Student Exchange Programme

Introduction

Introduction

Aimed to enrich students with learning experiences in a totally different educational, social, and cultural environment, we strongly encourage students to participate in the Student Exchange Programme (SEP).

Through SEP participation, students have the opportunity to explore fresh perspectives and alternative approaches to the subjects they study, experience new cultures and different ways of living, meet friends from around the world and travel to places you've only read about. By stepping out of Singapore, students on exchange can explore new vistas and enhance their intellectual, leadership, and personal potential in exciting and unpredictable ways.

USP offers its students exclusive exchange programmes with various partner universities. You can choose to participate in these special tie-ups (see SEP Application) or in the university-wide exchanges with other universities around the world.

University-Wide and Faculty-Wide SEP

While students in USP do not receive special consideration for the university-administered SEP, our students are excellent candidates for exchange because of their academic talents, broad interests, and engagement with and curiosity in the world around them.

Currently, the applications for University-Level SEP and Faculty-level SEP are administered by the Global Relations Office (GRO) and the administrative offices of the students' home faculties and schools.

Special SEP between USP and partner universities

USP has exclusive student exchange tie-ups with partner universities whose approach to education is similar to USP: to inspire students to a lifetime of broad intellectual curiosity, self-sustained inquiry and personal growth through carefully designed small classes, close advising, and a collegial environment.

USP has tie-ups with the following partner universities:

AMERICAS

(7 partner universities/colleges)

*Students applying to UNC through USP enrol in courses at the College of Arts and Sciences.

 

ASIA/MIDDLE EAST

(5 partner universities/colleges)

*SEPs with Lady Shri Ram and Hindu Colleges are offered as Cultural Immersion Programmes.

 

EUROPE/UNITED KINGDOM

(6 partner universities/colleges)

These European PUs either teach in English or offer courses in English. If you are interested in Jagiellonian University but concerned about the language of instruction, please explore the University's English courses under its IPHSS program. A broader overview of their English language courses is available at http://www.mish.uj.edu.pl/courses-in-english.

SEP Application

How do I apply for USP SEP?

  • You will be notified of available exchange places via email when applications open in September (for Sem 1, Sem 2 and full year exchanges for the following academic year), January (for Sem 2 exchanges in the following academic year) and May (for Sem 2 exchanges in the following academic year).
  • Your application must be submitted via the online SEP application portal no later than the stipulated deadline.
  • Students may select up to 5 partner universities for their USP SEP application.

Eligibility for USP SEP

  • You must be a USP student (any discipline), and preferably in the third or fourth semester of your studies. You may not apply to embark on an SEP for your graduating semester.
  • You may apply even if you have submitted other SEP applications to your home faculty but were unsuccessful in your application. Likewise, should you be unsuccessful in your USP SEP application, you may subsequently apply for University-level or other Faculty-level SEPs.
  • You should thoroughly explore course offerings by the partner university to ensure there are suitable courses to fulfill your curricular requirements, as well as your USP requirements, during the exchange. The specific course offerings for any semester are only available closer to the start of class on the partner universities’ websites.
  • Please refer to the Registrar's Office SEP website for additional administrative details.

Selection Criteria

While USP hopes to provide SEP opportunities to as many USP students as possible, students must demonstrate their motivation, commitment and readiness to embark on a USP SEP by meeting the following criteria:

  • CAP requirement: Students must meet the minimum USP CAP requirement of 3.5.
  • Actively working towards USP requirements: Students must be on their way to fulfilling the USP academic requirements.
  • Statement: Students are required to submit a Statement of Interest as part of their SEP application. Applicants should ideally express their clear interest in the SEP/partner universities of choice, rather than a generic interest in spending a semester or two overseas.
  • USP footprint: A student's involvement in USP helps support their application, especially in cases where their CAP may not be as high as other applicants. A student's involvement in USP may take any form - from student interest groups to residential activities to USP events.

Course Substitution

Course Substitution

  • Students may map courses read during their exchange to USP Inquiry courses, subject to the approval of the University Scholars Programme (USP).
  • You may replace up to two USP Inquiry courses per semester abroad. Students may not replace Foundation and Reflection Tier courses.
  • For Summer Programmes, students may map one Inquiry course.
  • Students who complete a Student Exchange Programme are granted credit transfer but not grade transfer for courses read overseas. This means that courses read overseas will not impact your CAP.
  • Please note modular credits will not be transferred if coursesare read as 'Pass/Fail' or 'Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory' at the partner university.

Suitability of course substitutions

You should propose Inquiry course substitutions which are not usually offered in your home Faculty/Department, and are in the spirit of the Programme, with emphasis on critical thinking, active class participation and/or inter-disciplinary contents. The proposed substitution course(s) need not be an exact match or equivalent to any of the existing USP courses in terms of the course contents, since we encourage you to study what is normally not offered at USP as part of your undergraduate training to broaden your perspectives. The proposed substitution course(s) should possess the academic rigor similar to or above that of the level 2000 courses in NUS or above. As far as possible, they should also have about the same number of class contact hours as a typical USP course.

When proposing Inquiry course substitutions, student should be mindful of the domain requirements of their outstanding Inquiry courses.

Course Mapping Applications

Course Mapping Applications

All USP course mapping applications must be submitted and completed online at least two months prior to your departure for the programme. Students must ensure they include full course details (including course description, contact hours, assessment methods, etc.) as incomplete applications will not be processed. Please obtain the course details from the partner university's website or, if necessary, contact the respective department/lecturer at the partner university.

USP Course Mapping Application Instructions

  • Submit your USP course mapping applications via the Education Record System (EduRec). You can refer to the User Guide (available on student portal) for instructions on how you can submit course mappings.
  • If you are applying to substitute a NUS College Humanities & Social Sciences course, enter ‘NFB’ as the ‘NUS Course subject area’ and ‘2001’ as the ‘NUS Course Course Nbr’.
  • If you are applying to substitute a NUS College Science & Technologies course, enter ‘NFC’ as the ‘NUS Course subject area’ and ‘2001’ as the ‘NUS Course Catalog Nbr’.

  •  Please ensure you include the following information in your application:
     Course synopsis
     Assessment methods
     Total contact hours (Lectures/Tutorials)
     Course reading list (where possible)
  • The outcome of your course mapping request will be sent to you via email. 

Credit Transfer

Credit Transfer

  • Students should consult their respective home Faculty on the minimum/maximum number of MCs that can be transferred.
  • To transfer credits, you must achieve a passing grade and receive credits for the courses read.
  • Please ensure you submit your overseas transcript as incomplete submissions will delay the credit transfer process.
  • All credit transfer requests should be completed online upon your return via the Education Record System (EduRec)
  • Please note that credit transfer is NOT automatic upon clicking the ‘Request for Credit Transfer’ button on EduRec

Upon your return

 i. USP SEP

Upon receiving the official transcript from partner university, please submit the necessary documents within 2 weeks to Ms Rohayu at rohayu.h@nus.edu.sg with a subject title as follow:

Full Name (Student ID)–Credit Transfer (Name of the Partner University)

  1. Log in to EduRec
  2. Click on My Homepage>Academics>Request for Credit Transfer
  3. Credit Transfer Form
  4. Scanned / softcopy of official transcript from partner university
  5. Any other supporting documents, if applicable (for eg. email approval for special cases and etc.)

It is important for students to ensure that they submit their documents in order and early to avoid further delay in the entire processing. We are not able to inform each students when credit transfer is completed. Students can follow the instructions below and check on EduRec periodically if their credits have been transferred.

  1. Login to EduRec
  2. Click on My Homepage > Academics > Academic Records >View Credit Transfer Report
  3. Please allow up to 2 months for the credit transfer process to be completed. To view your successfully transferred credits, click on Campus Community → Student Service Centre → Credit Transfer.

ii. Non-USP SEP

    • Submit a copy of your official overseas transcript to the USP office or scan and send a copy to to Ms Rohayu Hamdi at rohayu.h@nus.edu.sg Do not submit the original transcript.
    • USP will re-assign the substitution codes (for courses mapped back as USP equivalent courses) if necessary.
    • USP will coordinate the transfer of credits with your home Faculty/School.

Late Returns from SEP

Late Returns from SEP

In situations where students anticipate a late return to NUS as a result of an overlap in academic terms, the following guidelines apply:

  1. Before students finalise their plans for SEP, they should check their host university's academic calendar to ensure they can return to NUS in time to resume their studies at the beginning of the semester. If the first semester of the host university overlaps with the beginning of NUS's second semester, students should undertake SEP with that university in the second semester. Thus any delayed return to Singapore will overlap with the holiday break between academic years.

  2. As soon as students realise that they CANNOT avoid returning late from the exchange programme, they must inform USP administration and their academic advisors.

  3. If students cannot avoid returning late to campus, they MUST provide USP with documentation of the host university's academic calendar to justify the late return to NUS.

  4. Once a late-returning student knows which NUS course he or she will be reading in the second semester, the student must contact the instructor via email, to explain the situation and to ask for the instructor's permission to join the module.

  5. Instructors have the right not to accept a student who is returning late. Excessive delays may make it impossible for the student to cope or contribute to the course effectively.

  6. Punctual on-line registration is essential, so that a student can ballot for an alternative course if the instructor turns down the student's request to join a course late.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

USP holds two application rounds – in September and January of each academic year. Please look out for the call for applications sent via email, which will specify the exact application dates.

Yes, students applying for SEP placements via their home faculty may map SEP courses towards their USP Inquiry Tier requirements, subject to formal approval from USP. Students may apply for USP mapping, even if the overseas university is not a USP-partner. Instead, students should ensure the overseas modules meet the criteria outlined here. Students must seek approval for all course mappings online via the Education Record System (EduRec) after they have accepted an internal offer for an SEP placement. Instructions for USP course mapping applications are available here.

The Course Mapping Student User Guide is available here. (The User Guide is also available from the Student Portal: Home → Quick Links → myEduRec User Guide → Other Functions → Submit Course Mappings for External Study Program.

As outlined in the user guide, students must enter the details for each overseas course (contact hours, assessment methods, URL for courses details, etc.), as well as the relevant NUS course code for mapping (e.g. MA2202). Once submitted, the information will be routed to the relevant department overseeing the NUS course (in this case MA2202), and the department will approve/reject the mapping based on the information provided.

Before applying for SEP, please ensure you research your places of interest, to explore the types of courses offered by your preferred universities.

Course mapping applications are only submitted once you are offered an SEP placement. In other words, the course mapping worksheets are only created for students who have accepted internal SEP offers.

USP course mapping applications should be submitted online via the Education Record System (EduRec) at least two months before you depart for your SEP. As your home Faculty may have a different deadline, please ensure you are aware of your home faculty’s course mapping requirements.

Although it is technically possible for you to apply for SEPs through USP and your home Faculty concurrently, we discourage students from ‘holding on’ to multiple SEP offers, ultimately denying other students of a place on an exchange programme. Instead, we ask that students do their research and try to prioritise their USP SEP or their home Faculty SEP, based on their preferred SEP options.

Please remember that students who accept an internal offer for a placement and subsequently withdraw their application are required to pay an SEP withdrawal fee, unless they have a valid reason for their withdrawal which is beyond their control (e.g. medical/family reasons). SEP placements should not be considered ‘back-up’ options for other programmes (e.g. NOC) and accepting an offer indicates your commitment to the programme. Time and resources go into processing each SEP application and students should consider their options/priorities carefully before making a decision. Different programmes will have different application timelines but holding on to one opportunity while waiting for another is not encouraged, as this deprives other students of a place on the programme.

USP does not provide an approved course list, and students are asked to submit their USP course mapping applications via the Education Record System (EduRec) at least two months prior to departing for their SEP. The USP course mapping criteria is outlined here to help you gain a sense of the types of courses approved for USP mapping.

The Global Relations Office provides info sheets for most NUS-wide partner universities as general guides, which includes a section on ‘estimated monthly living expenses’. The documents serve as good references for NUS students who are planning their SEP. However, students should always check the respective partner university’s official website for the most updated information.

To find the relevant info sheet, please refer to the GRO website and click on the ‘Partner Universities’ tab.

Students who apply for SEP to the University of Birmingham (UoB) via USP should register with the Liberal Arts & Natural Sciences (LANS) when they apply to UoB. NUS students will apply to UoB the semester before their exchange, after they have been formally nominated to UoB by the NUS Registrar’s Office.

Exchange students under LANS must register for a compulsory 10 credit LANS courses, and the remaining 50 credits can be registered with other schools and colleges affiliated with LANS (i.e. total of 60 credits).

USP will allow students to map back the following LANS courses (Interdisciplinarity I and Interdisciplinarity II) towards their USP requirements:

Semester

Course title

Units

Mapped back to student’s USP requirements as

Semester 1 LANS course

Interdisciplinarity I

10 credits

USP Inquiry (Humanities & Social Sciences) course

Semester 2 LANS course

Interdisciplinarity II

10 credits

USP Inquiry (Humanities & Social Sciences) course

The Free University of Berlin (FUB)'s academic calendar is such that their winter semester (equivalent to NUS Semester 1) runs from October to March, and cuts through two separate NUS semesters. Instead, students interested in FUB should opt for the summer semester (equivalent to NUS Semester 2), which runs from April to July.

Sciences Po's agreement with CROUS (institution managing student residences) stipulates that students living in campus accommodation must commit to residing in their accommodation for a full year. 

USP students who opt for a one-semester exchange to Le Havre must secure off-campus housing (similar to housing arrangements at the Sciences Po Paris campus).

Sciences Po has highlighted the convenience of DOCK'CITY for one-semester exchange students.

Sciences Po also has a student buddy system known as Bureau des Eleves (BDE) which helps first year students with pre-matriculation matters. BDE is a helpful point of contact for new exchange students, and can be contacted via email at bde.lehavre@sciencespo.fr. BDE also provides details on flat-sharing options.

The Honors colleges listed for USP’s partner universities in the US are somewhat similar to USP, as students in these colleges take Honors courses offered by the college, while also enrolling in courses offered by the university’s departments.

The colleges in the Netherlands (i.e. Amsterdam University College and University College Utrecht) are focused on the liberal arts and sciences and offer their own Bachelor's programmes. Exchanges students assigned to these colleges take courses offered by the college, and are unable to take courses offered by the affiliated university (i.e. University of Amsterdam and Utrecht University).

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