Passion for a field of study will count
towards admission to the National University of Singapore (NUS)
from this year.
Those applying for a place at NUS will be given 1.25
bonus points for their first choice - equivalent to going from C to
B or B to A in an A-level H1 subject.
This applies only to courses where entry is based
purely on converting a student's grades into points, and not to
courses such as medicine and law where students are assessed on
their aptitude and interests through interviews.
NUS senior deputy president and provost Ho Teck Hua,
who announced the move at a press conference on Monday, said NUS'
analysis of admission data showed the bonus point can make a
difference.
"Let's say one student with 81 points applies for
communications as his first choice, and another with 82 points
applies to the same course as his second choice.
"With the 1.25 points, the student who lists the course
as his first choice will get ahead of the person with 82 points,"
he said.
On why NUS decided on the move, he said: "If you have
done well and are passionate about a career in business or
computing, for example, then we want to say to you that we support
your passion."
"We want to help you pursue your passion," he said,
adding that students passionate about what they study tend to
perform better.
Professor Ho revealed that, currently, 65 per cent of
students given a place in their first-choice course take up the
offer, while only 45 per cent of those given their second-choice
course do so.
Noting NUS graduates' good job prospects, Prof Ho also
announced that NUS will be increasing the number of double majors
to increase career options for its graduates.
"The nature of work is changing very rapidly, and we
need to prepare students for a lifetime of diverse careers," he
said.
He said NUS, which currently offers 94 double major and
major-minor combinations, will add another 86 such programmes.
He said: "Someone doing data science and
entrepreneurship, for example, can go and work for a range of
industries in data science, and also go and do a start-up."
On top of the double majors, NUS also offers 71 double
degrees, 33 joint degrees with partner universities and 24
concurrent degrees.
Currently, 15 per cent of NUS students are trained in
more than one discipline.
Prof Ho said he hopes half of all NUS students will
graduate with knowledge and skills in two different fields, so they
will have more job offers to choose from.
He also announced two new degree programmes for this
year, one in pharmaceutical science and the other in veterinary
science.
Students taking up the 5½-year concurrent veterinary
degree programme will graduate with an NUS degree in life sciences
and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of
Melbourne.
Prof Ho also revealed that the NUS Overseas Colleges
programme will expand to Jakarta and Toronto.
NUS, which now offers 230 bond-free merit scholarships,
will add 200 more scholarships for the new academic year.
Ms Geraldine Tan, 19, welcomed the move and said it is
important for young people to get into a field that excites
them.
She said: "I really want to study business and maybe go
on an overseas college stint as I want to start a social
enterprise.
"Business courses are hard to get into, so I am hoping
the bonus points will help me get an edge."
TNP