Important FAQs
Information about SEP
Course (previously known as Module), Unit (previously known as MC)
Both the Office of the University Registrar (OUR) and Global Relations Office (GRO) maintain websites on SEP. There is a wealth of information there including information on the University-level partner universities. You can also find information on FASS website as well as on Faculty/Department level SEP partner universities. Alternatively you can also opt to speak to students who had been on SEP and attend SEP talks/fairs organised by GRO.
You can find information from GRO website (University level) or by visiting the FASS website for the list of Department/Faculty level universities.
Do not that not all universities will be available for application. The list of available universities will be made known at the start of the application round. Students can apply for up to 5 universities. Only 1 would be offered should you be successful.
The difference is in terms of which office takes care of the agreement. University-level partner universities are taken care of by Global Relations Office. While Faculty and Departmental-level partner universities are taken care of by FASS.
The main thing to note is that for Faculty-level and Departmental-level partner universities, the places allocated will be solely for FASS students and for major students majoring in the department. The process for application and selection is the same. Students may apply to universities in either category. Please note that students may not be able to enroll in courses out of the college/faculty or department we have agreements with.
The list of universities with SEP places available to FASS students will be shared with students. You may choose up to 5 SEP partner universities (either at University-wide or Faculty/Departmental-level); but you must be judicious in your choice of SEP partner universities because allocation will be based on the:
- Student's ranking (if any) among all applicants in FASS to that University;
- Number of places available at the SEP partner university;
- Partner university's popularity.
Yes, you may still apply for these universities. However, you will need to take Leave of Absence (LOA) to account for the overlap. Apply for Short-Term LOA if you can return to NUS by the start of Week 3 or a Semester LOA if you cannot return by the start of Week 3. Please check with fashelp@nus.edu.sg on when is the latest you can return on a short term LOA. You will have to take a Semester LOA if your return is deemed too late.
For those on Short-Term LOA, please take measures to mitigate the effect of missing classes as this cannot be used as special consideration for subsequent poor performance. Please enlist the help of your fellow students as well as to inform the lecturers of the respective courses that you will be returning late and obtain their permission to join their classes late. We advise you to check well in advance with the lecturers as they are not obliged to permit student to join the classes late.
Some ways to return earlier is to
1. Request for earlier exams
2. Request for assignments in lieu of exams
3. Request for your major department to proctor the exams
If the above is not possible, please continue to stay on at the partner university to complete your exams. The above is at the discretion of the partner university.
Each faculty will be allocated a number of places for selected universities under the university-wide SEP and this is done by Global Relations Office. Similarly, for Faculty/Department SEP partner universities, there will be limited places. It is best if you choose the universities wisely to increase your chances of a successful placement.
The application for the Overseas SEP in the next academic year is conducted on a semester-basis. If you want to go on SEP in the next Semester 1, or 2 or the full year, you can apply in Round 1. Round 2 is for students to apply for only Semester 2 of the next academic year. The approximate timeline is as follows:
- Round 1: Late August/ September of every year (Sem 1, Sem 2 and Full Year exchanges)
- Round 2: Late January/ February of every year (Sem 2 exchanges only)
Please keep a look out for the announcement in your email.
Eligibility for SEP
GPA previously known as CAP
You must fulfil all of the requirements below:
- A registered full-time undergraduate student
- A Singapore citizen or permanent resident, other nationals will be considered only on a case to case basis and
- Have successfully completed at least 1 semester upon application and 2 semesters upon admission to the assigned Partner University;
- Have a minimum GPA of at least 3.00 and preferably no grade below 'C'.
- Have the financial resources for personal and living expenses for the duration of the SEP
- Good disciplinary record
These are the basic requirements. You will have to meet the partner universities requirements too in order to apply for them.
Students are only allowed to embark on one overseas and one local SEP. If you have already gone on one overseas exchange; you are generally not eligible for overseas exchange again. However, you can apply for the local exchange. This is vice-versa for students who went on local exchange.
Timing for SEP
For pre-College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS) students
(students who entered NUS before AY2021/2022)
You may go on SEP in the 4th or 5th semesters of your studies. However, please do consider if you have essential courses that you must read at NUS. The timing of these courses being offered (it may only be as frequent as once every academic year) should be a factor in your consideration as to a good time for SEP.
For those of you who enrolled in NUS on the basis of a polytechnic diploma, you should not participate in SEP in your 5th semester as it will be your graduating semester if you are doing only a BA (without Honours).
For the other students who enrolled in NUS under GCE A level/ IB, you should not participate in SEP in the 6th semester if it is your graduating semester if you are doing only a BA (without Honours).
The rationale for the 5th/ 6th semester restriction is due to the fact that FASS does not have a compulsory 4-year programme, you will have the option to graduate at the end of 2.5 or 3 years if you complete B.A. requirements.
Generally, it would be good to go for SEP earlier. Students will also have to take note of entry requirements by the partner university. For example, some universities only accept Year 3 students. In this case, you will have to apply for exchange in your 5th/6th semester should you be interested in an exchange with that partner university. This would also require that you read Honours. Honours year SEP is not encouraged given the limited L4000 that you can map and transfer. Your Honours Thesis may also be enrolled across 2 semesters and students should not be reading NUS courses during SEP semester.
For College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS) students
(students who entered NUS from AY2021/2022)
You may go on SEP in the 4th - 6th semesters of your studies. SEP in the 4th year is not encouraged given the limited L4000 that you can map and transfer. Your Honours Thesis may also be enrolled across 2 semesters and students should not be reading NUS courses during SEP semester.
Generally, it would be good to go for SEP earlier. Students will also have to take note of entry requirements by the partner university. For example, some universities only accept Year 3 students. In this case, you will have to apply for exchange in your 5th/6th semester should you be interested in an exchange with that partner university.
For non-College of Humanities and Sciences students
You will need to submit a letter (template found under SEP Application Materials) with your application, stating that you will be pursuing your Honours studies. In this letter, please acknowledge by going on exchange in your graduating semester that you run the risk of graduating one semester later and will only attend commencement in the following academic year. (In the event that you have to graduate with a B.A. due to unforeseen circumstances despite the intention to pursue Honours.)As a result you are wiling to accept the consequences of:
- payment of tuition fees for an additional semester (if applicable);
- delayed promotion from ARS3 to ARS4/SOC4 and;
- being unable to read courses that are offered in only one semester of the academic year (hence exacerbating the effects of the preceding point).
Please note that if you do not possess this GPA requirements for Honours at the point of application, then your letter of undertaking will be invalid and we cannot take your future GPA into consideration as we do not know what it will be.
Students must be able and willing to do Honours in order to go for exchange in their BA graduating semester (5th semester for those graduating in 7 semesters and 6th semester for those graduating in 8 semesters). We do not allow students to go for exchange should it cause a delay of their actual graduating semester.
Please see preceding questions. Generally speaking, SEP will not cause a delay in your graduation. However you must take the responsibility to ensure that the courses read overseas count towards your graduation requirement to avoid being delayed and to do proper academic planning before embarking on SEP. Also please refer to the Unit Ratio for the various partner universities to ensure that you have read sufficient credits at the partner university in order to bring back sufficient credits for the 20 Units equivalent workload at NUS and also read up on the maximum number of units that can be transferred and the rules that apply to this.
Students from Cohort 2016 onwards, please take note that there will be financial implications should you delay your graduation (beyond Normal Candidature). For more information, please refer to http://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/education-at-nus/undergraduate-education/fees.html (Tuition Fee Policy > Tuition Fees beyond Normal Candidature)
Financial Consideration
You will only need to pay the usual NUS tuition fees for your semester abroad as per the SEP agreement between NUS and the partner university. You will also need to have enough financial resources for airfare, accommodation and day-to-day expenses. Please refer to the partner universities' websites for more information. Please do note that some universities may require students to pay for additional fees like, meal plans, insurance and other miscellaneous fees.
The proof for financial ability to fund your exchange will need to be presented soon after you receive the internal offer for student exchange. Please ensure that you can produce the relevant documents at the given time.
Procedures of SEP
Students will be notified of the application timeline through an email blast as well on the Study Abroad @ FASS and you can then apply through the EduRec - Global Education (EduRec - GE). Please submit your SEP application through EduRec - GE before the Faculty's given deadline and to include these necessary details:
- Personal statement: Why you want to participate in the SEP; your choice of universities and in concrete ways on how your exchange can benefit yourself and your fellow schoolmates.
- Ranking of partner university: FASS works on a no ranking basis. The assumption is that students are equally happy with any of their choices. Hence, please only apply for partner universities that you are interested in receiving an offer from. Students can indicate their preference for a partner university in the application form.
- Study plan details: A tentative study plan when you apply for SEP (This is a tentative study plan. Please DO NOT approach any SEP coordinator for course mapping at this point). The study plan will be based on the courses available at the university in which you are interested
- Letter of undertaking/s to be uploaded in EduRec-GE
Please ensure that your application is complete. Incomplete applications may be disregarded (use the Checklist). We would also like to remind you to put in your application early to avoid the server downtime due to heavy usage of EduRec near the end of the application period.
Please email studyabroadfass@nus.edu.sg with a screenshot of the issue.
You are encouraged to look through the websites of the partner universities to find out courses that are currently offered to have a better idea of the courses that you may want to read in the partner universities. Alternatively, you may want to look at the Global Relations Office (GRO) pages relating to partner universities.
You will know the outcome of your SEP application sometime in Dec/Jan (Round 1) and May/Jun (Round 2). As there may be several rounds of emails informing students of their application status, please be patient and both rounds will officially end around early Jan (Round 1) and late June (Round 2). All students who have applied will have receive an email outcome by then.
The outcome in the form of an internal offer will be sent to you via email. Please note that this internal offer is final and if you reject it, you will not be placed on the waiting list for your other choices. Please ensure that you housekeep your NUS mailbox so that the internal offer email will not be bounced as we will not resend the internal offer. Do check your Junk/Spam box too.
For unsuccessful applications, you will also receive an email informing you that you had not been placed on SEP. For students on waiting list, you will also receive an email to that effect.
Students will be informed via email once the partner university shares their application details. Students will need to follow up with the application instructions in order to be formally admitted by the partner university. Students will be considered withdrawn from the programme if they do not make a formally application. It is also the student's responsibility to ensure that the application is complete and accurate.
Do check the partner university's website to have a sense of when the application period starts. Students will receive an email from NUS on application details with the partner university when it starts.
You will need to get a letter from your sponsoring organization citing the amount of financial support that they are giving you as well as the duration of this financial support.
It is suggested that you submit a Bank Letter as supporting document to show your financial ability. Depending on the partner university, alternate source of documentation may not be accepted.
If these documents are rejected, it would cause a delay in the confirmation of your space in that partner university and NUS cannot be held responsible for this.
It can take several months before you receive the acceptance packages from the partner universities. The partner universities will need time to process your applications. Please understand that this is outside of the control of FASS and NUS. We ask that you be patient. If you have still not heard from the partner university 2 months prior to the start of the exchange semester in that partner university, please then write to Study Abroad@FASS.
Other Administrative Matters
Once you have accepted the internal offer, if you choose to withdraw, then the prevailing withdrawal penalty ($200 - SUSEP or $300 - SEP) will be collected from you via your student bill from the Office of Financial Services.
You may lodge an appeal for re-consideration. But be aware that there are several factors that could have resulted in your rejection. It would be better to apply for other universities in Round 1B/2B. Moreover, an appeal can only be considered if there is available quota.
For example:
- Not meeting minimum GPA for application
- Not meeting partner university's entry requirements
- Having grades below C (CU/ U included)
In order to allow the maximum number of students to go on SEP, students are only offered SEP for one semester.
Appeal for extension would only be possible if another student withdraws from their place in 2nd semester of any academic year or if extra spaces were made available for that academic year. However, this is highly unlikely. The likelihood of an extension is thus extremely low.
Academic Consideration for SEP
Course Mapping previously known as Module Mapping, Unit Ratio previously known as MC Ratio
All course mapping activities have been automated. As soon as you accept the internal offer in EduRec - GE, an automatic email notification will be sent to your student email account. This notification informs you that the course mapping worksheet for your exchange partner university (PU) and term has been created for you to submit your course mapping requests. Please do not start the mapping request procedure as yet, as it is far too early.
Please only carry out course mapping procedures after you have received confirmation of registered courses from your PU for the exchange. However if the PU could only confirm the courses at the start of your exchange, it will be prudent for you to start the mapping request procedures no less than 1 ½ months before the start of your exchange. Some PUs may also ask you to map the courses before applying with them. In this case, you can start the process earlier.
The course mapping requests generally take about 1 month. In order to aid this process, you should provide the syllabus of the PU courses in your course mapping worksheet. You can download the user guide here. (Please note that this is only for FASS students. Please read the whole document). Do note that most FASS departments do not upload the list of previously approved courses under Search Course Mapping function in EduRec hence it is not unusual that there is no record listed under the major or limited records listed.
Please read the Unit Ratio and ensure that you are reading sufficient credits at the PU to merit an equivalent 20 Units workload at NUS. This is a strict requirement. Please note that a workload of 20 Units may not always means it is mapped to 5 courses.
For example, with a study plan of 15 ECTS mapped to major L3000 and 15 ECTS mapped to UE and a Unit ratio of 30 ECTS = 20 Units , the projected credit transfer breakdown is 10 MC major L3000 and 10 MC UE. It still totals 20 MC but you only transfer four courses worth 4 MC each. The other 4 Units will be split into 2 Units in major and 2 Units in UE.
Please note that the departments approve the content of the course and not the Units allocated. Units earned will be based on the Units Ratio. This is true for courses that are mapped to actual code. For example if you did a Sociology course at Fudan University that is worth 2 credits at Fudan and Sociology mapped it to a SC2204. This course will only receive 3 Units (2 credits/15 X 20 Units ) and not 4 Units . A dummy code in Sociology will be given to you. Dummy codes cannot be used to fulfil specific course requirements.
*List of restricted courses for mapping can be found here.
For students mapping courses under these categories, please see below for additional information.
- Minors
- Global Studies major/minor
- Language courses
- Law courses
- Business courses
- Economics courses
- Psychology courses
Disciplinary minor
Please submit the course mapping worksheet as per the relevant Department who then review the course(s).
Multi-disciplinary minor
Students who are planning to read courses to fulfil their multi-disciplinary minor requirements will have to check with the minor convener via Office of Programmes (OoPs) on the suitability of the PU courses once the discipline-specific Department has approved the course. For example, if you have been approved for a Philosophy dummy course by the Department, please then write separately to the Office of Programmes (OoPs) for the Religious Studies minor (RS) convener to approve it as counting toward the RS minor.
Global Studies Major/Minor students
For Global Studies (GL) major students, once you have received the course mapping from the appropriate Departments, you will then have to check with the GL SEP coordinator on the suitability of the approved courses (non GL-coded courses) that you would like to use to meet your major requirements. You can email the department at polbox16@nus.edu.sg
Language courses
Please refer to required details here.
Law courses
For law courses, please provide the following information:
- How many credits is this course rated in the host University? E.g. 6 ECTS = 4 Units (Unit Ratio)
- How many host university credits does your home faculty at NUS require you to do in a semester at the host university? E.g. 30 ECTS = 20 Units
- Which semester and AY are you going or have gone for exchange? E.g. Semester 1, AY2016/17
Business courses
Please refer to mapping process here.
Economics courses
Additional information on mapping can be found here.
Psychology courses
List of previously approved courses can be found here for reference only. Courses can be mapped to a different code or rejected should the syllabus at the partner university change.
No, in fact we encourage our students to explore courses that they would not be able to read at NUS especially in disciplines that they are interested or specialized in. You can also read UE courses while overseas. However, given that only credits earned by approved modules can be transferred, the content of the module you are interested in should be academic and fall into a discipline in NUS. Students can request the module to be mapped to our dummy codes should the module be not similar to any module in the identified discipline. FASS dummy codes are identified by a 7 in the 2nd digit.
For example, for a course related to History, which from the syllabus looks like a L2000 course, you can choose HY2741. HY2741 would read that the dummy code is a L2000 under History department, at 4MC, first of it's series. Once submitted, the department hosting the code will review it for suitability.
Please refer to above question for the procedures for course mapping (FAQ28) for more details.
Students admitted in 2020/2021 and before will not be able to fulfil their General Education (5 pillars) requirements in the partner university. All requirements should be completed at NUS.
Students admitted from 2021/2022 and after (students under the CHS curriculum), should complete their CHS Common Curriculum at NUS as courses are generally not mappable out of NUS. Only these 3 requirements (Data Literacy, Digital Literacy and Artificial Intelligence) could be considered for mapping. However, students will need to note that due to the specific nature of the requirements, partner university courses may not be suitable. Courses will need to be mapped to specific, recognised codes in order to fulfil requirements. (Courses mapped to Dummy codes will not fulfil CHS requirements and can only be used for UE.) Student will also need to take note of the Unit Ratio in order to earn enough Units to fulfil the requirements.
Note: HS15xx (Artificial Intelligence) courses are not mappable.
Most departments will generally not allow for an overseas course to replace their exposure/gateway course. The exposure/gateway course is the introductory course setting out the basics of the subject that is taught in NUS thus it can be quite specific. If you are to read the course while on exchange, you will not have the full understanding of the subject that is offered in NUS.
Please refer to the PDF on Mapping Restrictions document for departments that allow for fulfilment overseas. PU modules must be mapped to the NUS actual code (not dummy codes allowed) should you want to use it to fulfil exposure/gateway requirements.
If you do not know which department can review the mapping request, or the PU module is multidisciplinary, you can write to studyabroadfass@nus.edu.sg with the PU course syllabus to seek help.
The basic rule is that Units are awarded based on Unit Ratio. Therefore depending on the credits loading of the overseas module, it can be equivalent to 4 Units or any other value.
The Unit Ratio is listed on our FASS website. Please ensure that you read sufficient credits at the partner university in order to transfer back the equivalent of 20 Units workload at NUS.
Note: There are some PUs that limits the number of credits you can read, hence students will not be able to read a full workload of 20 Units. Students will have to make up for the Units before or after they return from exchange.
Given that FASS' general policy of awarding units based on Unit Ratio, with this policy we can have two scenarios:
- Scenario 1: Workload at PU-equivalent to NUS
- Scenario 2: Workload at PU meant for exchange students only and hence less than normal semester load due to tuition fee parity
Given the Scenario 1 above, if the 3 courses at the partner university is a normal semester load for the students there, then the 3 modules will count towards 20 units. Hence there is no need for you to read additional modules. An example below will make this clearer. The Department/ Faculty will offer dummy codes to reflect the additional units.
Eg. University of Copenhagen Course A, B and C= 30 ECTS (MC Exchange Ratio: 30ECTS = 20units)
Course A 10 ECTS (Major)
Course B 10 ECTS (Major)
Course C 10 ECTS (UE)
Units are calculated like this:
Total ECTS under Major 20 ECTS = 13 Units
Total ECTS under UE 10 ECTS = 7 Units
Total ECTS overall 30 ECTS = 20 Units
To maximise your credits 1 Unit is moved from Major to UE. (please note that we only move 1 Unit)
Hence, Unit transferable will be Major 12 Unit and UE 8 Units. Dummy codes will be added to make up for the Units earned.
In Scenario 2 if the 3 courses are a special load afforded to foreign students and not a full semester load, then you will need to read more modules to make up the difference. There will also be instances where the number of modules you can read at the Partner University had been determined by our SEP agreement so you will not be able to read additional modules during SEP. It also means that you would get less than 20 units transferred for a semester away.
For example, students heading to Northwestern University, are limited to 3-4 modules in the exchange semester. Based on the Unit Ratio, students will only be able to transfer a maximum of 12-16 Units.
Therefore there will always be a possibility that you will have to make up for the shortfall in courses in the semesters before you leave for SEP or in the semester after you return. Some students make up for their courses by reading extra courses in the regular semesters or by reading courses during Special Term.
Boston University's normal semester load is 16 credits, and you read 4 modules of 4 credits (of which 2 from your major and 2 for UE), therefore the allocation of units is as follows:
| NUS UNITS | Dummy codes | |
| Module A- 4 credits- major | (5 units) | EC3741, EC3711 |
| Module B- 4 credits- major | (5 units) | EC2741, EC2711 |
| Module C- 4 credits- UE | (5 units) | SC2741, SC3711 |
| Module D- 4 credits- UE | (5 units) | SC3741, SC3712 |
Yes, you can read overseas courses to fulfill MTBP requirements, under the following conditions:
- The SEP must be recognised by FASS and NUS;
- The course(s) read on SEP must be taught in the relevant mother tongue;
- Course(s) read on SEP must be on graded basis and not on a pass/fail basis at the partner university. If the course is not offered on a graded basis, units will not be transferred and cannot be used to fulfill the MTBP requirements; and
- A maximum of 16 units of courses read on SEP may be used to fulfill the MTBP requirements.
Please do note that S/U option is only applicable to courses that you have read at NUS. S/U does not apply to courses read overseas.
If you read a courses overseas that is graded on letter graded or pass/fail basis, as long as you pass the courses and earn units, you may transfer the units for this courses. Once transfer of units is completed, you will see 'OVS' graded for these courses that you read and passed overseas. They are never reflected as 'S/U'.
You may still request for mapping via the mapping system. However please note that some Departments do not allow for retrospective mapping and therefore you will not be able to do so. You also run the risk that the courses may not be approved as approval for course mapping is not guaranteed especially for non-FASS courses.
In this situation, you will find that you will not be able to transfer the units that you read on your exchange towards your degree requirements. This may result in having to overload in your future semesters at NUS or possibly cause a delay in your graduation plan.
Transfer of SEP Partner University Credits
No, this process has to be initiated by you.
Please do note that failure to do so can result in your not being able to secure higher level courses (owing to pre-requisites not recorded in your academic records) or to participate in the course pre-allocation exercise and even to graduate.
Please submit the Unit Transfer Form and a scanned copy of your transcript to studyabroadfass@nus.edu.sg.
Upon receipt of your transcript, please complete the Request Form:Transfer of SEP Units and submit it to the FASS, Dean's Office along with a copy of your transcript and any other supporting documents such as course reporting form or email approval of courses. Please note that incomplete documents will result in a delay of unittransfer. Please do not click anything on EduRec - GE to transfer your units.
Please refer to the following webpage pertaining to your cohort for the number of transfer units that you can use to fulfil your requirements
Please submit your transfer of units documents to studyabroadfass@nus.edu.sg as soon as you receive all your grades and mapping approvals. Please note that on average, it will take up to 2 months for unit transfers to be completed. Otherwise the units for your overseas courses will be transferred late and your graduation or promotion could be delayed.
The office will aim to complete the request within the semester. Please note that if there are missing information, it will cost a delay in transfer.
Please refer to Qn 29.
Please refer to Qn 29.
The courses you read overseas would only have their units transferred. The grades obtained are not transferable unless otherwise stated. This means that courses read while on exchange will not have an impact on your GPA.