FASS

To be honest, even when I accepted the offer to FASS (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences), I still didn't understand how the programmes work and what studying NUS would be like, at all. I remember feeling extremely confused about all the requirements, courses offered, staying on campus... etc. There was so much information that it was almost overwhelming and I only understood many things when I started experiencing them myself. It can make you feel uneasy and unsure when you can't seem to make sense of out anything despite having TONS of information, so I will try and explain how it is like in NUS, based on my own experiences and understanding.

Just for a little background information, I came from a Junior College and was admitted to NUS with FASS as my home faculty in AY (Academic Year) 2018/2019, and offered a double major programme (Psychology & Communications and New Media). I do not stay on campus, so forgive me for my shallow understanding with regards to hall and residential colleges. As I have only been in NUS for a year, there are some things that I may not be aware of. So this post is merely to share my knowledge and experiences as a freshman, to future freshmen. I really hope that this will be helpful to many of you so you'll be less confused and unsure after reading this ☺.

FASS Graduation Requirements

Before I get specific into FASS, I would like to talk about NUS in general. In NUS, students are required to take compulsory General Education (GE) modules. In order to graduate, at least one module from each of five pillars must be completed (that makes 5 compulsory GE modules). That being said, you are free to choose the module that you want to take under each pillar, except for some. GER1000 is a compulsory module for all students and will be pre-allocated to you by the school (within the first 2 years). For FASS students, GET1031A is also a compulsory module and pre-allocated. This means that for FASS students, 2 GE modules (& hence pillars) will be 'chosen' for you. This is for most students, but there are differences and exceptions for students staying on campus.

Now for FASS, there are more compulsory modules that you have to take in order to graduate. There are 2 FASS modules (FAS1101 & FAS1102) that you will take in the first year (SEM 1 & SEM 2) and these modules will also be pre-allocated to you by the school. FAS1101 is an academic writing module and FAS1102 focuses on public communication.

For reviews on modules that I have taken, do take a look at other blog posts :)

In FASS, majors are categorized into three "baskets": Asian Studies, Humanities, and Social Sciences Division. For all FASS students, one module from each division has to be taken (as we call it, "clear basket") in order to graduate. Other than these, graduation requirements depends on the specific major that you want to take.

To summarize:

• 5 GE modules
• 2 FASS modules
• 3 modules to clear 'baskets'

Staying on Campus

I do not stay on campus, so I have only a very limited understanding of it, but I will share all that I know.

There are three types of residences: hall, residential college (RC) and ... just a residence (PGP).
Hall is more about CCAs and RC is more about academics while PGP is purely a residence. In hall, points have to be earned by participating in CCAs and activities while in RC, there are certain modules specific to the RC that you will have to take.

As far as I know, there are double rooms and single rooms for hall (except for certain halls that have only single rooms) and RC has only single rooms. Both hall and RC include meal plans that you have to pay for.

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I think that's all for this post. If you have any questions do leave a comment and I'll try my best to answer them! ☺