Multidisciplinary Minors (MDMs)

What is Multidisciplinary Minors (MDMs)?

Multidisciplinary minors let you explore a topic through multiple disciplinary perspectives.

For instance, a minor in Gender Studies sharpens your ability to critically read power, identity, and social change — skills that are essential in fields from policy and law to media and international relations. Through a minor in Religious Studies, you develop the analytical sensitivity to navigate diverse belief systems and cultural contexts, an increasingly vital competency in a pluralistic, globalised world. With a minor in Science, Technology, and Society (STS), you build the critical frameworks to engage with the ethical, social, and political stakes of technological change — preparing you to work at the intersection of innovation and humanity.

Studying across disciplinary boundaries not only broadens your intellectual horizons — it fundamentally rewires how you perceive, analyze, and engage with the world around you.

Why is this beneficial to you?

Choosing an MDM is a strategic investment that builds transferable, future-ready skills, providing a distinct competitive edge:

Cognitive Agility: Develop expertise in approaching complex problems from multiple viewpoints, mastering the art of perspective-switching.
Interdisciplinary Breadth & Depth: Gain a broad understanding of a topic from various disciplines while developing grounded expertise in that specific area.
Professional Differentiation: Build a unique academic profile that signals versatility and specialized knowledge to employers and graduate programmes.

Ready to explore? Browse our available minors above or contact OOP to find out which programme best complements your major.

The following is extracted from OUR website here:

For students admitted from AY2019/2020 onwards, the unit requirement for a Minor is at least 20 units, of which:

Up to 8 units (40% of the unit requirements for a Minor) may be double counted and used to meet (i) the Minor requirement and (ii) another requirement, e.g., General Education (only for students admitted from AY2021/2022 onwards), College (e.g., Common Curriculum), Faculty, Major, Second Major, Minor, Specialisation or other requirement, i.e., at least 12 units of the Minor must be distinct and not overlapping
At least 12 units for any Minor must be taken from outside the entire set of courses that are listed for the major(s)/another minor that the student is taking/ has taken.
A minimum of 60% of the Minor requirements must be earned from courses read at NUS. Courses read at NUS include all courses taught, co-taught, supervised or co-supervised by NUS faculty member(s). These consist of graded courses or courses with an ‘S' or ‘CS' grade. The remaining units may be earned through credit transfers, advanced placement and exemptions, from courses deemed relevant to the particular Minor.

For students admitted from AY2015/2016 to AY2020/2021: Students who read General Education (GE) Courses to fulfil requirements for a Minor are not allowed to count these courses towards fulfilling both the General Education and the Minor requirements. For example, if a student had taken a GEH course for his/her Minor, he/she would have to take another GEH course to fulfil the Human Cultures pillar of the GE requirement. The units under the Unrestricted Elective course requirements may be used to satisfy Minor requirements.

List of Multidiscplinary Minors paired with cognate majors (Offered by Office of Programmes)

Multidisciplinary Minors	Cognate Majors
China Studies (Only for Cohort 2025 and before)	Chinese Studies, History and Philosophy
Gender Studies	Sociology
Health and Social Sciences (Only for Cohort 2024 and before)	Sociology
Religious Studies	Southeast Asian Studies, Philosophy, History and Sociology
Science, Technology and Society	History, Philosophy and Sociology

Multidiscplinary Minors offered by other departments

Offered by Department of	Multidisciplinary Minors
English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies	English Studies (Open to students from all faculties except students majoring in English Language and/or English Literature) Film Studies Language Science (Offered to Cohort 2021 Onwards)
Geography	Geosciences Geographical Information System Urban Studies Aquatic Ecology
History	Art History
Communications and New Media	Cultural Studies Interactive Media Development
Political Science	Global Studies
Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies, Malay Studies, South Asian Studies and Southeast Asian Studies	Asian Studies
Centre for Language Studies	Language Studies
Sociology and Anthropology	Health, Wellbeing and Society

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is the purpose of reading Multi-disciplinary Minors (MDMs)?

The purpose of reading Multi-disciplinary Minors (MDMs), as with any minor, is to provide coherence and focus for the elective, non-major courses one is required to take at NUS. Further, a minor helps develop and foster areas of interest outside a major that might or might not directly complement the major. In this way, a minor simultaneously provides focus and breadth to one's undergraduate experience.

Q2. How do I declare a Multi-disciplinary Minors (MDMs) offered by Office of Programmes?

As the Multi-disciplinary Minors (MDMs) offered by Office of Programmes are open minor – students do not need to apply for approval for these Minor. Student just have to declare the Minor during the Academic Plan Declaration Exercise via the Academic Plan Declaration on myEduRec, before Course Registration (CourseReg@EduRec). Students have up to their 5th semester of study to add the Minors.

Q3. Do I still have to register for courses?

Yes, the declaration of open Minor does not guarantee enrolment in the courses. Students still have to register for the Minor courses during Course Registration (via CourseReg@EduRec)