Our Purpose
To shape independent, adaptable thinkers and doers who will make an impact in the world.
We do so by offering our students a transformative learning environment, an innovative curriculum, and diverse global opportunities. Our students are imbued with the critical thinking capabilities to blend and transcend traditional disciplines, and have the expanded worldview required to challenge conventional thinking and develop bold, actionable ideas.
Joining USP also means joining a community of people who are
Curious
Adventurous in thought, pursuing a broad range of intellectual interests and ready to make connections across different domains.
Critical
Intellectually rigorous, deeply reflective and having a humility born of awareness of the limitations of our own knowledge.
Courageous
Willing to consider differing points of view, unafraid to face challenges and to act upon ideas.
Engaged
Extends the frontiers of knowledge in energetic and creative ways, prepared to navigate and help shape a complex world in a responsible way.
Each year, about 220 to 240 incoming NUS undergraduates are admitted to USP.
A USP student is one who pursues a major in one of seven NUS partner faculties or schools, and seeks – through the USP curriculum – strength, intellectual rigour and connection across disciplines.
A USP student values intense academic inquiry, research, exploration and engagement. Within an educational environment that supports diverse initiatives, myriad opportunities and a sustained residential experience, USP students form a community that is at once curious, critical, courageous and engaged.
It is our aim that, at the end of four years with USP and having attained an Honours degree at a NUS faculty or school, a USP graduate will have the confidence to make substantial and meaningful contributions to solving the big problems of our changing world.
Students admitted to USP are concurrently enrolled in 1 of 7 NUS faculties or schools
USP students earn 70% of their academic credits in their home faculty and 30% in USP.
On top of the myriad international opportunities that USP students have access to in NUS and via their home faculty, they also get to tap into USP’s international programmes that span across 20 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.
The outcomes of USP international programmes are threefold. First, they facilitate out-of-classroom learning. Second, they bridge academic and experiential learning. Third, they enable understanding of global issues from multiple perspectives. Together, they shape USP students into well-rounded, independent global citizens who are sensitive and adaptive to the world today.
International programmes at USP are rather unique in that throughout the years, many are shaped or led by students themselves. Students are encouraged to initiate their own international programmes in areas where they wish to effect change, and are strongly supported by faculty and administrative staff to execute their ideas. One example is the STEP Asian Undergraduate Summit (AUS). In June 2021, AUS successfully engaged over 150 students from 17 partner universities across 10 different countries within Asia, on the theme of “Leadership in a Complex World: Managing the Dilemma of Growth”.
For semester abroad exchange programmes, USP has special partnerships with 17 universities, many of which are USP-like honour colleges in these universities or by itself. These comprise 4 in Asia and the Middle East (e.g. Yuanpei College in PKU, China), 6 in Europe (e.g. University College Utrecht in Utrecht University, The Netherlands), and 7 in the Americas (e.g. Carleton College in the US).
USP’s rigorous Joint Degree Programme with The Australian National University, and Double Degree Programmes with Sciences Po (France) and Waseda University’s School of International Liberal Studies (Japan) also allow students to earn their degrees living and learning in two vastly different countries. Designed as exchange-based degree programmes, it also means the USP community gets to benefit from having international students from these partner universities in its midst.
Since 2015, USP has actively partnered up with more universities in Asia, to complement its North America offerings and provide a balanced range of opportunities for USP students. It now has summer programmes and conference tie-ups with Seoul National University and Chu Kochen Honors College Zhejiang University. In the works is a proposed partnership with 3 Asian universities, including Rikkyo University of Japan, to offer students a global blended learning experience through “The Asian Consortium for Excellence in Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Education (The ACE)” project.
USP students live at the USP residential college called Cinnamon College for a minimum of two years.
USP was the first academic programme in Singapore to move into a residential college in 2011. Since then, Life@USP is centred at Cinnamon College which provides the space for constant engagement and interaction amongst students. This has helped to develop a sense of and belonging to the programme among USP students – residents and non-residents alike. From sharing meals with peers, professors and visitors to holding thoughtful discussions in the Master’s Commons and their own lounge, fondly known as Chatterbox, students are immersed in an environment conducive to their own personal and intellectual growth. These community interactions strongly underpin the USP ethos of inclusiveness, open-mindedness, thoughtfulness, respect across differences, and a strong sense of social and community responsibility.