The National University of Singapore (NUS) is currently consulting faculty members of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) and the Faculty of Science (FOS) on a new college that focuses on interdisciplinary education.

The proposed college would be called the College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS).

Could begin accepting students next year

The preliminary consultations are being conducted amongst staff in the FASS and FOS faculty, and will evolve into internal and external consultations over the next few months.

The new college, if approved, could begin accepting students as soon as academic year 2021/ 2022.

Students who are accepted into CHS will be under both arts and science faculties, which would allow them to access both majors and minors under the two faculties.

They will be able to pursue the following four-year honours degree programmes:

• Bachelor of Arts
• Bachelor of Social Sciences
• Bachelor of Science

Focus on interdisciplinary learning & teaching

Students in the proposed college will get to take courses such as design thinking, data analytics, computational thinking and artificial intelligence in the curriculum.

In addition, students will sit through the following courses, such as integrated humanities, Asian studies and scientific inquiry to provide them with a strong foundation in critical thinking.

At the same time, students will be offered opportunities to pick up practical skills via internships and project work.

This cross-disciplinary structure will allow for greater flexibility and the integration of multiple disciplines, said NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye: “The rapid pace of change in many industries means that the old model of intense academic specialisation will no longer work for our young adults."

He added: "They will also need to adopt a spirit of lifelong learning to ride the waves of change and disruption. The proposed NUS College of Humanities and Sciences will equip our students with market-relevant skills to thrive in the future economy."

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Top image via NUS' site