University of Singapore



The National University of Singapore (Abbreviation: NUS; Universiti Kebangsaan Singapura; ; Abbreviated 国大; ) is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered.

The university's main campus is located in southwest Singapore at Kent Ridge, with an area of approximately 1.5 km² (0.6 square miles). The Bukit Timah campus houses the law faculty, while the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore is located at the Outram campus.

The former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has recently named NUS as the headquarters of his Asian Faith and Globalization Initiative together with Durham University in the UK and Yale University in the USA to deliver an exclusive programme in partnership with Tony Blair Faith Foundation.

The university is considered to be one of the most prestigious universities in Asia. In 2010, the Times Higher Education ranked the university the 34th in the world and 4th in Asia.

Beginnings
In September 1904, Tan Jiak Kim led a group of representatives of the Chinese and other non-European communities, and petitioned the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir John Anderson, to establish a medical school in Singapore. Tan, who was the first president of the Straits Chinese British Association, managed to raise $87,077, of which the largest amount of $12,000 came from himself. On 3 July 1905, the medical school was founded, and was known as the Straits and Federated Malay States Government Medical School. The medical library was first housed in the students' reading room within the school, converted from the vacant old female lunatic asylum in Sepoy Lines.

In 1912, the medical school received an endowment of $120,000 from the King Edward VII Memorial Fund, started by Dr Lim Boon Keng. Subsequently on 18 November 1913, the name of the school was changed to the King Edward VII Medical School. In 1921, it was again changed to the King Edward VII College of Medicine to reflect its academic status.

In 1929, Raffles College was established to promote arts and social sciences at tertiary level for Malayan students.

Establishment of the university


Two decades later, Raffles College was merged with the King Edward VII College of Medicine to form the University of Malaya on 8 October 1949. The two institutions were merged to provide for the higher education needs of the Federation of Malaya and Singapore.

The growth of UM was very rapid during the first decade of its establishment and resulted in the setting up of two autonomous divisions in 1959, one located in Singapore and the other in Kuala Lumpur.

In 1960, the governments of then Federation of Malaya and Singapore indicated their desire to change the status of the divisions into that of a national university. Legislation was passed in 1961 establishing the former Kuala Lumpur division as the University of Malaya while the Singapore division was renamed the University of Singapore on 1 January 1962.

Present form
The National University of Singapore was formed with the merger of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University in 1980. This was done in part due to the government's desire to pool the two institutions' resources into a single, stronger entity, and promote the English language as Singapore's only main language. The original crest of Nanyang University with three intertwined rings was incorporated into the new coat-of-arms of NUS.

The merger of the two universities was met with strong opposition from the Nanyang University's alumni in particular, as well as the Chinese community. They considered Nanyang University a people's university due to their financial contributions in establishing and maintaining it. The Chinese community also believed the university to be a bastion of Chinese education, culture, and social development. Since inception till its dissolution, Nanyang University was the only tertiary institute outside of China and Taiwan offering education in Mandarin Chinese.

Education
NUS has a semester-based modular system for conducting courses. It adopts features of the British system, such as small group teaching (tutorials) and the American system (course credits). Students may transfer between courses within their first two semesters, enroll in cross-faculty modules or take up electives from different faculties (compulsory for most degrees). Other cross-disciplinary initiatives study programmes include double-degree undergraduate degrees in Arts & Social Sciences and Engineering; Arts & Social Sciences and Law; Business and Engineering; and Business and Law.

NUS offers 27 single-degree undergraduate and 115 masters, doctoral and graduate diploma programmes conducted by 13 faculties.

Arts and Social Sciences
FASS majors are broken into four categories (1) Asian Studies (2) Humanities (3) Social Sciences and (4) Cross-Departmental.

Asian Studies carry a range of majors including Humanities majors are Social Sciences varies from European Studies is currently the only cross-departmental subject available.
 * Chinese Language
 * Chinese Studies
 * Japanese Studies
 * Malay Studies
 * South Asian Studies
 * Southeast Asian Studies;
 * English Language
 * English Literature
 * History
 * Philosophy
 * Theatre Studies;
 * Communications & New Media
 * Economics
 * Geography
 * Political Science
 * Psychology
 * Social Work
 * Sociology;

The faculty also offers Minor programmes (for both FASS and non-FASS undergraduates) in China Studies, Cultural Studies, Economics, English Studies, Gender Studies, Geographical Information System (GIS), Religious Studies, Science/Technology and Society and Urban Studies. The Centre for Language Studies, which is part of FASS, offers introductory, intermediate and advanced courses on the Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Thai and Vietnamese languages. Graduate academic programmes are offered by all departments.

Business School
NUS Business School was founded as the Department of Business Administration in 1965. It has six departments: Accounting, Business Policy, Decision Sciences, Finance, Management and Organization, and Marketing. Collectively, the departments offer classes in the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Bachelor of Business Administration (Accountancy) [BBA(Acc)] Programmes.

Graduate programmes offered include the Master of Business Administration (MBA), International MBA (conducted jointly with Peking University), UCLA-NUS Executive MBA Programme, Asia-Pacific Executive MBA (English and Chinese), S3 Asia MBA (conducted jointly with Fudan University and Korea University), NUS-HEC Double Degree MBA (conducted jointly with HEC Paris) and concurrent Master of Science (Management) Programme. The School also offers a Doctor of Philosophy programme, which is a graduate programme by research.

Computing
The School of Computing (SoC), established in 1998, offers six undergraduate degree programmes grounded in computer science fundamentals covering four main specialisations: Biology, Information Systems, Computer Science and Digital Media. Also offered are graduate degree programmes by coursework or research with greater intensity in focus within these areas of specialisations.

Dentistry
The Faculty of Dentistry had its early beginnings in 1929 as the first Dental School in the Far East set up by the British Government. The faculty conducts a four-year dental course leading to the Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree. The undergraduate programme comprises two pre-clinical (first two years) and two clinical years. Two types of graduate programmes are conducted: a research-based programme leading to the Master of Science (MSc) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD); and a clinical residency training programme leading to the Master of Dental Surgery (MDS).

Design and Environment
The School of Design and Environment (SDE) comprises three departments: Architecture, Building and Real Estate. Degree courses in building and estate management were first offered in 1969 in the then Department of Building and Estate Management. This was subsequently changed to the School of Building and Real Estate. In June 2000 the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Real Estate changed its name to the School of Design & Environment. As a result of this change, Building and Real Estate were established as separate departments.

SDE offers four undergraduate programmes: Bachelor of Arts (Architecture) (Hons), Bachelor of Arts (Industrial Design) (Hons), Bachelor of Science (Building) (Hons), and Bachelor of Science (Real Estate) (Hons). Graduate programmes offer specialisations in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Building, Building Science, Construction Law & Dispute Resolution, Estate Management, Environmental Management, Industrial Design, Project Management, Real Estate, and Urban Design.

Engineering
The Faculty of Engineering (FOE) was launched in 1968. It is the largest faculty in the university. FOE offers undergraduate and graduate degree programmes leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), Bachelor of Technology (Honours), Master of Engineering, Master of Science, NUS-UIUC Master of Science (Chemical Engineering), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

FOE consists of departments and divisions: Bioengineering; Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering; Civil Engineering; Electrical & Computer Engineering; Engineering Science Programme, Environmental Science & Engineering; Industrial & Systems Engineering; Materials Science & Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and division of Engineering and Technology Management.

Law
The law school was first established as a Department of Law in the then University of Malaya in 1956. The first law students were admitted to the Bukit Timah campus of the university the following year. In 1977, the faculty shifted to the Kent Ridge campus, but in 2006 it relocated back to the Bukit Timah site.

Apart from the traditional LLB which runs for four years, the law school also offers double honours degrees in Business Administration & Law, Economics & Law, Law & Life Sciences, and a concurrent degree program in Law & Public Policy. For graduate students, the law school offers seven coursework LLM specializations and a PhD program. The coursework LLM programs start in August and are completed the following May. Two of the coursework LLMs programs are partially taught in Singapore and partially taught outside of Singapore at a partner university. Students enrolled in the International Business Law LLM program spend seven months in Shanghai China studying on the campus of Eastern China University of Political Science and Law. Students enrolled in the NYU@NUS dual LLM program start in Singapore in May with the option of spending additional time in both Shanghai and New York. The law school also offers a four year LLB/LLM and a five year LLB/JD program with New York University.

Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
The Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (杨璐琳医药学院) was first established as the Straits and Federated Malay States Government Medical School in 1905. The School comprises the department of Anaesthesia, Anatomy, Biochemistry, Community, Occupational & Family Medicine, Diagnostic Radiology, Medicine, Microbiology, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Paediatrics, Pathology, Pharmacology, Physiology, Psychological Medicine, and Surgery. The School uses the British undergraduate medical system, offering a full-time undergraduate programme leading to the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). For Nursing, the Bachelor of Science (Nursing) (conducted by the Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies) is offered. In 2011, the School is ranked as the top medical school in Asia and 18th in the world overall by the QS World University Rankings by Subject (Medicine).

Graduate programmes include:


 * Master of Medicine specialises in Anaesthesiology, Diagnostic Radiology, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Obestetrics & Gynaecology, Occupational Medicine, Ophthalomology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Otorhinolaryngology Paediatric Medicine, Psychiatry, Public Health, and Surgery. The MMed is often taken at the same time as the MRCP(UK), offered by the British Royal Colleges.


 * Research-oriented MSc or PhD degree programmes to train biomedical scientists


 * MBBS-PhD Programme to train medical-scientists for academia and industry


 * Part-time Graduate Diploma programmes in Dermatology, Family Medicine, Geriatric Medicine and Occupational Medicine


 * Master of Nursing

Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School
The Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore Duke-NUS is an innovative collaboration between Duke University in North Carolina, United States and the National University of Singapore. It accepts students who have a baccalaureate degree in any field other than medicine into its four-year Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) programme. Seventy percent of its student cohort receives some form of financial aid; the options available include tuition fee loans and needs-based and merit-based scholarships.

The school’s curriculum is based on that of Duke University’s School of Medicine: basic sciences (first year); clinical rotations (second year) and independent scholarship and research (third year). Upon successfully completing the course of study and fulfilling all requirements after their fourth year, students will be awarded a Joint Doctor of Medicine (M.D) degree from Duke University and the National University of Singapore.

Duke-NUS also offers an M.D./PhD programme for students who are committed to intensive research-oriented clinical practice careers. Students, who are admitted, will be offered a full scholarship for the PhD component as well as for the remaining tuition required to complete their M.D. training.

A five-year PhD degree study in Integrated Biology and Medicine, which incorporates key aspects of Duke and NUS graduate programmes, is also available for students wishing to develop a successful career in biomedical research.

Science
The Faculty of Science (FOS) comprises the departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Mathematics, Pharmacy, Physics, and Statistics & Applied Probability.

The faculty offers three undergraduate degree programmes:

Applied Mathematics, Chemistry, Computational Biology, Life Sciences (with specialisation in Biology), Life Sciences (with specialisation in Biomedical Science), Life Sciences (with specialisation in Molecular and Cell Biology), Mathematics, Physics, Physics (with specialisation in Astrophysics), Physics (with specialisation in Physics in Technology),Quantitative Finance, Statistics, Statistics (with specialisation in Biostatistics), Statistics (with specialisation in Finance and Business Statistics).
 * Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Science (Honours) with majors in:


 * Bachelor of Applied Science/Bachelor of Applied Science (Honours) with majors in: Applied Chemistry and Food Science & Technology


 * Bachelor of Science (Pharmacy)/Bachelor of Science (Pharmacy) (Honours)

The faculty also offers a spread of minors, multidisciplinary programmes and special programmes for the educational broadening and enhancement of the students.

Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) (李光耀公共政策学院) was formally established in 2004 as an autonomous graduate school of the National University of Singapore. Although the School was formally launched in 2004, it inherited NUS' Public Policy Programme, which was established in 1992 in partnership with Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

LKYSPP offers three master degree programmes:


 * Master in Public Policy


 * Master in Public Administration


 * Master in Public Management

NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering
NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering (NGS) offers the following programmes:


 * Master of Science (Bioengineering)
 * Doctor of Philosophy (Bioengineering)
 * Doctor of Philosophy (Integrative Sciences & Engineering)

Students admitted to NGS will be offered either the A*STAR Graduate Scholarship or NGS Scholarship.

The Graduate Programme in Bioengineering (GPBE) is also under the aegis of NGS. GPBE is a joint initiative by the faculties of Engineering Medicine, Dentistry and Science to foster interdisciplinary opportunities in bioengineering research, leading to M.Eng., M.S. and Ph.D degrees.

University Scholars Programme
The University Scholars Programme (USP) aims to develop the intellectual, leadership, and personal potential of promising students. Students in the Programme graduate with an honours degree from their faculty if they meet the minimum requirements by the home department or school and a certificate that recognizes them as University Scholars having participated in the programme. USP students are scholars in the sense that they love learning, and though many may also be awarded financial aid in the form of scholarships or studentships.

USP modules are offered to USP students through a first-tier curriculum and advanced curriculum which make up 30% of their entire course work. A typical class in USP will consist of students from different faculties (ranging from Engineering to Arts) and different academic years (Year 1 to Year 4) in a seminar-like style to encourage students' participation. USP modules focus on critical thinking, analysis and interdisciplinary thought. The programme emphasizes students' ability to communicate and, through analysis, make connections across diverse fields.

Entry to the programme is highly competitive. University Scholars Programme students pay the same fees and receive the same subsidy from the Ministry of Education as non-USP NUS students do.

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music
The Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YSTCM) (杨秀桃音乐学院) is a collaboration between NUS and the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. Singapore’s first conservatory of music, YSTCM was founded as the Singapore Conservatory of Music in 2001. The School was renamed Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in recognition of a gift from the family of the late Dr Yong Loo Lin in memory of his daughter.

The Conservatory presently offers a Bachelor of Music (Honours) degree, with majors in Performance (Piano and Orchestral Instruments) and Composition. This is a four-year full-time music degree programme with an emphasis on music performance and music academics.

Tembusu College
Tembusu College is one of the first two Residential Colleges in University Town, a new extension to the main NUS campus at Kent Ridge. Tembusu houses mainly undergraduates, in addition to resident faculty, distinguished visiting scholars, and a few graduate fellows. Freshmen (matriculating first-year students) enrolling in any NUS faculty or programme apply to the College at the same time they apply to NUS. Entry is competitive (an essay-based application followed by an interview) as only 200-230 students can be enrolled in any given year.

The College offers five multi-disciplinary modules fulfilling the "University-Level Requirements" (2 General Education modules, 2 Breadth modules, and 1 Singapore Studies module) which most NUS undergraduates must read to graduate. This constitutes 13-14% of the modules in a regular undergraduate honours programme of four years. Students read the rest of their modules in their home faculties. A University Town Residential Programme Certificate is issued to eligible students along with the regular degree scroll. Students from non-modular faculties (i.e. Law, Medicine, and Dentistry) also belong to the College, but with course-work tailored to their specific programmes. The Rector of Tembusu College is Singapore's Ambassador-at-Large and former U.N. Ambassador Prof. Tommy Koh, who is also the former Dean of the NUS Faculty of Law.

Centre for English Language Communication
The Centre for English Language Communication (CELC) was established in 1979 as the English Language Proficiency Unit (ELPU). It is a non-faculty teaching department in the National University of Singapore. CELC's main aim are to:


 * increase the students' English proficiency;
 * develop the students' communication skills for academic and professional purposes;
 * provide training in English for specific purposes; and
 * research issues related to language teaching and learning.

Institute of Systems Science
A specialty training institute of NUS, the Institute of Systems Science (ISS) offers professional information technology continuing education to managers and IT practitioners. ISS is a life long learning centre for strategic IT management, software technology, and knowledge engineering. ISS offers postgraduate degree programs, professional development short courses and certification training programs such as the Certified Information Technology Project Manager (CITPM) course. ISS is also a research center in on-line education – its ISS Virtual Institute offers e-learning courses in IT Security and Object Oriented Analysis & Design.

NUS High School of Mathematics and Science
NUS High School of Mathematics and Science is a school specializing in math and science, and provides secondary and pre-tertiary education to many students with an inclination to these fields. Being an independent department of NUS, NUS High School students are instructed in the modular system, with a curriculum accredited by NUS, and have access to certain NUS resources. Also, all NUS High School students have the privilege of electing to read any NUS modules from three faculties: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Science before matriculation as long as they have the necessary foundation knowledge, as opposed to students of other secondary institutions who can only read one or two modules at best. The campus is also part of the NUS fibre optic network with an underground extension linking it to the main network.

Research
Strategic research initiatives to help the university achieve its goal of knowledge creation include:
 * Leveraging on available expertise to establish a base of research across a broad range of disciplines
 * Building peaks of research excellence
 * Growing global research links
 * Forging strong links between research and graduate education

Among the major research focuses at NUS are biomedical and life sciences, physical sciences, engineering, nanoscience and nanotechnology, materials science and engineering, infocommunication and infotechnology, humanities and social sciences, and defence-related research.

One of several niche research areas of strategic importance to Singapore being undertaken at NUS is bioengineering. Initiatives in this area include bioimaging, tissue engineering and tissue modulation. Another new field which holds much promise is nanoscience and nanotechnology. Apart from higher-performance but lower-maintenance materials for manufacturing, defence, transportation, space and environmental applications, this field also heralds the development of accelerated biotechnical applications in medicine, health care and agriculture.

Research institutes/centres
The university’s research centres include:
 * 13 national research institutes with which NUS has a close affiliation for niche research in areas of strategic importance to Singapore such as bioengineering, microelectronics and molecular & cell biology;
 * 12 university-level research institutes/centres in various fields ranging from research on Asia, international law, mathematical sciences, nanotechnology, risk management, synchrotron radiation, satellite remote sensing to marine science; and
 * 80 faculty-based research institutes/centres engaged in research ranging from applied & policy economics to electronic commerce to tissue engineering.

Major research facilities

 * Bioengineering and Nanobioengineering Corridor
 * Compact Range to measure antenna radiation patterns
 * Cyberart Studio
 * Grid Innovation Zone (GIZ@NUS) and TeraScale Campus Grid (TCG@NUS) to harness grid computing power
 * NUS Hollywood Lab
 * Proton beam writer
 * Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research
 * Remote sensing satellite ground station (CRISP)
 * SONDRA (Supelec, Onera, NUS, DSTA Research Alliance) laboratory in Paris
 * Structural Biology Research Corridor
 * Synchrotron Light Source
 * Xiada-NUS Joint Life Science Laboratory in Xiamen

World Rankings
NUS is consistently ranked amongst the best universities in Asia and the world. In 2010 the QS World University Rankings ranked NUS 31st in the world. It was ranked the 3rd Asian University by the QS Asian University Rankings for 2010, which employs a different methodology from their global rankings.

The 2010-11 Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked NUS 34th in the world, and the 4th in Asia.

The Academic Ranking of World Universities places NUS in the 101-150 positions for their 2010 tables. NUS was ranked 10-18 in the Asia/Pacific region by ARWU.

Global classroom
NUS uses technology to link up campuses on different continents. An example is the Singapore-MIT Alliance which utilises Internet 2 technology to bring students from Singapore and MIT together in one virtual classroom for lectures and interactions via videoconferencing.

Other initiatives implemented includes Integrated Virtual Learning Environment, which is used for IT-based teaching and learning resources. A secure Plug-and-Play environment provides wireless connectivity to the university’s computer network and the Internet on campus.

Global networking
NUS was elected by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) in 2002 to chair and act as secretariat for the consortium of 36 leading research universities around the Pacific Rim. NUS no longer chairs the association but the APRU Secretariat continues to be based at NUS. APRU’s aim is to foster cooperation in teaching and research among members as well as to help them contribute to the economic, scientific and cultural development of their countries.

Other international academic networks in which the university plays an active role include:
 * International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU )
 * Global Enterprise for Micro-Mechanics & Molecular Medicine (GEM4)
 * Universitas 21
 * Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore University Alliance (S³UA )
 * ASEAN University Network (AUN )
 * Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)
 * Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning (ASAIHL)

International teaching and research partners
NUS has several formalized teaching and research collaborations:


 * California Institute of Technology Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship
 * Cornell University School of Hotel Administration
 * Deltares and Delft University of Technology in the Singapore Delft Alliance (SDWA)
 * Duke University Medical Center of Duke University in the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore
 * Eindhoven University of Technology in the Centre for Design Technology
 * Georgia Institute of Technology in The Logistics Institute-Asia Pacific
 * John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
 * Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Singapore-MIT Alliance and Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART)
 * Naval Postgraduate School in the Temasek Defence Systems Institute
 * Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University, in the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music
 * Technical University of Munich in the German Institute of Science and Technology
 * University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill College of Arts and Sciences in the UNC-NUS Joint Degree Program.

Other partners include the Australian National University; Anderson School, University of California, Los Angeles; East China University of Politics & Law; Grande Ecoles; George Washington University; Indian Institutes of Technology, Bombay; University of Heidelberg, Germany; Karolinska Institutet, Sweden; King's College London; McGill University, Lomonosov Moscow State University; New York University; Peking University; Supélec, France; Tsinghua University; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; University of Nottingham; and Switzerland’s Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, University of Basel and Swiss Tropical Institute.

IT and computing services
The IT facilities and network are generally provided by its central IT department, Computer Centre. The university’s optical fibre network is one of the largest campus networks in the Asia Pacific region. NUSNET is used in research, teaching, learning and administration. In 2004, a campus-wide grid computing network based on UD Grid MP was deployed, connecting at least 1,000 computers. This becomes one of the largest such virtual supercomputing facilities in the region.

Library services
The NUS Libraries comprises 7 libraries, namely, the Central Library, the Chinese Library, the CJ Koh Law Library, the Hon Sui Sen Memorial Library, the Medical Library, the Music Library, and the Science Library. Its primary clients are the NUS and NUS-affiliated research institutes, students, teaching, research and administrative staff members, as well as a sizeable group of external members. Its collection encompasses subjects in architecture, building and real estate, business, dentistry, engineering, computer science, the humanities and social sciences, law, medicine, music, nursing and science. As of June 2008, there are over 1.4 million print titles, 43,000 electronic titles, 32,000 media programmes and 26,000 microform resources in the collection. The Library Portal, a one-stop gateway, offers the university community 24-hour access via the Internet to a rich array of electronic collection and services provided by the NUS Libraries. Besides the rich resources, the NUS Libraries provide an environment conducive for individual research and spaces for group interaction and learning.

Support for development of teaching and learning
Enhancement of the quality of teaching and learning at NUS comes mainly under the purview of the Centre for Development of Teaching and Learning (CDTL) and the Centre for Instructional Technology (CIT).

CDTL facilitates reflection among faculty on concepts of teaching, learning and university education, and teaching practices that are consistent with these concepts. In addition to conducting research on educational philosophy, pedagogical theory and educational practices, CDTL helps the NUS administration to formulate educational policies for matters such as teacher appraisal, peer review, selection of outstanding educators, student feedback and assessment.

CIT, on the other hand, provides for the exploration, development and application of digital and audio-visual technologies to support and enhance teaching and learning. This is done through the NUS-developed Integrated Virtual Learning Environment and by developing new applications/services and incorporating multimedia content in courses for academia.

NUS University Town
In November, 2005, NUS announced plans to develop the "University Town" on a 190,000 m² site of the former Warren Golf Course, opposite the existing Kent Ridge Campus and NUS High School. Eight Residential Colleges, which will provide "rich educational experiences" and cultivate "deep social bonds" as well as two Graduate Residences will be built. In all, the NUS University Town will accommodate 6,000 students. A vehicular-cum-pedestrian bridge spanning over the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) will connect both campuses seamlessly. Construction began in 2007. The University Town construction was delayed due to the volatile construction environment of 2007, and thus will not be used as the Olympic Village for the Youth Olympics in 2010; much to the disappointment of the entire NUS community. The University Town is now scheduled to be completed in phases from 2011 to 2013.

Student accommodation


There are about 6,000 residential places distributed between Halls and Student Residences on campus. There is a free Internal Shuttle Bus Service that plies the entire campus seven days a week.

Rooms are furnished with beds, mattresses, wardrobes, study tables, bookshelves and fans. There is a very small number of air-conditioned single rooms with attached bathrooms. Points for telephone, cable television and the university's computer network are available in each room. The accommodation is divided into single room (single-occupancy) or double room (double-occupancy). Laundry rooms equipped with washing machines and coin-operated tumble dryers are located in each student accommodation.

Halls of residence
NUS has 6 Halls of Residence with about 3,000 residential places. The halls are situated in different parts of the campus and are well known for their vibrancy in Co-Curricular Activities (CCA), rich history and culture.

Each hall has a Senior Common Room Committee (SCRC) comprising the Resident Fellows (staff). Headed by a Hall Master, which is tasked to look after residents' well being. Residents are represented by elected student members to the Junior Common Room Committee (JCRC), which helps to promote the hall's social and cultural life.

The six Halls of Residence are:


 * Eusoff Hall (345 single rooms; 70 double rooms)
 * Kent Ridge Hall (507 single)
 * King Edward VII Hall (350 single; 60 double)
 * Raffles Hall (213 single; 128 double)
 * Sheares Hall (509 single)
 * Temasek Hall (345 single; 70 double)

Student residences
NUS also has 3 Student Residences with clusters of 11 to 15 single rooms with their own kitchen and bathroom facilities. Kitchen and dining areas are equipped with basic cooking appliances.

Each residence has a team of Resident Assistants (senior students) and Resident Advisors (either an academic or non-academic staff) to assist with any concerns that students may have. The 3 Student Residences are:


 * Kuok Foundation House (203 single rooms)
 * Prince George's Park Residences (2,854 single)
 * Ridge View Residences (593 single; 72 double)

List of principal officers
The following table is a list of the principal officers of the National University of Singapore's predecessors. Note that the office of the President of Raffles College was renamed Principal of Raffles College from 1938

Notable alumni
Alumni from the King Edward VII College of Medicine/Raffles College era (1905 to 1949)
 * Goh Keng Swee - Former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
 * Lee Kuan Yew - Founding Prime Minister of Singapore
 * Mahathir bin Mohamad - 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia
 * Benjamin Henry Sheares - 2nd President of Singapore
 * Toh Chin Chye - Former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
 * Tun Abdul Razak - 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia

Alumni from the University of Malaya (Singapore) era (1949 to 1962)
 * Wang Gungwu - University Professor and Chairman of the East Asian Institute at NUS
 * Sellapan Ramanathan - President of Singapore and NUS Chancellor

Alumni from the University of Singapore era (1962 to 1980)
 * Chan Heng Chee - Professor of Political Science and Singapore's Ambassador to the United States
 * Chew Choon Seng - CEO of Singapore Airlines
 * Goh Choo San - Prominent chorographer involved with the Washington Ballet
 * Janadas Devan - Journalist and Review Editor at The Straits Times
 * S. Jayakumar - Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore
 * Goh Chok Tong - Current Senior Minister of Singapore and former Prime Minister of Singapore
 * Ho Ching - CEO of Temasek Holdings
 * Yaacob Ibrahim - Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs in Singapore.
 * Lin Hsin Hsin - Reputable artist and digital-media pioneer
 * Kishore Mahbubani - Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at NUS
 * Ong Keng Yong - Former Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
 * Balaji Sadasivan - Neurosurgeon and Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in Singapore
 * Tan Choo Leng - Wife of Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and former patron of the National Kidney Foundation in Singapore
 * Abdullah Tarmugi - Speaker of Parliament in Singapore and former Minister in the Singapore Government.
 * Wong Kan Seng - Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
 * Arthur Yap - Prominent poet and linguist
 * Philip Yeo - Former Chairman of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore

The National University of Singapore era (1980 - )
 * Walter Woon - Attorney-General of Singapore
 * Ng Eng Hen - Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Defence in Singapore
 * Teck-Hua Ho - William Halford Jr. Family Professor of Marketing at University of California, Berkeley
 * K Shanmugam - Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs
 * Davinder Singh - Senior Counsel and CEO of Drew & Napier
 * Vivian Balakrishnan - Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports in Singapore.
 * Sha'ari Tadin - Former Senior Parliamentary Secretary and first Malay graduate PAP Member of Parliament, Singapore
 * Low Thia Khiang - Secretary-General of the Workers' Party of Singapore and Member of Parliament in Singapore for Hougang constituency
 * Olivia Lum - Entrepreneur, founder & CEO of Hyflux Group
 * Sylvia Lim - Chairman of the Workers' Party of Singapore, law lecturer and Manager of Continuing Education and Training at Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore
 * Steve Chia - Secretary-General of the National Solidarity Party and former Non-constituency Member of Parliament (2002 to 2006)
 * Alex Au - Independent writer who publishes articles on the Internet under the moniker "Yawningbread" and prominent gay-rights activist
 * James Gomez - Second Assistant Secretary-General of the Workers' Party of Singapore and Programme Officer of the Political Parties Programme at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)
 * Genevieve Woo - Television news and current affairs presenter with Singapore-based regional news network Channel NewsAsia
 * Jeanette Aw - Actress
 * Roger Tan - senior Malaysian lawyer and former member of Bar Council
 * Stella (singer)
 * Tan Cheng Han - Current Dean of NUS law school
 * Robert See-Hoong Tan - Prominent Geriatrician, Author, Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Texas(Houston)
 * Kaira Gong - Singer
 * Shi Xin Hui - Singer
 * Dr Faisal Manzoor Arain, Chair, Construction Project Management Department, SAIT Polytechnic, Calgary, Canada
 * Justice Andrew Phang - Judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Singapore
 * Liang Wern Fook - Singaporean Writer and Musician