1. Where can I
learn more about SEP?
·
The NUS Registrar’s Office
maintains a website on SEP at http://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/undergraduate/sep.htm. Details concerning application and partner universities
are available there.
·
Speak to the Departmental SEP
Co-ordinators.
·
Speak to students who have
been on SEP.
·
Go to SEP talks when they are
organised for you.
2. I am interested in SEP. How do I apply
for it?
· The Faculty opens the SEP application twice a year
· Students can now apply for the overseas SEP online at the following website https://aces01.nus.edu.sg/NASApp/prjvop/logon.sep .
· You must submit the a personal statement of not more than 500 words on why you want to participate in the SEP and how you think you will be a good NUS ambassador.
· The university prospectus in the libraries,
the respective country embassies and the internet are good starting points
for you to learn more about the overseas universities. You should find out
about your intended overseas university’s teaching programmes
and select the suitable and equivalent modules offered there. See your departmental
SEP co-ordinator for help.
Application
for the Overseas SEP is conducted on a semester-basis. The 1st Round is for students who are interested in applying for (Semester 1, Semester 2 and full academic year) of the next academic year. The 2nd Round is for students to apply for only Semester 2 of the next academic year. Students should keep a look out for the notice/announcement on the SEP application opening date and submission deadline on the Faculty website http://www.nus.edu.sg or the Faculty's SEP page http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/undergrad/sep.htm.
Application
for the Singapore Universities [SU] SEP, which is at local Partner Universities,
is conducted on a semester-basis. The due date is mid-May for Semester 1 and
end-October for Semester 2. More information on the SU SEP is at http://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/undergraduate/susep.htm.
Please note that the SEP Application Material will be issued through
the University's SEP web page at http://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/undergraduate/susep.htm. Students are encouraged to print the SEP Application
Material from the SEP web page when it is issued.
4. When is the best time for me to go for SEP?
Students may go on SEP in their 3rd,
4th or 5th semesters of their studies. Students are not allowed to go on SEP in their
graduating semester.
http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/undergrad/sep/sep_intro.htm .
·
would be distributed among the various faculties. There may be instances where no place will be allocated to FASS or that
the agreement is meant for students of a particular faculty only.
solely for FASS students.
· Departmental-level partner universities are those that the respective departments had signed an agreement with. The
places allocated will be solely for students majoring in the department's subject(s).
The process for application and selection is the same. Students may apply to universities in either category. However, students going on SEP with a Faculty-wide partner university has to read at least 60% of their modules from the faculty of the partner university that FASS has an agreement with.
Please check with the respective departments for those who are going on SEP with a Dept-wide partner university.
It is a two-stage application. First, apply
for SEP through the Department of your major or concentration. Once you are
short-listed by the Faculty, your application form will be forwarded to the
partner university assigned to you. Approval
will be at the discretion of the partner university.
No, you just apply for a
position in the student exchange programme of your
faculty.
Each faculty will be allocated
a number of places for selected universities under the university-wide (UW)
SEP. Allocation of places to faculties
is done by the International Relations Office. Limited places are also available at universities
under the Faculty SEP.
Students therefore compete for a place in SEP at the universities of their choice. Choose the universities wisely to increase of chances of success.
SEP places available to FASS students are found at the FASS SEP website when the application starts..
9.
The academic term in the partner university will only end in late January. Can I still
apply for this
university? Am I allowed to join the classes late?
Yes, you
may still apply for these universities. Most SEP students going to European
universities will
return
in late January. Note that the late return cannot be used as
an excuse for poor
performance
in the modules of the semester after the students' return. Students are also
responsible for
catching
up and to make up for any assignments required.
Students
are advised to do the following:
i) Check when the last date of their examinations are and arrange to return
to Singapore immediately after
that.
ii) Register
for their modules during the online registration period for modules and discussion
groups.
Please check the list of important events for the respective semesters for
the registration dated.
iii) Inform the
lecturers of the respective modules that they would be returning late and
obtain permission to
join their classes late. Note that lecturers are not obliged allow students
to join their classes late. Some
modules, e.g. language modules, do not permit students to join the classes
if they had missed too many
lessons as the students would not be able to catch up.
10. My semester at the partner university ends in February, can I still register for modules for semester 2?
11. I am not a Singaporean,
can I apply for SEP?
Undergraduate
students which are foreign nationals receiving a scholarship financed or administered
by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (e.g. Singapore Scholarships, etc.) are
ineligible for the overseas SEP. (This
is inapplicable to the SU SEP.) However,
those undergraduate students which are foreign nationals receiving a scholarship
financed or administered by the Ministry of Education and NUS (including the
ASEAN Undergraduate Scholarships and the NUS Scholarships) are now eligible
for the overseas SEP.
To be eligible for SEP, an NUS student:
·
must be registered as a full-time undergraduate
student;
·
must be
·
must have successfully completed at least 1
semester upon application and 2 semesters upon admission to the assigned
·
a minimum CAP of at least 3.00 and should not have any grade below 'C'.
·
must
have the financial resources for personal and living expenses for the duration
of the SEP. (Financial assistance is available from the University.)
Students are only allowed to embark on one overseas and local SEP. You have already gone on an overseas exchange,
you are 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.
(C) EXPENDITURE AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Grants and NUS SEP Loan Fund are available.
Students
pay normal NUS fees for regular semesters fees (if applicable). Students pay own airfare and living expenses
approximately S$8000/semester (estimated). Some Universities may require students
to pay for application and other miscellaneous fees.
(D) INFORMATION ON PARTNER UNIVERSITIES
16. How do I know
which university I can apply to?
Please refer to the faculty SEP website.
The list of universities with SEP places available to FASS students
is listed there. You may choose up to 5 SEP partner universities
(either at University-wide or Faculty-level); but you must be judicious in
your choice of SEP partner universities because allocation will be based on
the:
(i) places available at the SEP partner university;
(ii) SEP partner university’s popularity; and
(iii) NUS student’s ranking among applicants to that University.
Information on some Partner Universities is available in the Reference Section of the NUS Central Library and from the internet, (the listing is for over 3,000 universities with home pages). Students should also explore other sources of information e.g. resource centres, libraries of diplomatic missions or by using search engines on the internet. The Registrar's Office does not have a resource facility for SEP reference material. Such material can be found in the Reference Section of the Central Library.
The courses you take overseas
will be granted transfer of credits only. The grades obtained are not transferable.
This means that modules read while on exchange will not have an impact
on your CAP.
19. Are the grades
obtained from abroad counted towards my CAP?
No, the modules taken will be reflected
in your transcript but they will not be counted towards your CAP.
(F) GRADUATION
20. Will my graduation be delayed?
Your graduation will not
be delayed if you plan carefully. You
must note the following:
·
a
SEP study plan (approved by the Department of your major or concentration)
is required for each SEP partner university and semester chosen to ensure
that you can fulfill your graduation requirements while on SEP.
·
when
you return from SEP, submit your transcript to the Dean’s Office as soon as
possible for credit transfer. Credit
transfer will be allowed only for modules approved by the Department.
·
Try to maintain regular contact with your SEP
co-ordinator via email so that any administrative
problems encountered can be solved as soon as possible.
(G) LEAVE OF ABSENCE
21. Do I need to apply for leave of absence when
I go on SEP?
You do not have to apply for SEP leave of absence as your status will be updated once you have been shortlisted.
Please note the following point:
a. Since it has implications on a student's registration, should you withdraw from SEP or your application rejected by the
partner university, please notify the Dean's Office immediately at fashelp@nus.edu.sg
(H) MAPPING OF MODULES
22. How do I map the modules offered by the partner University with NUS modules?
You will need to provide comprehensive information about the module(s) that you intend to read while on exchange. You can obtain information on the modules from:
You should try as far as possible to obtain the following information:
Description of the module(s) (including level of the module(s), code and title)
Description of the syllabus and/or readings and how the course is conducted
Number of contact hours and/or schedule of lectures, tutorials, seminars
Modes of Assessment
Any other relevant information
Once you have obtained the necessary information, show them to the SEP advisor of the respective department/faculty offering similar module(s) to those that you intend to read. The advisors will evaluate the modules for their suitability and equivalency to modules offered by their department/faculty, and endorse the respective modules in your study plan accordingly.
Please submit your study plans to the respective departments for approval at least one month before you depart for SEP to allow for processing time, and the confirmed and approved study plan to the Dean's Office at least two weeks before you depart for SEP.
23. Can I take a module in the partner university and match it against a GEM?
Yes you can. Students on SEP are allowed to take modules in the partner university and match it againist GEMs.
Please note the following procedures:-
(1)
Full module description is to be provided (Refer to Qn 22). This is to examine the scope and suitability of the module and
whether it can be matched to a 4 MC module, and also to see whether it should be categorised as IKC or KMI, Group A or
B GEMs.
(2)
Complete and submit the form http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/docs/sep/approval_gem_module.doc to Mr Calvin Murty at
the Registrar's Office (regcm@nus.edu.sg). He would forward details of the module to the appropriate committee for
approval. If the matching is successful, Registrar's Office will assign an equivalent NUS code for the module.
(3) Submit the approval (with the assigned code) to the Dean's Office with the rest of your study plan.
24. Can I take a module in the partner university and use it to fulfil the UE/Breadth requirements?
Yes you can. Students on SEP are allowed to take modules in the partner university to fulfil the UE/Breadth requirements.
Please note the following procedures:-
(1) Full module description is to be provided (Refer to Qn 22). This is to examine the scope and suitability of the module and
whether it can be matched to a 4 MC module.
(2) Submit the details to the respective departments/Faculties/Schools for permission to read the module(s).
(3) Submit the approval (with the assigned code) to the Dean's Office with the rest of your study plan.
25.
26.
27. The
partner University's credit system is different from ours. How do we
know if their modules are equivalent to 4 MCs
in NUS?
Also, the partner university allows us to read only 3 modules a semester,
but NUS requires us to read 5 modules
a semester.
I will be 2 modules short when I return and it will be very taxing to read
7 modules in a semester. Can I read
more than the
3 modules allowed while on exchange?
Each university has its own credit system. Hence it is important that you provide all the necessary details of the modules
(module description, contact hours, modes of assessment etc) when requesting for mapping at the departments. The
information would help the departments determine if the modules are equivalent to those offered in NUS and if each is
equivalent to 4 MCs here.
You will have to follow the regulations of the partner University. In cases where partner Universities stipulate that students
are allowed to read only 4 modules or less a semester, the students may apply to have the less than 5 modules recognised as 20
MCs for transfer of credits purpose (extra credit recognition) if the workload of the partner university’s modules is equivalent
to 5 NUS modules. The student will have to apply through the department approving the study plan. Documented proof that
the partner university advised against taking as many as 5 modules must be provided.
If the partner university merely recommends a workload of less than 5 modules, but actually allows students to take 5 modules,
then extra-credit recognition will not be allowed and they would have to make up for the shortfall in modules in the semesters
before they leave for SEP or in the semester after they return. Some students make up for their modules by reading extra modules
in the regular semesters or by reading modules during Special Term. Some students choose to stay an extra semester to
complete their graduation requirements.
The SEP works on a reciprocity basis. Their students have to follow NUS guidelines just as our students have to follow theirs.
The number of modules/credits a student reads in a semester will have an impact on the tuition fees. Some partner universities
allow students to read more modules/credits than that stipulated, but students will have to pay for the extra modules/credits.
If the modules that you are reading constitute 'full workload', please do the following:
1) For pre-approval of study plan (i.e., before you depart for the SEP), the SEP coordinator will normally approve one course-to-
one module maps unless they can be convinced that the courses you seek to read are worth more than the corresponding
number of mapped-to modules in their program.
2) If all the approved map-to modules have less than 20 MCs (in a semester) for a study plan that constitutes the maximum
workload at the partner university, you may apply to Dean's Office (email: fashelp@nus.edu.sg) for the extra modular credits
after you have regeistered for classes at the partner university (as students normally map more modules before they depart
on their exchange).
3) When you write to fashelp, you should provide the following details of all courses you have enrolled in:
i) Course description (including level of the course, its pre-requisites and the number of credit units)
ii) Description of the syllabus and/or readings and how the course is conducted
iii) Number of contact hours and/or schedule of lectures, tutorials, seminars
iv) Modes of Assessment
v) Maximum workload of a student in the semester eg. 60 credits (provide webpage links)
vi) Any other relevant information.
4) The extra modular credits will be granted only if the Faculty is convinced that your study workload deserves them. You will be
informed of the decision within five working days.
5) The Faculty reserves the right to assign the extra modular credits to any part of the degree curriculum it deems fit. For instance,
even if all the courses you read are mapped into your major curriculum, the extra modular credits granted may take the form of
unrestricted elective modules.
6) If we are granting extra credits, it is on the condition that you are reading the modules as stated in the study plan that you
submit earlier in point 2. If there are any changes to the modules in the study plan, the approval is void.
28.
Cohort 2001-2003: http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/undergrad/sep/credit_transfer01.htm
Cohort 2004 & after: http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/undergrad/sep/credit_transfer04.htm
(I) TRANSFER OF CREDITS
29. How do I apply for transfer of credits after I return from SEP?
Upon receipt of your transcript from the partner university, you will need to complete the form for submission of transcript found at http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/docs/sep/credit_transferV2.doc and submit it together with a copy of your transcript to the Dean's Office. Please follow up with the partner university to ensure that your transcript arrives at least one and a half month before the start of your examinations for the semester that you return to NUS. Otherwise the credits for your overseas modules will be transferred late and your graduation or promotion could be delayed.
30. Can I transfer credits for a module read as 'Pass/Fail' option?
No, you will not be allowed to transfer credits for overseas modules read as 'Pass/Fail'.