Awards and Prizes

Singapore Press Holding Limited donated a capital sum of $15,000 to the University in 2000. The proceeds of the capital sum was used to fund the “Berita Harian/Berita Minggu Gold Medal”. From 2016, the name of the award was changed to “Berita Harian/Berita Minggu Medal and Prize” and a cash prize of $600 was added to complement the gold medal.

  1. Subject to Rule 3 below, a gold medal and a cash prize of $600 will be awarded to the best student in Malay Studies who has passed the Arts and Social Sciences 3 Examinations (throughout the programme of study leading to the Bachelor degree in FASS).
  2. The medal and prize will be awarded by the Board of Undergraduate Studies on the recommendation of the relevant Board of Examiners.
  3. No award will be made unless there is a candidate of sufficient merit.
  4. If no award is made in any year, the funds available will be carried forward to provide for awards in subsequent years.

The “Jamiyah Book Prize” was established in 1993 from a donation by Jamiyah Singapore (also known as Muslim Missionary Society Singapore). The book prize, valued at S$100, in the form of vouchers was initially awarded to the best first year student in Malay Studies. The award quantum was subsequently increased to S$200 and the award criteria changed to the best second year student in Malay Studies.

In 2017, Jamiyah Singapore donated an additional sum of S$1,500 to support the book prize for the next 5 years (i.e. until 2021). The prize was renamed as “Jamiyah Prize”, prize quantum was increased to S$300 and given out in the form of a cash prize.

The award is governed by the following conditions:

  1. Subject to rule 2 below, two cash prizes, valued at S$300 each, will be given to the best Arts 2 student in Malay Studies in the examinations leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts.
  2. No award will be made unless there is a candidate of sufficient merit.
  3. The prize will be awarded by the FASS Board of Examiners on the recommendation of the Head of the Department.
  4. In the event of there being more than one candidate of equal merit for the award, the FASS Board of Examiners may, subject to funds being available, distribute the award or make additional awards in such manner as it deems fit.
  5. The primary criterion is the Grade Point Average (GPA). The SJGPA (average grade point of all major modules read) shall be used as the tie-breaker.
  6. If, in any year, no award is made, the funds available will be carried forward to provide for awards in subsequent years.
  7. This gift shall be governed by the University Statutes and Regulations, specifically, Statute 7 on Gifts to the University and the corresponding Regulation.

Donated in 2013 by the Malay Heritage Foundation, the “Malay Heritage Foundation Prize (Hadiah Yayasan Warisan Melayu)” is awarded from an expendable sum of S$15,000.

The prize will be awarded annually and governed by the following conditions:

  1. Subject to rule 4 below, the prize will be awarded to the best student in Malay Studies in the Honours Examination for the degree of the Bachelor of Arts with the following:
    (a) The highest Grade Point Average (GPA) and completed the Malay Studies major programme for the degree of BA (Hons)
    (b) A minimum GPA of 3.50
  2.  In case of a tie, the student with highest Academic Year Subject Average Point (AYSJAP) in Malay Studies for Honours Examination will be considered.
  3. Each award consists of a cash prize of S$1,000.
  4. No award will be made unless there is a candidate of sufficient merit.
  5. The prize will be awarded by the Board of Undergraduate Studies on the recommendation of the relevant Board of Examiners.
  6. In the event of there being more than one candidate of equal merit for the award, the single prize of $1,000 will be shared equally.
  7. If there are no awards presented at any given year, the unutilised amount will be added back to the fund

In October 2015, the family of the late Mr Wan Boo Sow pledged an endowment of S$75,000 and an expendable gift of S$15,000 to establish the NUS Malay Studies Prize. An additional S$300,000 endowed gift and S$10,000 expendable gift was pledged in March 2020 to establish three new awards including the NUS Malay Studies Bahasa Prize with effect from AY2020-21. In 2021, the award basis and prize quantum were revised.

Subject to rule 7 below, up to twenty‐four (24) prizes will be awarded annually as follows:

  1. Prizes are applicable to NUS undergraduate students whose mother tongue is not Malay.
  2. Only Singapore citizens (including naturalised citizens) are eligible. Male students must have completed full-time National Service.
  3. To be eligible for the award, a student must pass any level of the Bahasa Indonesia or Malay language courses (offered by the Centre for Language Studies) and any MS-coded courses (offered by the Department of Malay Studies) in the academic year of consideration. Student should obtain at least a grade ‘C’ or ‘S’ for students who opted for the course to be graded on an S/U (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory) basis.
  4. Up to twelve (12) cash prizes will be awarded each semester. The quantum of the awards are as follows:
    • LAB1201 Bahasa Indonesia 1 ‐ Up to S$500 / LAM1201 Malay 1 ‐ Up to S$500
    • LAB2201 Bahasa Indonesia 2 ‐ Up to S$500 / LAM2201 Malay 2 ‐ Up to S$500
    • LAB3201 Bahasa Indonesia 3 ‐ Up to S$500 / LAM3201 Malay 3 ‐ Up to S$500
    • LAB3202 Bahasa Indonesia 4 ‐ Up to S$800 / LAM3202 Malay 4 ‐ Up to S$800
    • LAB4201 Bahasa Indonesia 5 ‐ Up to S$800 / LAM4201 / LAM4201HM Malay 5 ‐ Up to S$800
    • LAB4202 Bahasa Indonesia 6 ‐ Up to S$800 / LAM4202 / LAM4202HM Malay 6 ‐ Up to S$800
  5. Awards will be made based on higher marks scored for the Bahasa Indonesia/Malay language course.
  6. The GPA will be used as the tie-breaker when two or more students score the same marks in the Bahasa Indonesia/Malay language course.
  7. No award will be made unless there is a candidate of sufficient merit.
  8. The Head of Department may adjust the number of cash prizes and/or the value of the cash prizes in such a manner as he/she deems fit, subject to sufficiency of funds and/or available income and the University’s prevailing spending policies. For each prize category, all winners awarded in the same academic year will each receive the same cash prize amount.
  9. The prizes will be awarded by the FASS Board of Examiners on the recommendation of the Head of the Department.
  10. This gift shall be governed by the University Statutes and Regulations, specifically, Statute 7 on Gifts to the University and the corresponding Regulation.

In October 2015, the family of the late Mr Wan Boo Sow pledged an endowment of S$75,000 and an expendable gift of S$15,000 to establish the NUS Malay Studies Prize. An additional S$300,000 endowed gift and S$10,000 expendable gift was pledged in March 2020 to establish three new awards including the NUS Malay Studies Exposure Course Prize with effect from AY2020‐21. In 2021, the award basis, number of prizes and quantum were revised.

Subject to rule 4 below, the award is governed by the following conditions:

  1. The cash prizes (eight in total) are applicable to the Exposure Course (MS1102E) offered by the Department of Malay Studies in each semester with a minimum enrolment of 20 students.
  2. In every semester, up to four (4) cash prizes, valued at up to S$500 each, will be awarded, two prizes to the best performing student whose mother tongue is Malay and two prizes to the best performing student whose mother tongue is not Malay. The four best performing students should have obtained a minimum grade of B+ in the course.
  3. Only Singapore citizens (including naturalised citizens) are eligible. Recipients are required to submit a copy of their Singapore birth certificate or Singapore citizenship certificate to the Department. Male students must have completed full‐time National Service and are required to submit a copy of the NS certificate if they are awarded the prize.
  4. No award will be made unless there is a candidate of sufficient merit.
  5. The Head of Department may adjust the number of cash prizes and/or the value of the cash prizes in such a manner as he/she deems fit, subject to sufficiency of funds and/or available income and the University’s prevailing spending policies. All winners awarded in the same academic year will each receive the same cash prize amount.
  6. The prizes will be awarded by the FASS Board of Examiners on the recommendation of the Head of the Department.
  7. This gift shall be governed by the University Statutes and Regulations, specifically, Statute 7 on Gifts to the University and the corresponding Regulation.

In October 2015, the family of the late Mr Wan Boo Sow pledged an endowment of S$75,000 and an expendable gift of S$15,000 to establish the NUS Malay Studies Prize. An additional S$300,000 endowed gift and S$10,000 expendable gift was pledged in March 2020 to establish three new awards including the NUS Malay Studies General Education (GE) Prize with effect from AY2020‐21. In 2021, the award basis, number of prizes and quantum were revised.

Subject to rule 4 below, the award is governed by the following conditions:

  1. Prizes are applicable to all General Education courses (subject to additions, deletions or changes in course titles at the discretion of the Department) offered by the Department of Malay Studies in each semester with a minimum enrolment of 20 students per course.
  2. Up to four (4) cash prizes, valued at up to S$500 each, will be awarded, two prizes to the best performing student whose mother tongue is Malay and two prizes to the best performing student whose mother tongue is not Malay in each course in each semester of the academic year. The four best performing students should have obtained a minimum grade of B+ in the course concerned.
  3. Only Singapore citizens (including naturalised citizens) are eligible. Recipients are required to submit a copy of their Singapore birth certificate or Singapore citizenship certificate to the Department. Male students must have completed full‐time National Service and are required to submit a copy of the NS certificate if they are awarded the prize.
  4. No award will be made unless there is a candidate of sufficient merit.
  5. The Head of Department may adjust the number of cash prizes and/or the value of the cash prizes in such a manner as he/she deems fit, subject to sufficiency of funds and/or available income and the University’s prevailing spending policies. All winners awarded in the same academic year will each receive the same cash prize amount.
  6. The prizes will be awarded by the FASS Board of Examiners on the recommendation of the Head of the Department.
  7. This gift shall be governed by the University Statutes and Regulations, specifically, Statute 7 on Gifts to
    the University and the corresponding Regulation.

In October 2015, the family of the late Mr Wan Boo Sow pledged an endowment of S$75,000 and an expendable gift of S$15,000 to establish the NUS Malay Studies Prize to recognise academic excellence amongst FASS undergraduates in Malay Studies. In 2021, the award basis, number of prizes and quantum were revised.

Subject to Rule 7 below, up to ten (10) cash prizes amounting up to S$15,500 will be awarded annually to NUS undergraduates who have achieved academic excellence in Malay Studies. The NUS Malay Studies Prize will be awarded as follows:

1. A cash prize of up to S$1,000 to the Best Arts 2 student in Malay Studies with the highest SJGPA i.e. the average grade point all Malay Studies courses throughout the programme of study in the examinations leading to the Bachelor degree in FASS. The prize is open only to Singapore citizens, including naturalised citizens.

2. A cash prize of up to S$1,500 to the Best Arts 3 student in Malay Studies with the highest SJGPA in Malay Studies courses in the academic year. The prize is open only to Singapore citizens, including naturalised citizens.

3. A cash prize of up to S$2,000 to the Best Arts 4 student in Malay Studies with the highest SJGPA in Malay Studies courses throughout the programme of study in the examinations leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours). In addition, the student must obtain a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.50. The prize is open only to Singapore citizens, including naturalised citizens.

4. Up to six (6) cash prizes will be awarded to students reading Malay/Indonesian Literature courses offered by the Department of Malay Studies in each semester (subject to additions, deletions or changes in course titles at the discretion of the Department).

a. A cash prize of up to S$1,500 each will be awarded to the top two best performing students in each course in each semester of the academic year. Students must be highly proficient in both English and Malay and pass an oral interview conducted by a panel of at least two faculty members of the department. The prize is open only to Singapore citizens born in Singapore and are Singaporeans-at-birth. The GPA will be used as a tie-breaker when three or more students score the same marks in the Malay/Indonesian Literature course.

5. A cash prize of up to S$2,000 to the Best Honours Thesis in Malay Studies with the highest numerical grade. In addition, the student must have obtained a minimum grade of A- in the thesis. The prize is open to both Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans.

6. Singaporean male awardees for all categories of prizes must have completed full-time national service and submit a copy of their National Service Certificate to the Department.

7. No award will be made unless there is a candidate of sufficient merit.

8. The Head of Department may adjust the number of cash prizes and/or the value of the cash prizes in such a manner as he/she deems fit, subject to sufficiency of funds and/or available income and the University’s prevailing spending policies. For each prize category, all winners awarded in the same academic year will each receive the same cash prize amount.

9. The prizes will be awarded by the Board of Undergraduate Studies or its nominee.

10. This gift shall be governed by the University Statutes and Regulations, specifically, Statute 7 on Gifts to the University and the corresponding Regulation.

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