By Jackson How
Introduction
Hi everyone, I’m Jackson, a sophomore (Y2) studying at the National University of Singapore. I’m a Political Science major enrolled in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) under the Joint Degree Program with the University of North Carolina.
I will attempt, in this post, to showcase not only the “hard” facts and information about NUS such as costs of studying, the general requirements as well as the opportunities available for students. I would also showcase my personal experience studying here and hopefully answer questions on stress levels, workloads and so on!
Before delving into it all, however, I would just like to point out that the experience in NUS really differs from person to person. So just as a disclaimer: I am NOT prescribing NUS as the university of choice NOR am I positing that NUS is the best university in Singapore, let alone the world. So do take this post in context and do a little bit of your own research to find out what works for you!
To compare between NUS and other universities in Singapore, you can refer to this blog post about studying in Singapore.
Degree and Graduation Requirements
In general, NUS utilises the modular system and students are required to study and pass a set number of modular credits (MCs) before being allowed to graduate. One module averages 4MCs although exceptions do exist. Modules are also split into various levels of difficulties from 1000 being the easiest and 4000 level modules being for final year students. There are other requirements as well, such as general education requirements or core modules, which vary between faculties and programmes (such as Hall, Residential Colleges or University Scholars Program).
A quick summary of the graduation and degree requirements is included in the table below:
While studying in FASS, you will need to fulfil the general education requirements , faculty-level requirements as well as major-specific requirements. This will translate to 180MCs for Single Major with Honours and 120MCs for a Single Major. This is of course excluding the additional work for second major or even minor choices. More information about studying in FASS can be found here for the honours track and here for the non-honours track.
A quick note on the requirements for the Political Science major: you will need to take the standard introductory module, PS1101E, before even progressing to the higher-level modules. Upon matriculation, the faculty will request for you to indicate your preferred major (you do not need to declare one yet, but you do need to indicate interest) so that they can pre-allocate you to the introductory modules for the majors. Which means you do not need to go through the Module Registration process for those modules. As for the rest of the major, you will need to complete specific modules from the various fields of study. Finally, you will need to take a module on research methodology (PS3257) which can only be taken once you completed 20MCs in Political Science. More information about the Political Science graduation requirements can be found here.
The admission criteria for Political Science is tied to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and there aren’t any specific entry requirements for Political Science. While the minimum criteria are not difficult to achieve, admissions are based on open competition; hence it really depends on your batch’s academic performance. That being said, FASS is one of the largest faculties in NUS, so you do not need to worry as much. You can find out more about the admission criteria here.
On Political Science at NUS
The Department
The department of Political Science in NUS offers plenty of choices in terms of subfields as you’re not restricted to a particular specialisation (although you can definitely choose to do so if you want to). The department also has a strong focus on Asian politics while still drawing upon learnings from all over the world.
I believe this is helped by Singapore’s geography as we do have academics from both the East and the West teaching various modules; therefore, you can definitely leverage upon their experiences to broaden your understanding. This helps you to achieve a really well-rounded understanding of the practice of politics and the exercise of power from various perspectives. From my personal experience, you are not expected to regurgitate facts and figures but, instead, to reflect upon your unique take and understanding of an issue, analyse and interpret the facts and other perspectives provided and finally, construct your own argument.
The department also makes an effort to train students in critical thinking and writing, research and analysis methodology and ethical reasoning, which are soft skills helpful in your future career. As for career options, you’re not short on choices as the well-rounded nature of the major at NUS allows you to undertake options in sectors such as business and finance, journalism, the civil service, consulting firms, academics (research and teaching) and of course, the famed foreign service.
The Workload
The teaching style at the department is similar to that of every other course at NUS - a lecture and tutorial format. Content is primarily covered during lectures (which are usually held once every week for 1h 35mins). You would be expected to participate in discussions in tutorials (which are typically held once every two weeks for 1h 35mins).
Workload wise, I think Political Science does assign a fair amount of readings, and there are a significant number of concepts and theories which you will need to learn, especially in your first year. That said, a typical week would probably see you attend about 3 – 5 lectures and 2 – 3 tutorials covering anything from general stuff (such as the various theories), region-specific studies (such as the Middle East) or even nation-specific studies (politics in Singapore mostly). You might also find yourself studying social issues such as race, justice, equality and freedom or analysing governance policies during the same week. So be prepared to tackle a wide range of topics as NUS does make good on its promise to ensure a well-rounded training is offered. If you plan your timetable well, and I do suggest you use NUSMODS to help, you can put them all on two to three days which means you have a couple of free days and the weekends to study or chill.
A quick note on the readings in Political Science - to be fair, you do not need to read every reading closely. You can have about 20 – 40 pages per reading and 3-4 readings per module. This will translate to anything between 300 – 800 pages of readings a week (if you think about it, it’s like reading one book a week). Hence you do need to be adept in picking out key arguments and their corresponding justification and only read the entire reading for the full development. I won’t go in-depth into how to do so since this post is more of an introduction to Political Science but feel free to look me up if you need help!
To end this long section, I just want to say that the Political Science education in NUS is a little bit difficult. Still, I believe every major has its own difficulties. Hence, it really depends on what you want to deal with in your university life. For Political Science, in particular, be prepared to write a lot of essays and argue your point of view. There aren’t any wrong views, but there are poorly developed ones. It is, in my opinion, straightforward to pass and even to get a B, but to get that A-/A/A+ will require consistent reading, breadth of general knowledge on current affairs and historical events (to draw examples from) as well as a grasp on political theory (you know you’re there when you start quoting authors off the top of your head). Finally, if you happen to be a freshie or someone who is matriculating soon and just happened to stumble upon this page, take a look at this handy-dandy guide.
What now?
Now that you have seen how studying Political Science is like, how do you know if you’d be interested in Political Science even before entering?
To be honest, it is challenging to measure how interested you are in Political Science before you have actually had a chance to experience it.
For the really zealous ones among you, attending Moot Parliaments, Model United Nations and even just dialogues or forums organised by various organisations could help to test your interest in the subject before you enter. Despite that, however, it is still not an accurate test as I went for all three types of programs and yet they’re different from what I’m studying. That being said, if you have gone for and are continuing to go for those events, chances are, you’re already interested in the subject so just take the PS1101E module to see what Political Science is all about.
For the less zealous among you, perhaps I can help. The study of Political Science is at its core, about finding out why things happen the way they do. It is a study on decision making and the interactions between power and the various political units. In the words of Dr Terence Heng, “Politics is about finding out who is doing what to whom and why”.
So, if you find yourself wondering, how on earth did Donald Trump get elected and why is he doing the things he is doing or if you find yourself wondering whether Singapore is genuinely democratic or even, will the US go to war with China over Taiwan? Allow me to go one step further and say that politics isn’t just about big picture stuff. For example, if you look at the decision to raise the water tariffs in Singapore or even the GST hike and you’re wondering who actually said it was a good idea? Who had a voice while others didn’t, and why didn’t they have a say?
If you have thought about these things and are interested in finding out more, you’re probably interested in Political Science as a subject. If you’re not sure, never fear, just come in – take the introductory module and then see how. That’s the beauty of studying in FASS, you don’t have to declare any specific major in your first year, and all the random introductory modules you take are in fact going to count towards your graduation requirements so win-win!
Conclusion
To end off, I do hope that this post has given you a broad overview of the Political Science major in NUS. As I stated in the introduction, this post is purely from my own perspective and informed by my experiences. Where applicable, I have linked the relevant pages and information so that you can use this as a launchpad to further your own research and make an informed decision.
If you ever need more help or advice, don’t be afraid to just hit us up through this link right here. We have seniors from over 23 different universities, and 37 majors and our network is ever-growing so don’t be shy, just reach out to us!
Cheers everyone!
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