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AUS Handbook AY 2013-14
This handbook does not apply to the degree programme offered by the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine
Academic Calendar The academic year starts off with an orientation week. It is divided into two semesters, Semester 1 of 18 weeks and Semester 2 of 17 weeks. Examinations are held at the end of each semester. There are two special terms during the Semester 2 vacation.
Academic Units Under the Academic Unit System, each course is assigned a certain number of academic units (AU).
The AU is a measure of the student's workload associated with both class attendance and preparation. For a typical one-semester course, the number of AU is calculated as follows:(a) one hour of lecture/tutorial per week : 1 AU(b) 3 hours laboratory/fieldwork per week : 1 AU
Curricular Requirements
 Curriculum Structure
The curriculum structure comprises 2 categories of requirements:
Major RequirementThe courses of study are classified under 2 groups: (i) Core Courses - these are compulsory courses required to satisfy programme requirements. (ii) Major Prescribed Electives - these are courses for specialisation in a particular degree programme.
General Education Requirement (GER)This is a curriculum requirement for broadening study and is divided into 3 categories as follows:(i) Core Courses (GER-Core):These are courses relating to :- Communication Skills- Singapore Studies- Human Resource Management* / Environmental Sustainability#
(ii) Prescribed Electives (GER-PE):The courses are categorised into 4 sub-areas of studies relating to:- Art, Humanities & Social Sciences (AHSS)- Business & Management (BM)- Liberal Studies (LS)# - Science, Technology & Society (STS)
(iii) Unrestricted Electives (GER-UE)These are courses chosen by students to broaden their learning experience.Unrestricted electives may be taken from the list of courses offered by the School or, with the approval of the Chair concerned, from courses offered by other Schools in the University. Although unrestricted electives may be taken in any year of study, students are advised to plan carefully when to take the unrestricted electives in order not to delay their graduation.
For the purpose of fulfilling the requirements of the programme and for classification of the degree, once a course is confirmed by the student as being registered as a prescribed elective, it cannot be re-classified as an unrestricted elective, and vice-versa.
* applies to students admitted before AY 2011-12 (except students in the Sport Science & Management programme), full-time students admitted directly to Year 2 in AY 2011-12 and part-time students admitted in AY 2011-12
# applies to all students in the Sport Science & Management programme and full-time students admitted to Year 1 with effect from AY 2011-12
Pre-requisites Some courses may only be offered to students who have obtained at least the specified grade in related courses offered at a lower level. These lower-level courses are called the &prerequisites& for the higher level courses.
Academic StructureThe number of academic units that students must obtain in order to graduate is at:
Period of Candidature(for students admitted to NTU with effect from AY 2009-10)a. The period of candidature for each programme is as follows:
Single Degree Programmes (Full-Time)
AccountancyBusiness
Aerospace EngineeringArt, Design & MediaBioengineeringBiological SciencesChemical & Biomolecular EngineeringChemistry & Biological ChemistryChineseCivil EngineeringCommunication StudiesComputer EngineeringComputer ScienceEconomicsElectrical & Electronic EngineeringEnglishEnvironmetal EngineeringHistoryInformation Engineering & MediaLinguistics & Multilingual StudiesMaritime StudiesMaterials EngineeringMathematical SciencesMathematics & EconomicsMechanical EngineeringPhysics & Applied PhysicsPsychologyPublic Policy & Global AffairsSociologySport Science and Management
3 1/2 years
4 years
For students admitted directly to the second year of a 4-year programme, the minimum, normal and the maximum periods shall be 21/2 years, 3 years and 5 years respectively.
Single Degree Programmes (Part-Time)
Electrical & Electronic EngineeringMechanical Engineering
4 years
5 years
Double Degree Programmes (Full-Time)
Accountancy and BusinessBiomedical Sciences and Chinese Medicine*Business and ComputingBusiness and Computer EngineeringEngineering and Economics
3 1/2 years5 years4 years4 years4 1/2 years
4 years5 years4 1/2 years#4 1/2 years#5 years
5 years7 years6 years6 years7 years
* Inclusive of 2 years at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine# 4 years with acceleration
Integrated Programme (Full-Time)
Renaissance Engineering Programme^
 ^ awards two degrees - a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree
The following groups of students are to seek advice from their respective Schools on the period of candidature:
   a) Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Electrical and Electronic Engineering       students who are pursuing the integrated programme offered by NTU in collaboration with        the Georgia Institute of Technology   b) Biological Sciences students who are pursuing the integrated programme in Biological        Sciences and Master of Science offered by NTU   c) Engineering students who are pursuing the integrated programme in Engineering and        Master of Science offered by NTU
Classification of StudentsStudents are classified as Year 1 to Year 5 students according to the number of academic units earned. While re-classification is done normally at the end of an academic year, where appropriate, this may be done at the end of the first semester. Students placed on Academic Warning and Academic Probation will not be re-classified until they have been restored to good academic standing. See section 5(5)(b).
The number of academic units that students must earn to be classified to the next year of study is at:
Graduation and Residential RequirementsTo be eligible for the award of a Bachelor's degree from NTU, a student must fulfill the following conditions:
For all students in the Sport Science & Management programme and full-time students admitted to Year 1 with effect from AY 2011-12
3-year programmes
2 academic years
4-year programmes- For students admitted to Yr 1- For students admitted directly to Yr 2
3 academic years2 1/2 academic years
69 AU69 AU
The balance AU may consist of AU earned from courses with Pass (P), Exempted (EX) and Satisfactory (S) notations.
* cover all courses i.e. Core, Major Prescribed Electives and GER courses
# For students in the double degree programmes- The minimum study period at NTU is one year less than the normal candidature. - Double degree students are awarded with two degrees. For each degree, the minimum AU of graded courses that students must obtain from NTU is the same as its corresponding single degree programme In addition to the above, students in the Bachelor of Engineering programmes must also ensure that the following minimum number of AUs from their Core Courses and Major Prescribed Electives (excluding GER-Core, GER-PE and GER-UE) are graded, as set out in the table below: 
 For Bachelor of Engineering students admitted in AY2013-14
Minimum number of graded Core & Major Prescribed Electives Courses
Undergraduate Programmes
For Students Admitted to Year 1
For Students Admitted Directly to Year 2
Aerospace Engineering
Bioengineering
Civil Engineering
Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
Computer Engineering
Computer Science
Electrical & Electronic Engineering
Environmental Engineering
Information Engineering & Media
Mechanical Engineering
Materials Engineering
Renaissance Engineering
-For  Bachelor of Engineering students admitted prior to AY2013-14, please refer to the relevant AUS Handbook for their intake.For students admitted before AY 2011-12 (except students in the Sport Science & Management programme), full-time students admitted directly to Year 2 in AY 2011-12 and part-time students admitted in AY 2011-12
3-year programmes
2 academic years
4-year programmes- For students admitted to Yr 1- For students admitted directly to Yr 2
3 academic years2 1/2 academic years
77 AU66 AU
The balance AU may consist of AU earned from courses with Pass (P), Exempted (EX) and Satisfactory (S) notations.
* cover all courses i.e. Core, Major Prescribed Electives and GER courses
# For students in the double degree programmes- The minimum study period at NTU is one year less than the normal candidature. - Double degree students are awarded with two degrees. For each degree, the minimum AU of graded courses that students should obtain from NTU is the same as its corresponding single degree programme(b) Pass all or been exempted from some of the examinations prescribed for the degree(c) Satisfy all other requirements prescribed for the degree.
Transfer of Academic UnitsWith the prior approval of the Chair concerned, students are allowed to take some courses from another university and transfer the number of academic units earned from that university towards fulfilling the degree requirements of NTU. This could include participation in exchange and/or other similar programme (such as Global Immersion Programme and Global Studies Programme).
Students who have taken some courses from another university prior to their admission to NTU may also apply for transfer of credits earned. They must submit their application for transfer of credits within the first semester of their enrolment in NTU.
Grades obtained for credits earned in other institutions are not counted in the classification of the degree awarded.
Students who transfer credits from another university must comply with the requirements in Section 3(6) on Graduation and Residential Requirements.
Registration of Courses
Student Automated Registration System All students must register their courses through the Student Automated Registration System (STARS) according to the schedule announced by the Office of Academic Services.Students who join any classes without registration will not be allowed to take the examination(s) for the course(s) involved.
Outstanding Tuition and Hostel Rental FeesStudents with outstanding tuition and hostel rental fees will be denied access to STARS and barred from course registration.  Students must pay the outstanding fees before registering courses.
Add/Drop CoursesStudents may add or drop any course provided this is done within the add/drop period as announced by the Office of Academic Services. A course that is dropped during the add/drop period will not appear in the official transcript. A student who is still registered for a course after the add/drop period but did not subsequently sit for the examination will be deemed to have read and failed the course. An 'F' will appear on his official transcript.
Academic LoadIn order to complete the degree requirements within the normal specified period of candidature, full-time students at NTU are expected to carry an academic load of 16 to 18 AU#/21 AU* per semester. Subject to approval by the Chair concerned, students may be allowed to take up to 3 AU#/8 AU* more or less than the normal semester academic load to enable them to pursue their studies at a pace commensurate with their needs and/or capabilities.
* applies to students admitted before AY 2011-12 (except students in the Sport Science & Management programme), full-time students admitted directly to Year 2 in AY 2011-12 and part-time students admitted in AY 2011-12
# applies to all students in the Sport Science & Management programme and full-time students admitted to Year 1 with effect from AY 2011-12
Restricted RepeatFinal Year students who have failed any core course which is not offered in the semester following the failure may be permitted to take the failed course(s) as restricted repeat(s). This arrangement is available only for Final Year core courses which students cannot replace with any other courses offered in the following semester. Additionally, only Final Year students deemed to have sufficient academic units to meet graduation requirements will be eligible for restricted repeat(s).
Examinations and Grades
ExaminationsAn examination for each of the courses offered in the semester is held at the end of the semester.  Students are not allowed to retake courses they have passed in order to improve on the grades of these courses.  The grades for all attempts in all courses taken by a student are shown in his official transcript.
Grading SystemsThe Grade Point Average (GPA) system applies to students admitted to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences in AY and all students admitted to Year 1 with effect from AY and direct entry students admitted to Year 2 with effect from academic year
Grades and grade points are assigned as follows:
The above grades also apply to all students with effect from AY.
The following non-letter grades and notations are also used:
* - Course with Pass/Fail grading only# - Repeated attemptIP - In ProgressLOA - Absent (with valid reasons)EX - Exempted from courseTC - Transfer creditS - SatisfactoryU - Unsatisfactory
The Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) represents the grade average of all courses (including failed courses) attempted by a student. The computation of CGPA is as follows:
[Grade Point x AU for Course 1] +…+ [Grade Point x AU for Course X][Total AU attempted in all the semesters so far]
Only letter-graded courses i.e. courses with grades A+, A, A-, B- ... are included in the computation of CGPA. Courses where only Pass/Fail grades are given, where the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) option was invoked, where the students were absent with valid reasons, and courses that the students are exempted from or are in progress (i.e. awarded an ‘EX’ or an ‘IP’ grade) are not included in the computation of CGPA. A few examples of how CGPA is computed are given below.
CGPA = [3.50 x 3]+[3.00 x 3]+ [2.00 x 3] + [5.00 x 4] + [1.00 x 3] = 3.03[3 + 3 + 3 + 4 + 3]
CGPA = [3.50 x 3]+[3.00 x 3]+ [2.00 x 3] + [5.00 x 4] + [0.00 x 3] = 2.84 [3 + 3 + 3 + 4 + 3]
(The S/U option was invoked for AD104 and AE105. Grade S denotes a Satisfactory grade while grade U denotes an Unsatisfactory grade. These two courses, AD104 and AE105, are excluded from the computation of the CGPA.)
CGPA = [3.50 x 3]+[3.00 x 3]+ [2.00 x 3] = 2.83[3 + 3 + 3]
(AE105 is a Pass/Fail course i.e. only P or F grades are awarded. This course is excluded from the computation of the CGPA.)
CGPA = [3.50 x 3]+[3.00 x 3]+ [2.00 x 3] + [5.00 x 4] = 3.50[3 + 3 + 3 + 4]
(If a student is exempted from AE105, the grade ‘EX’ will be shown for this course.This course is excluded from the computation of the CGPA.)
CGPA = [3.50 x 3]+[3.00 x 3]+ [2.00 x 3] + [5.00 x 4] = 3.50[3 + 3 + 3 + 4]
The Year Grade Point Average (YGPA) represents the grade average of all courses (including failed courses) attempted by a student in any year. The computation of YGPA is as follows:
[Grade Point x AU for Course 1] +…+ [Grade Point x AU for Course X][Total AU attempted in a year]
The method of computing the YGPA is similar to that for computing the CGPA. Please refer to the examples for computing CGPA. Courses attempted in the Special Terms are not included in the computation of the YGPA.
The CGPA will be reflected in students’ transcripts.
An ‘F’ grade obtained in a course, and a new grade attained for the subsequent repeat, will both be reflected in the transcript. Both grades will also be counted in the computation of YGPA and CGPA.
Students are not allowed to repeat any courses taken except those with ‘F’ grade.
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Option
The S/U option allows a student to take a course on an ‘ungraded’ basis i.e. no letter grade such as A, B, etc will be awarded. A course will be indicated as 'S’ (Satisfactory) if the final letter grade obtained is a 'C' or better (i.e. grade point of 2.0 and above). Conversely, it will be indicated as 'U’ (Unsatisfactory) if the grade obtained is lower than a ‘C’ grade. The descriptor ‘Satisfactory’ or ‘Unsatisfactory’ will appear in the result slip and the transcript issued by the University.
A student will receive AU towards his degree only if he attains a ‘Satisfactory’ (S) grade. He earns no AU for courses with a 'U' grade.
The 'S' or 'U' notations carry no grade point and hence have no effect on the CGPA and the classification of degrees.
A student is to select the courses that he would like to be graded S/U online. Students will be informed each semester on the period to declare S/U for the courses that they have registered in that semester. Schools will advise their students on the courses that are available on S/U option. More information on S/U option is at:
The S/U option does not apply to:· Pass/Fail courses· courses that count towards the requirements for second major or minor programme· graduate courses · incoming exchange and non-graduating students
Unless otherwise advised by his School, the maximum number of AU that a student can choose for S/U grading during his candidature is as follows:
4-year (except for Biomedical Science programme)- For students admitted to Year 1- For students admitted directly to Year 2
Biomedical Sciences programme
Once opted for S/U grading, the course AU will count towards the S/U quota regardless of the final results i.e. S, U or absent with valid reasons (LOA).
The S/U option that students have exercised for a course is irrevocable. Hence, students cannot appeal for the course(s) that they have opted to take on S/U basis to be changed to graded basis after the exercise for S/U option is over. The S/U option cannot be applied retrospectively after the declaration period or to courses that students had already completed for letter grades.
A student who obtains a 'U' can repeat the course. However, the 'U' grade that he gets for his first attempt will remain in his academic record and will be printed in the transcript issued by the University.
The repeat attempt(s) of a course will retain the grading option chosen for the first attempt i.e. S/U or letter-graded. The repeat course includes replacement courses. The AU of a course that has been opted for S/U grading will be counted against the S/U quota only once. Its repeat will not be counted against the quota again.
Students who exercise the S/U option must comply with the requirements in Section 3(6) on Graduation and Residential Requirements.
Classification of DegreeThe cut-off for each degree class is as follows:
4-year Programme
3-year Programme
4.50 - 5.00
First Class
First Class
4.00 - 4.49
2nd Class Upper
2nd Class Upper
3.50 - 3.99
2nd Class Lower
2nd Class Lower
3.00 - 3.49
Third Class
Pass with Merit
2.00 - 2.99
For programmes under the College of Engineering (except for the Maritime Studies programme) and College of Science, a minimum CGPA of 4.50 plus at least an 'A-' grade for the Final Year Project (FYP), are required for the award of a First Class Honours degree. For programmes under the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, students who opt out of the Final Year Project will not be eligible for a First Class or Second Upper Honours degree. For programmes under the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, students who opt for Industrial Internship instead of undertaking Final Year Project will not be eligible for a First Class Honours degree. 
 Academic Standing
The requirements for graduation are as follows:
Successful completion of the prescribed academic unit requirement as set out by the programme curriculum.
A minimum CGPA of 2.00 is required at the end of the final semester of study.
Satisfy all other requirements prescribed for the degree including the requirements in Section 3(6).
The criteria for satisfactory academic standing in any given semester are:
maintaining a minimum CGPA of 2.00.
completing at least 75% of the normal AU workload.
Students with poor results will be accorded the following academic standing and subjected to performance review:
Academic Warning – if the CGPA falls below 2.00 for any given semester.
Academic Probation – if the CGPA falls below 2.00 for the following semester.
Academic Termination – if the CGPA falls below 2.00 for the 3rd consecutive semester, or at the end of the final semester of study.A letter of termination will be issued. Appeal against termination on the grounds of extenuating circumstances may be made, subject to the following rules:
the appeal must be submitted to the relevant School within 2 weeks after the release of the semester examination results or before the start of the next semester, whichever is earlier
normally only one appeal is allowed per candidature.
A minimum CGPA of 2.0 must be maintained at the end of each semester to qualify for the overloading of courses.
The Dean’s list is compiled on a yearly basis. The top 5% of the cohort, subject to attaining a minimum YGPA of 4.50 and the specified AU of graded courses by curriculum type taken in NTU in the academic year, is eligible for the Dean’s list.  Full-time single degree students have to complete at least 16 AU (non-BRC curriculum) or 15 AU (BRC curriculum) of graded courses, while part-time single degree students have to complete at least 9 AU of graded courses.  Effective from AY11-12, double-degree students have to complete a total of 16 or 15 AU (for non-BRC and BRC respectively) of discrete graded courses from both degrees, and 9 AU of graded courses from each degree, to be eligible for Dean’s list. 
Courses that are graded as Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) and Pass/Fail or those with grades ‘EX’ (Exempted), ‘IP’ (In Progress) and ‘LOA’ (Leave of Absence) are not counted in the AU of graded courses for the purpose of determining the Dean’s List. Besides this, final year students must attain at least a Second Upper Honours degree in order to be considered for the Dean’s List.
Students enrolled in the Accelerated Bachelor’s Programme must maintain a minimum CGPA of 4.00 in order to remain in the Programme. However, some Schools may set a higher minimum CGPA. For these Schools, the students will be informed.
Credits for courses taken from approved student exchange programmes will be excluded from the CGPA computation, but they will be counted toward the academic unit requirement for graduation, and reflected in the transcript.
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