The university has made a special provision to allow USP graduands to attend the USP ceremony and the home faculty ceremony, and to be presented their degree on stage twice. This provision is applicable to graduands who fulfill all of the USP curriculum requirements as well as attain at least an Honours (Merit).

To facilitate the above provision made, the University has established the following guidelines:

Guidelines

1. For logistics purpose, all degree scrolls and complimentary transcripts for USP graduates will only be distributed at the USP ceremony. For graduates who are not attending the USP ceremony, they will collect their documents from the Registrar's Office after Commencement.  Collection instructions are published at http://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/adminpolicy/degreescrolls.html.

2. At home faculty ceremonies:

   1. USP graduates attending their home faculty ceremonies will be presented individually on stage, blending in with all other graduates of their cohort. However they will not be given their degree scroll and transcript then; instead, they will collect them at the USP ceremony, or, if they do not attend the USP ceremony, they will collect them from the Registrar's Office

The above guidelines are put in place due to logistical constraints as managing the Commencement requires massive coordination. Any inconvenience is regretted.

For more information, please refer to the NUS Commencement website.

The following medal, awards and prizes are given to outstanding USP students or graduands on an annual basis.

Joanna Wong Medal Award

This award is presented to the graduating student from the University Scholars Programme who best embodies the ethos of the programme. The student has been evaluated for academic excellence and for commitment to co-curricular activities. Academic excellence is assessed by Cumulative Average Point. Co-curricular involvement is evaluated based on participation and leadership in activities that foster "learning beyond the classroom” such as International Programme and University Scholars Club activities.

NUSS Medal for Outstanding Achievement

This award is given to a USP graduating student with outstanding all-round achievements. The winner is presented with a gold medal and a NUSS membership with a one-year waiver of the monthly subscription. The winner is recognised for academic excellence, as well as significant participation in NUS student activities and/or impactful contribution in community service/voluntary work, preferably in leadership capacities.

Sung Kah Kay Memorial Prize

The Sung Kah Kay Memorial Prize is presented to the graduating student from the University Scholars Programme who best exemplifies scholarship and academic excellence. The Sung Kah Kay Memorial Prize identifies the graduate as a leader in independent and interdisciplinary scholarship.

Izzuddin Taherally Prize

This prize is presented to a graduating student from the University Scholars Programme who is well-rounded and has exemplified academic excellence and demonstrated a strong commitment to promoting interfaith dialogues or activities related to social harmony.  This prize is donated by Dr Mustafa Izzuddin, an alumnus of the University Scholars Programme.

GIC Medal and Prize

This prize is presented to a graduating student who is:
-  the best student in the University Scholars Programme awarded with a Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) degree; and
-  the best student in the University Scholars Programme awarded with a School of Computing (Honours) degree.
This medal and prize is donated by the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC).

Albert Teo Prize

This prize is presented to a graduating student from the University Scholars Programme who is well-rounded and has exemplified academic excellence and demonstrated a strong passion for entrepreneurship or innovation in the social or business sector. This prize is donated by Professor Albert Teo, a former faculty and Deputy Director (Student Life) at the University Scholars Programme.

Tin Chew Hong Prize

This prize is presented to a graduating student from the University Scholars Programme who is well-rounded and has exemplified academic excellence and demonstrated strong commitment to community service, preferably in the areas of the elderly, ageing or gerontology. This prize is donated by Ms Tin Pei Ling, an alumna of the University Scholars Programme.

Syed Ahmad Khan AMU Memorial Prize

This prize is presented to a graduating student from the University Scholars Programme who are well-rounded and have exemplified academic excellence and reflected a strong commitment or made a significant contribution to South Asian studies and culture, and have a demonstrated social service record. This prize is donated by the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Alumni Association Singapore.

USP Prizes: Overall and Domain

USP Overall and Domain Prizes recognise academic excellence (in USP modules), among students who graduate from the University Scholars Programme.  The prizes are:

- Best Overall Performance 

- Best Performance in H&SS Domain

- Best Performance in S&T Domain

Students must have at least 3 graded modules in each domain (HSS and ST) to be shortlisted. The best 3 graded modules in each domain are taken into consideration (and limit to one ISM).

President's Honour Roll

The President's Honour Roll recognises excellence in intellectual and leadership qualities among students who graduate from the University Scholars Programme according to the following criteria: outstanding academic accomplishment (first-class honours degree awarded by the student's home faculty); and significant involvement in co-curricular activities.

USP Senior Honour Roll

The USP Senior Honour Roll recognises excellence in intellectual and leadership qualities among USP students who have fulfilled eight USP modules as part of their curricular requirements. The placement criteria for the USP Senior Honour Roll are as follows: meritorious academic performance; active engagement in USP beyond-the-classroom learning; and significant contributions to the USP community. Note that each USP student is only eligible for the Senior Honour Roll once in their whole course of study. 

USP Honour Roll

The USP Honour Roll recognises excellence in intellectual and leadership qualities among USP students who have fulfilled at least four USP modules (including the Writing and Critical Thinking module) as part of their curricular requirements. The placement criteria for the USP Honour Roll are as follows: meritorious academic performance; active engagement in USP beyond-the-classroom learning; and significant contributions to the USP community. Note that each USP student is only eligible for the Honour Roll once in their whole course of study. 

USP Recognition Award

The Programme Recognition Awards are presented to students from non-graduating cohorts in recognition of their contributions to the University Scholars Programme through both academic accomplishment and/or co-curricular activities. Criteria for excellence may include exceptional academic talent, exceptional leadership in co-curricular activities, or a strong combination of both.

USP Testimonial

Recognising that performance in the University Scholars Programme involves more than grades, we look for ways to reflect and document the co-curriculum achievements of our students, along with their academic achievements in the Programme.

With the above objective in mind, USP has designed an internal testimonial (different from the NUS transcript) for each USP student. A USP Testimonial will document, objectively and factually, a student's accomplishments - both academic and co-curricular - at the Scholars Programme. It is our hope that the USP testimonial will help students to highlight their participation in USP as they move beyond NUS in professional or further academic capacities.

A USP Testimonial will be issued upon request by a student after his/her graduation as a Scholar or when he/she leaves the Programme, whichever is earlier.

To Request for a Testimonial

Notice: Although the Circuit Breaker has ended, NUS is still practicing safe distancing measures. As such, hardcopy submission of USP Testimonial Request Form is not allowed. Please submit your request form (below) with your digital signature on it via email to Ms Rohayu at rohayu.h@nus.edu.sg.

Testimonials are not issued to students automatically. It is only issued UPON REQUEST, and using a request form (download form below). No payment is required.

Students are not entitled to testimonials while they are still with the University Scholars Programme.

Students will also be informed of this arrangement when they receive letters from the Scholars Programme upon their graduation, withdrawal or release. Testimonials will be processed only in July and August.

Download TESTIMONIAL REQUEST FORM