With effect from Academic Year 2019/2020, Design-Your-Own-Course (or DYOC in short) has been officially introduced as an option for students to broaden their education. With this initiative, students may choose to do something within, or outside of, their disciplines – within the unrestricted elective courses (UE) space.

Students can thus choose what to learn, how they wish to learn it and from whom they wish to learn (e.g., DYOC Massive Open Online Courses, or to learn in a DYOC group by choosing their own supervisor). With effect from Academic Year 2020/2021, eligible students may utilize up to 8 Units for DYOC, an increase from 4 Units.

Note:

With effect from Academic Year 2024/2025, students will no longer be able to claim reimbursement for edX MOOCs completed via the DYOC scheme.

With effect from Academic Year 2025/2026, students will no longer be able to claim credits from reading edX & AI For Industry (AI4I)® MOOCs via the DYOC scheme.

DYOC MOOC is a fully online learning where students can access edX courses via NUS Canvas or AI For Industry (AI4I)® via AI Singapore’s “AI Student Outreach Programme”.

DYOC Group is where a group of 10 or more students come together to learn from a supervisor.

Both schemes give students opportunities to pursue self-directed learning, with up to 8 Units allowed within the UE space during his or her Undergraduate candidature and will be graded on a ‘CS/CU’ (Completed Satisfactorily/Completed Unsatisfactorily) basis.

The maximum number of Units that students can gain from DYOC scheme throughout candidature is subject to the condition that the sum of Units for DYOC and IaaS (Internship as-a-Service) courses is less than or equal to 8 Units.

DYOC will constitute up to 8 Units within the Unrestricted Elective (UE) space, and graded on a ‘CS/CU’ (Completed Satisfactorily/Completed Unsatisfactorily) basis. Only a maximum of 8 Units, made up of DYOC and IAAS courses, will be considered for graduation. The DYOC courses will not count towards the calculation of the grade point average (GPA). While DYOC courses are Level-1000 courses, they will not be counted toward the limit stipulated on the number of Level-1000 courses.

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For DYOC MOOC:

Students doing credit-bearing MOOCs (Option A) will be deemed to have attained a “CS” grade upon award of the edX/host institution’s Verified Certificate of completion.

For DYOC Group:

Other students must complete the assignments and assessments as stipulated in the proposal or “contract”, and fulfil the requirements as agreed for the DYOC Group course, in order to be awarded a “CS” grade.

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DYOC is optional. Students may choose to do a range of 1 Unit to 8 Units DYOCs (depending on the selected options), up to a maximum of 8 Units within the UE space, within the established degree requirements.

 

You can fill up this form with your enquiry and we will respond within 3 working days.

DYOC Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is a fully online learning where students can access edX courses via NUS Canvas or AI For Industry (AI4I)® via AI Singapore’s “AI Student Outreach Programme”.

The objective of DYOC MOOC is to empower students in their learning journey, giving them more flexibility in planning their studies without disruption to their structured disciplinary studies, since MOOCs are mostly self-paced and fully online.

Note:

With effect from AY2024/25, students will no longer be able to claim reimbursement for edX MOOCs completed via the DYOC scheme.

With effect from AY2025/26, students will no longer be able to claim credits from reading edX & AI For Industry (AI4I)® MOOCs via the DYOC scheme.

AI For Industry (AI4I)® is an online course by AISG, better known as AI Singapore, a national AI programme supported by the National Research Foundation and hosted by the National University of Singapore.

Students who have completed AI For Industry (AI4I)® are precluded from doing CS2109S Introduction to AI and Machine Learning, CS3244 Machine Learning, or IT3011 Introduction to Machine Learning and Applications. 

For registration details on AI For Industry (AI4I)®, please go to Canvas > DYOC > AI SG courses.

Note: With effect from AY2025/26, students will no longer be able to claim credits from reading edX & AI For Industry (AI4I)® MOOCs via the DYOC scheme.

With effect from AY2024/25, students will no longer be able to claim reimbursement from NUS for edX MOOCs completed via the DYOC scheme.

Students enrolled in AI For Industry (AI4I)® MOOC via AISG’s AI Student Outreach Programme from 21 November 2022 onwards will also not be able to claim reimbursement from NUS.

Students who have previously enrolled in AI4I^® via LumiNUS will continue to apply for reimbursement via EduRec.

Should you require further assistance, let us know via this link and we'll get you there.

Transfer of credits is capped at 8 Units. Full reimbursement would be possible for both MOOCs (5-Units and 4-Units) so long as the combined amount does not exceed USD600.

Refer to the DYOC  page for more details: https://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/academic-information-policies/undergraduate-students/design-your-own-course

Note: With effect from AY 2024/25, students will no longer be able to claim reimbursement from NUS for edX MOOCs completed via the DYOC scheme.

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DYOC follows NUS guidelines like all other courses. For example, the makeup of a 4-Unit course is roughly 120 hours of work – i.e., approximately 36 hours of contact time, with the rest constituting self-study, assignments and assessments. Depending on the effort for each credit-bearing MOOC, students may earn up to 8 Units within the UE space. Only a maximum of 8 Units, made up of DYOC and IAAS courses, will be considered for graduation.

Please refer to the table here (under DYOC Option A) for information on the equivalent Unit(s) that can be obtained based on the MOOC’s workload hours. Do check the MOOC’s workload hours against the table before registering for MOOCs via Canvas.

Please note that NUS reserves the right to vary the awarded course units from the 'suggested units' in Canvas, if the course host subsequently revises the stipulated effort hours for the course after it is mounted.

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1. Students should register for MOOCs via NUS’s Learning Management System, Canvas. 

2. Select edX courses that are approved for DYOC (tagged as ‘Yes’ under column ‘DYOC’ in Canvas). Courses tagged as ‘No’ are not DYOC approved.

3. Complete your MOOC ranging from 1-Unit to 8-Unit equivalent from edX. In order to get a “CS” grade, students will have to register for and obtain a Verified Certificate from edX. 

Similarly, students may pursue the AI For Industry (AI4I)® course, and earn units upon completion. For registration details on AI For Industry (AI4I)®, please go to Canvas > DYOC > AI SG courses.

Note: With effect from AY2025/26, students will no longer be able to claim credits from reading edX & AI For Industry (AI4I)® MOOCs via the DYOC scheme.

Note that the request for credit transfer and reimbursement for the same MOOC is to be submitted in one application in EduRec upon completion of your MOOCs. Only credit-bearing MOOCs will be processed.

For edX MOOCs enrolled via Canvas and AI For Industry (AI4I)® previously enrolled via LumiNUS

Reimbursement is only for credit-bearing edX MOOCs completed under the DYOC scheme (i.e., reimbursement does not apply when there is no transfer of credits).

Upon successful approval of the application, disbursement for edX MOOCs will be made to the Student Account in EduRec 5 days later. The credit will first be used to offset any outstanding fees in EduRec. If there is any balance in your Student Account after that, it will then be refunded to you. All refunds will be processed in the first week of each month. You should receive your refund in your bank account by the 2^nd Friday of the month. It is important for a student to maintain a receiving bank account in EduRec, in order to receive the reimbursement.  For more details on maintaining your receiving bank account, please refer here.

For AI For Industry (AI4I)® enrolled via AISG’s AI Student Outreach Programme

Please note that the application of reimbursement for AI4I® is done directly with AISG while the application of credit transfer for AI4I® is done through EduRec. Details on how to apply for reimbursement of course fees with AI Singapore are available in the Programme Handbook here.

Students are able to apply for reimbursement for AI4I independently from applying for credit transfer on EduRec. (e.g., in cases where students have consumed 8 Units of DYOC credits and would like to read AI4I). Please check with AI Singapore regarding the time required to process the reimbursement.

Note:

With effect from AY 2024/25, students will no longer be able to claim reimbursement for edX MOOCs completed via the DYOC scheme.

With effect from AY2025/26, students will no longer be able to claim credits from reading edX & AI For Industry (AI4I)® MOOCs via the DYOC scheme.

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Enrolment of every edX course should be done through LumiNUS (before 13 December 2022)/Canvas (from 13 December 2022 onwards) for the purpose of user authentication, verification of your grades and fee reimbursements for DYOC by the Office of the University Registrar. If it was not enrolled via LumiNUS/Canvas, you would not be able to apply for both credit transfer and reimbursement.

Students interested in reading AI For Industry are required to enrol in the course via AI Singapore’s Outreach Programme from 21 November 2022 onwards. Click here for the full information.

Note: With effect from AY2025/26, students will no longer be able to claim credits from reading edX & AI For Industry (AI4I)® MOOCs via the DYOC scheme.

For edX courses that do not have the DYOC ‘Yes’ label next to it in Canvas, they are mostly likely not DYOC approved, which may be due to the total effort/hours of the course being too low to qualify for any Units.

You may refer to the formula available in the link here for the calculation of the total efforts of the edX MOOC.

You may also refer to the table here (under DYOC Option A) for information on the equivalent Unit(s) that can be obtained based on the MOOC’s workload hours. Do check the MOOC’s workload hours against the table before registering for MOOCs via Canvas.

Note that if you completed the edX MOOC recently, it will take a few days to be reflected in your EduRec.

If you are still unable to view the edX MOOC records on EduRec after 1 week of completion, please let us know via this link and we'll get you there.

DYOC MOOCs are not counted towards the minimum semestral workload. Students are required to meet the minimum semestral workload requirement of 18 Units, regardless whether they may be doing DYOC MOOCs.

Students may read the edX MOOCs at any time, though reading during the graduating semester is not encouraged.

You can read the edX courses when you are on LOA. However, do note that in the event that you are on LOA and submit your DYOC (MOOC) application on EduRec upon completion, the approval of credit transfer and reimbursement will be put on hold and will only be processed in the next active semester where you resume your studies in NUS.

Upon completion of the edX or AI For Industry (AI4I)® (previously enrolled via LumiNUS) course and obtaining the Verified Certificate, you can submit the DYOC (MOOC) application on EduRec to apply for both credit transfer and reimbursement.

For AI For Industry (AI4I)® enrolled via AISG’s AI Student Outreach Programme:

Upon completion of the AI4I® course and obtaining the Verified Certificate, you can submit the DYOC (AISG) application on EduRec to apply for credit transfer. Please note that students will not be able to obtain reimbursement of AI4I course fees from NUS and AI Singapore. Details on how to apply for reimbursement of course fees with AI Singapore are available in the Programme Handbook here.

To count the DYOC credits towards a certain semester, students would need to submit from the start of that semester and latest by the last day of the examination period. You may also choose to count the DYOC credits towards Special Term if you submit the DYOC application by the last day of Special Term Part 2.

Note:

With effect from AY2024/25, students will no longer be able to claim reimbursement for edX MOOCs completed via the DYOC scheme.

With effect from AY2025/26, students will no longer be able to claim credits from reading edX & AI For Industry (AI4I)® MOOCs via the DYOC scheme

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DYOC MOOC is only eligible for Undergraduate students (Exclusion: Medicine, Dentistry, Law, Yale-NUS, SCALE).

If you are a GD student and would still like to read the edX courses, you can proceed to do so and read it at any time. However, do note that credit transfer and reimbursement will not be applicable for Graduate students.

Students who completed any of the CS50 edX courses by Harvard are able to apply for credit transfer and reimbursement on EduRec using either of the following EduRec functions: ‘New Application (Other MOOCs) > edX MOOC Type (CS50 series)’ or ‘New Application (via LumiNUS/Canvas)’. The guide can be found here (Under Step 2b).

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If you wish to read DYOC MOOCs to earn course credits under the Unrestricted Elective (UE) space, you should use Canvas to search and register for credit-bearing MOOCs. 

There is no need to use CourseReg as the MOOC is not part of your semestral workload.

To minimise the possibility of students failing to meet graduation requirements due to DYOC, students are generally discouraged to pursue DYOC MOOCs in their final semester.

For students doing the option of DYOC Group, registration of DYOC is not encouraged for the first semester of their undergraduate studies in view of the many compulsory courses in the first year (e.g., General Education).

You can get started in several ways:
1. NUS faculty members or NUS administrative staff (e.g., from units such as the Office of Student Affairs, Residential Colleges, the Centre for Future-Ready Graduates, NUS IT, etc.) may supervise a DYOC topic ranging from 2-Unit- to 8-Unit equivalent (60 to 240 hours of work) – which may or may not incorporate edX MOOCs. Students may propose a course and form a group of 10 students or more for this course. They may then get a supervisor (as above) to determine the course materials, assignments, and assessments (to constitute satisfactory completion of the course). Such courses have to be approved by NUS (e.g., Faculty or the Office of the Senior Deputy President and Provost (SDPPVO)).

2. Students may design a DYOC course where Industry leaders and NUS faculty supervise assignments and assessments. Again, students must organize themselves in a group of 10 or more, and approval will have to be sought from faculty or the SDPPVO.

The DYOC initiative empowers students to customise their learning experiences. An interesting feature of DYOC is that students will be organizing themselves in a group of at least 10 to encourage students from across different schools and faculties to come together to explore educational experiences that are both stimulating and enriching.

We are recommending a group of at least 10 students to encourage collaborative learning through teamwork (i.e., group activities may be prescribed by the supervisors where applicable).  We hope students can achieve the learning objectives set out in their commonly selected DYOC, in a self-motivated manner, and foster community spirit during the process. A team of 10 or more could also mean that students can leverage on the varied strengths of one another, creating economies of scale through synergy.

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Students are encouraged to organise themselves in a group of at least 10 to encourage students from across different schools and faculties to come together to explore educational experiences.

Students may form groups through their own social network.

Students are expected to plan ahead for their DYOC journey (i.e., before the start of a semester), especially if they wish to customise their course(s).  Once the group and their supervisor agree on the modular details, assignments, projects, and assessment, the proposal form should be submitted to the respective Dean’s Office during the application period for DYOC (Group), as indicated on the DYOC webpage.

Students must note that once a DYOC has been added to their record in EduRec by the host department, any de-registration or dropping of the course could have an implication on their academic record (e.g., “W” grade, etc.).

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There may be sensitive topics which students may be advised to avoid (e.g., topics which promote racism or sexism). Should a group wish to invite guest speakers, e.g., from industries, NGOs, etc., the invitation should be made in consultation with the supervisor. There may be instances where the approving authority may suggest modifications to the topic or the list of teachers/speakers.

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Students in the DYOC group could approach the host faculty (for the intended topic) to request for help in finding a supervisor.

Once you have formed your group (including the group supervisor), a representative can log into myEduRec to submit an application.

A standard template is provided in EduRec for online application before the start of a new semester. This template will require students/ supervisors to list learning outcomes, course requirements/ details, assignments/ projects, and assessment criteria.

The proposals will then be submitted (i.e., online application via EduRec) to respective host schools/ faculties or SDPPVO (for Halls of Residence, non-teaching units) for approval. 

Refer to User Guide for submission of DYOC (Group) Application.