1. Students from Cohort AY2014/15 and before read GE courses from Group A or Group B, but the GE curriculum is different for me. Why?

Students admitted from AY2015/16 onwards (except students from Law, Medicine, Dentistry) will experience a new curriculum introduced by the GE Reform. The curriculum has the following five pillars:

• Human Cultures
• Asking Questions
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Singapore Studies
• Thinking and Expression

Students are required to read one course from each pillar, to fulfil their GE requirements

2. I'm a first-year student. My questions are:

(a) Must I take my GE courses in the first semester?

Students are strongly encouraged to complete their GE requirements within the first two years of their candidature, as GE is meant to be foundational.

(b) Do I need to read 20 Units of GE courses every year, or is the 20 Units requirement for the entire programme?

You need to read 20 Units of GE courses throughout your entire programme.

(c) I notice that all the GEH/GEQ/GER/GES/GET courses are Level-1000 – does that mean that I must complete all five courses in Year 1?

Students are strongly encouraged to complete all five courses within the first two years of their candidature.

3. I am confused by the different course prefixes: GEM, GEK, SS, GEH, GEQ, GER, GES and GET. What are the differences?

(i) GEM/GEK/SS courses are read by students admitted before AY2015/16 to fulfil GE/Singapore Studies requirements.Students admitted from AY2015/16 cannot read these courses.

(ii) To fulfil GE requirements, you need to read a course each with the following prefixes:

• GEH– to fulfil the Human Cultures pillar
• GEQ– to fulfil the Asking Questions pillar
• GER– to fulfil the Quantitative Reasoning pillar
• GES– to fulfil the Singapore Studies pillar
• GET– to fulfil the Thinking and Expression pillar

(iii) To fulfil the GE requirements, students admitted in AY2015/16 (except those from the Ridge View Residential College (RVRC)) will be required to read one course each from the four pillars (Human Cultures (GEH), Quantitative Reasoning (GER), Singapore Studies (GES), and Thinking and Expression (GET)). Students are also required to take an additional course from one of these pillars: GEH, GES or GET, or a course from the “Asking Questions” pillar.

(iv) Students admitted in AY2015/16 and beyond, and who are residents of RVRC are allowed to read GEQ1917 Understanding and Critiquing Sustainability as fulfilment of the "Asking Questions" pillar.

4. I have been pre-allocated GER1000 Quantitative Reasoning/ GEQ1000 Asking Questions, but I prefer to read it in another semester. What should I do?

Students will not be able to choose the semester to read GER1000/ GEQ1000. The pre-allocation guidelines for GER1000/ GEQ1000 can be found here.

5. Please advise where I can find a list of Quantitative Reasoning (GER) and Asking Questions courses.

GER1000 Quantitative Reasoning is the only course offered under the Quantitative Reasoning pillar. Similarly, GEQ1000 Asking Questions is the only course offered under the Asking Questions pillar.

6. Is it compulsory for FASS and Bachelor of Environmental Studies (BES) students to take GET1031A/GET1050 to fulfill the Thinking and Expression pillar?

Yes, it is compulsory for FASS and BES students from Cohort AY2017/18 onwards to take GET1031A Computational Thinking/ GET1050 Computational Reasoning to fulfil the Thinking and Expression pillar.

• FASS and BES students from Cohort AY2017/18 onwards, and who are enrolled in the University Scholars Programme (USP) or University Town College Programme (UTCP) will still be required to read GET1031A/GET1050. GET1031A/GET1050 will count towards these students’ Unrestricted Elective (UE) requirement.

The only exception is for FASS & BES students from Cohort AY2017/18 onwards that took UTC1702% coded course(s) offered by RC4.

7. I am an English Literature major – can I read a GE course in English Literature to satisfy my Major requirement?

Only a small number of GE courses have been specially approved for inclusion in some FASS Major/Second Major/Minor requirements, students reading such GE courses can only count them to either the General Education requirements or the Major/Second Major/Minor requirements, but not both (i.e., no double counting is allowed).

If the GEH course in English Literature has been specially approved for inclusion in your Major requirement, you can read that course to fulfil your Major requirement. You will have to take another GEH course to fulfil the Human Cultures pillar of the GE requirement.

8. May I read two GE courses from one pillar, and use one of them to replace a course from another pillar?

No, students are required to read a course from each pillar, in order to fulfil their GE requirements.

The only exception is for students admitted in AY2015/16, and who are not from RVRC. These students read one course each from the four pillars (Human Cultures (GEH), Quantitative Reasoning (GER), Singapore Studies (GES), and Thinking and Expression (GET). Their fifth GE course can be from the GEH, GES or GET pillar, or the Asking Questions (GEQ) pillar.

9. I am a polytechnic diploma holder – which GE course am I granted Advanced Placement Credits (APCs) for?

Polytechnic Diploma holders admitted from AY2015/16 onwards are not allowed to be granted APCs for a GE course. All students admitted from AY2015/16 onwards are required to read five GE courses.

10. I am going for a Student Exchange Programme/Summer Programme/Winter Programme/Study Abroad Programme. Can I take courses from the overseas/Partner University, and have them counted as GE courses? What is the procedure for doing so?

Students admitted from AY2015/16 onwards are not allowed to read courses from the overseas/Partner University while on the above Programmes, and use them as GE courses to fulfil the GE requirement.

11. How do I register for GE courses?

You can register for GE courses via Course Registration at Education Records System (CourseReg@EduRec) (Navigation: Academics > Course Registration). Students should not register for GE courses that they are not eligible to read (e.g., courses coded with GEM/GEK/SS prefixes).

Students should also ensure that they have not exceeded the limit of Level-1000 courses. (Note: The limit on the number of Level-1000 courses to be counted towards fulfilment of graduation requirements is 60 Units for both 120 Units- and 160 Units-programmes, for students admitted from AY2007/08 onwards. Faculties could set more stringent requirements.)

When registering for GE courses, it is the responsibility of students to check the class and examination timetable, and ensure that there are no timetable clashes.

12. I did not manage to get the GE course I wanted to read this semester. Are all GE courses offered every semester?

Not necessarily. Some GE courses are offered only in Semester 1, while others may be offered only in Semester 2.

13. Where can I find the timetables for the GE courses?

Please refer to NUSMods for all class schedules.

14. I understand that we are not allowed to exceed a certain number of Units per semester. What is the maximum number of Units I can take?

Please contact your Faculty Dean's Office for clarification.

15. How do I know if my GE course has tutorials?

Please refer to NUSMods.

16. Can I read excess GE courses, after completing 20 Units of the General Education requirements?

Yes, excess GE courses can be counted towards your Unrestricted Elective requirements.