. Both Faculties/Departments must be satisfied that all the graduation requirements for its respective degree have been fulfilled.

60-unit Limit on Level 1000 Courses

For students admitted from AY2007/08 onwards, the rule of 60-unit limit on Level 1000 courses is applicable to the courses counted towards each degree in the DDP. That is to say, DDP students should not exceed 60 unit of Level 1000 courses within each of the two individual sets of courses meant for each of the two degrees. In other words, the Level 1000 courses are not counted in a cumulative manner for the whole DDP.

Level of Study

In determining a student's level of study, the same principles as that currently used for single degrees will apply, that is, advancement to the next level of study will be based on number of units or particular courses completed.

Computation of Grade Point Average (GPA)

1. The GPA for both degrees will be computed separately and the two GPAs, one each for the respective degrees reflected separately on a single transcript.

2. The process and method for computation of GPA is as follows:

   During the registration for courses in each semester, the student must declare which courses he/she wants to use to count towards fulfilment of each of the two degrees. Any changes to the course declarations may only be made after the result release in the final semester before graduation, subject to the approval of the Faculty/Faculties. The grades from courses that may be double counted (Singapore Studies, GE courses, faculty requirements or majors) will be used twice to compute the GPA for each of the two degrees. If Unrestricted Elective (UE) courses outside the programme requirements of both degrees have been taken, the grades obtained will be used to compute the GPA for either one of the two degrees.

Continuation Requirement and Exit

The continuation requirements for DDPs are as follows:

• For students admitted from AY2011/12 to AY2013/14: A student must maintain a GPA of at least 4.00 in courses contributing to the original degree, and a GPA of at least 3.50 for the second degree. The DDP continuation requirement is not applicable in the final graduating semester.
• For students admitted from AY2014/15 to AY2020/21: A student must maintain a GPA of at least 3.75 in courses contributing to the original degree, and a GPA of at least 3.25 for the second degree, from his/her second active regular semester onwards. The DDP continuation requirement is not applicable once a student's total cumulative units exceed 160units.
• For students admitted from AY2021/22 onwards: A student must maintain a GPA of at least 3.5 in courses contributing to the original degree and a GPA of at least 3.5 for the second degree, from his/her second active regular semester onwards. The DDP continuation rule is not applicable once a student's total cumulative units exceed 140units.

A student will be issued a warning if he/she does not meet the continuation requirements in a semester, and will be required to withdraw from the DDP by withdrawing from the second degree programme if he/she does not meet the continuation requirements for any two consecutive semesters.

A student may decide to withdraw or can be asked to withdraw from the Double Degree programme by withdrawing from the second degree programme. However, he/she is not allowed to withdraw from the first degree (i.e. originally offered degree) programme and transfer to the second degree programme. All the courses that the student has taken to fulfil the requirements of the second degree will be reflected in the transcript and included in the computation of the GPA for the single degree.

No DDP withdrawal is allowed in the midst of a semester (except for graduating cases). DDP students can request to withdraw from the second degree after results release up to the first week of the following semester. 

Minimum Unit Requirements for Double Degrees

For students admitted prior to AY2021/22, the minimum unit requirements for a Double Degree is 200 units for two Honours (4-year) degrees, and 180 units for one Honours (4-year) and one Bachelor's (3-year) degree.

For students admitted from AY2021/22 onwards, the minimum unit requirements for a Double Degree is 160 units.

The above are minimum requirements, the actual total units will be dependent on the requirements of each of the two degrees and how much double counting is possible as specified by the respective Faculties/Departments.

Residency Requirement

The residency requirement is 50% of the minimum required units for the Double Degree programme.

For students admitted prior to AY2014/15, units that count towards residency must come from graded courses that are factored into a student's GPA. Units earned from courses taken on S/U basis cannot be used to count towards the residency requirements.

For students admitted from AY2014/15 onwards, the units used to count towards the residency requirement must be from courses read in NUS. Courses read at NUS include all courses taught, co-taught, supervised or co-supervised by one or more NUS faculty members. These units must be earned from graded courses with assigned grade points or courses with an 'S' or 'CS' grade.

Normal and Maximum Period of Candidature

The normal and maximum period of candidature for the Double Degrees can be found here. The two degree programmes must be undertaken and completed within a single continuous candidature period (save for the usual provisions for leave of absence).

Fees

Students in a DDP will pay the prevailing tuition fee of the Faculty/School offering the home programme in the first four years of study. The prevailing tuition fee refers to the subsidised fee amount after taking into consideration the Tuition Grant provided by the Ministry of Education. For more information on fees, please click here.

For the fifth year of study, in view of limited or no Tuition Grant from the Ministry of Education, NUS will offer scholarships to all DDP students (no application needed) to help offset part of the tuition fee payable in the fifth year (i.e. within normal candidature period). In other words, the fees payable are pegged to the home programme as follows:

• For DDPs where one of the degrees is in Engineering or Computing, students will only need to pay the prevailing tuition fee of the Faculty/School offering the home programme (except for any DDPs involving Law);
• For all other DDPs, students will pay two times the prevailing tuition fee of the Faculty/School offering the home programme (including all DDPs involving Law).

Fees payable beyond normal candidature period

Awards

The student will be eligible for award of medals and prizes for both degrees.

Dean's List

The student will be eligible for inclusion on the Dean's List for both degrees.

Nomenclature for Double Degrees

Double Degrees will be expressed as two separate degrees, for e.g., B.Eng.(Elect.) and BBA Honours. For student-initiated double degrees, the degree the student was originally enrolled in will be mentioned first.

Conferment of Degree

Two separate degrees will be conferred with the same conferment date and two degree scrolls issued, one for each degree.