NUS students to get ChatGPT access, freshmen to undergo compulsory AI module

From Aug. 31, 2026, all National University of Singapore (NUS) students, faculty and staff members will have access to ChatGPT Edu by OpenAI.

In a press release on Aug. 11, NUS announced that the move further strengthens its growing portfolio of AI (artificial intelligence) platforms and services.

Unlike free ChatGPT, ChatGPT Edu provides NUS with broader access to core capabilities within a secure, university-managed environment with stronger privacy, security and administrative controls.

Conversations and data within the NUS workspace are not used to train OpenAI’s models.

Compulsory course for freshmen

To ensure all incoming NUS students achieve AI literacy before they start their courses, foundational AI competencies are built through the Transition to Higher Education (T.H.E.) Programme.

Starting from academic year 2026/27, "THE1008 Applied Generative AI: From Prompting to Evaluation" will be a compulsory module for all first-year undergraduates.

This ensures every student gains practical skills in effectively interacting with large language models (LLMs) and multimodal AI before they begin their coursework, NUS said.

NUS also said it will ensure all students achieve AI fluency when they graduate through the deliberate integration of AI competencies at every stage of their studies in their common curriculum and major.

This enables students to be confident in deploying AI tools strategically, critically interpret AI-generated results and apply AI thoughtfully within their disciplines.

This approach equips all NUS graduates with the latest AI expertise and its application across interdisciplinary subject domains while amplifying human-centred skills, such as critical thinking, judgement and sense-making.

Students will also be ready to use AI for analysis, problem-solving and creative work.

Expansion

During its initial phase, ChatGPT Edu will be strategically piloted in some selected courses.

These resources are designed to empower students, faculty and staff, fostering innovation, accelerating research and addressing complex challenges with greater depth and efficiency.

These advanced tools will then be progressively made available for undergraduate courses.

This expansion builds on the earlier collaboration with NUS School of Computing, which began in March 2026, providing computing students access to OpenAI’s software development tools.

The collaboration now enters its next phase, scaling access and enablement across the university.

Students will also have opportunities to participate in hackathons and build days focused on AI-enabled solutions.

These activities will give students across disciplines opportunities to develop ideas, work on real-world problems and connect with OpenAI’s global networks and communities.

“This collaboration with OpenAI provides NUS staff and students the access to advanced AI capabilities in a governed and responsible manner. Complementing NUS' in-house built AI-Know platform, OpenAI's tools will strengthen our operational capabilities, drive smarter digital services and more efficient administration that benefit our entire community,” said Tan Shui-Min, NUS chief information technology officer and vice president.