| The First-Tier modules are a structured collection of multi-disciplinary modules that provide intellectual broadening. Students are exposed to three main Domains and thirteen Areas of Studies in Writing & Critical Thinking, Humanities & Social Sciences, Sciences & Technologies and University Scholars Seminar. They can be read at any time over four years (preferably within the first three years, but not all within the first year).
Semester 1, Academic Year 2008-2009
Special Term, Academic Year 2007-2008
For a list of all module offerings by USP, please visit NUS Bulletin (Modules).
To register for modules, please visit Centralised Online Registration System (CORS).
To view your module enrollments, please visit IVLE or Class enrolment list.
Domain: Writing and Critical Thinking
| Writing and Critical Thinking |
(to be read in 1st or 2nd semester of enrollment)
Modules in this area will help you read and think critically, engage with texts rather than simply repeating them, and to write persuasively. Each module is organised around a series of fascinating questions that you will investigate from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.
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The Writing Centre
Staffed by trained student assistants, the Writing Centre offers one-on-one conferences to students who are writing papers for any USP module. |
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folio
An annual journal published by the Writing Programme, folio showcases the best student essays produced in our Writing and Critical Thinking modules. |
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Related Web Resources
A list of resources to help writers on various subjects, ranging from writing for specific disciplines, to research, to citation and stylistic matters. |
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Domain: Humanities & Social Sciences
| Literary Studies |
Modules in this area analyse major literary and cultural forms. You will study not only novels, poems, and plays, but also films, television, and other popular narrative forms that reflect the actions of women and men of different cultures, and their relationships to the societies in which they live. The ability to read, decode, and challenge written texts is an important skill whatever your chosen career.
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| Visual and Performing Arts |
This area offers pioneering, cutting-edge and multi-disciplinary modules in Cyberarts, Music and Technology. The Cyberarts programme is the first in the region, and one of the most comprehensive in the world, with its Cyberarts database and resource library. |
| Philosophical Inquiries |
If you were Socrates, condemned to death but with a chance to escape, would you try to escape? Socrates did not. While we may not agree with his decision, his reason is a prime example of moral reasoning. Modules in this area deal with questions of ethics and morality, and offer reflections on scientific practices. Learn how to reason about morality, and apply it to contemporary moral issues. |
| Human Behaviour |
How do our thoughts, feelings and interactions with others affect our behaviour? How is our behaviour influenced by our culture, our social roles in our community, and the institutions and organisations in our society? Modules in this area draw answers from behavioural disciplines such as psychology, sociology, anthropology and organisational behaviour. |
| Society, Economy, Polity |
Modules in this area deal primarily with macro-level issues, focusing on social units such as groups, organisations and societies in their social, economic and political dimensions. They cover central concepts and analytical methods of the social sciences, helping students to understand the world we live in and to think critically about issues at domestic and international levels. |
| Civilizational Studies |
Modules in this area focus on units larger than single societies and are concerned with the study of the contributions and interactions of the major world civilisations, religions and cultures. They expand your understanding of the impact of cultural factors on people's behaviour or way of life. You will learn to grasp the cultural assumptions and traditions and the distinctive patterns of thought and action of various cultures in contemporary societies. |
Domain: Sciences & Technologies
| Life Sciences |
Modules in this area explore topics such as genes, the brain, life and death, and the interrelationships between ethics, science, technology, and medicine. |
| Nature's Laws |
Modules in this area critically examine the empirical evidence and the theoretical concepts that form the natural sciences. You will be brought through the process of inquiry, experimentation, and theorizing that has led to our current understanding of Nature. You will learn that science itself is a continuously evolving process; there are important questions that have yet to be answered or even formulated. |
| Quantitative Reasoning |
This area highlights how quantitative reasoning plays an important role in intellectual pursuits as well as everyday life. Modules in this area examine the nature and methodologies of mathematics, how simple mathematical models can help us understand the complex world, and how mathematical and statistical thinking can help us make cogent arguments and logical decisions in everyday situations. |
| Biological and Medical Technologies |
Modules in this area investigate the new technological frontiers created by molecular biology and consider their impact on law, ethics, society, and the environment. |
| Physical and Chemical Technologies |
Modules in this area explore the principles of physics and chemistry, the practice of modern engineering, and the possibilities for future technologies. |
| Information Technologies |
Modules in this area explore the central ideas and major technological advances in information technology (encompassing computer science, digital and communication technologies, and the internet) and develop awareness of the impact of the information technology revolution on various aspects of society. |
University Scholars Seminar
| University Scholars Seminar |
The University Scholars Seminar module introduces students to academic learning at a setting that is less formal than the usual classroom. It exposes students to various academic disciplines and professions with the aim of providing a firmer intellectual basis on which students would plan their Advanced Curriculum study programme. This aspect of the module situates it well within the USP First-Tier Curriculum. |
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