Yale-NUS College Launches New Concurrent Degree with Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
Five-year programme designed for liberal arts and science students who are keen to pursue careers in the field of public policy
Yale-NUS College has partnered the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) to launch a new Concurrent Degree Programme in Public Policy. The programme is designed for students interested in applying their broad academic and intellectual background from the liberal arts and sciences curriculum to thinking and acting in the global dimension of public affairs and international policies.
The five-year programme will start in August 2016 and will offer places for up to five students. Besides academic and professional accomplishments, students will be selected based on their leadership and teamwork skills, as well as public-spirited initiatives such as creating or participating in civil society organisations, non-profit organisations, and think-tanks. The Master in Public Policy (MPP) Programme at the LKY School is designed to provide the students with rigorous education and training in public affairs. The programme builds a strong foundation in policy analysis, programme evaluation, and management for the public, private and not-for-profit sectors through modules on economic policy, politics and international relations.
Interested applicants can submit their applications during the second semester of their third year at Yale-NUS. Shortlisted applicants will be invited for an interview conducted by a panel comprising both LKY School and Yale-NUS faculty members. In their fourth year, successful applicants will commence classes at the LKY School and complete their Yale-NUS capstone project in their major. Students will graduate with two degrees – the Yale-NUS Bachelor of Arts (Honours) or Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree and the LKY School Master in Public Policy.
At Yale-NUS College, students are exposed to an interdisciplinary inquiry-based curriculum which enables them to master a broad body of knowledge and techniques. They also learn to approach and solve problems from many different angles. The first two years are devoted to the Common Curriculum which combines the strengths of established liberal arts and science conventions with the diverse intellectual traditions and cultures of Asia and the world. The next two years are a mix of modules in the student’s major, which are designed to ensure the right balance between maintaining the integrity of individual disciplines and adding the breadth of the Common Curriculum to the subject to augment the learning experience. Writing and presentation skills are also heavily emphasised in the Yale-NUS curriculum, complementing the LKY School’s prevailing emphasis on advocacy and articulation in its students. Students can expect to extend their learning well beyond the walls of the classroom, and to benefit from strong empirical evidence and contextual narratives that underline Asian and international dimensions.
“As Singapore’s first liberal arts college with a full residential programme that integrates learning and living, we are offering a distinctive, global education in a community that encourages active learning and critical thought. We are confident that the graduates from this new concurrent degree programme with LKYSPP will be well prepared to tackle our most pressing global issues.” said Yale-NUS Executive Vice President (Academic Affairs) Tan Tai Yong.
Established in 2004, the LKY School enrols some 400 students yearly and has trained over 2,000 graduates from over 80 countries in its Masters and PhD programmes. In 2007, the LKY School became the first Asian school to join the prestigious Global Public Policy Network (GPPN) established by the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs in the United States, the London School of Economics in Britain and France’s Sciences Po.
The LKY School Dean Kishore Mahbubani shared, “We are happy to partner with Yale-NUS College on this concurrent degree programme. Yale-NUS’ broad-based liberal arts programme provides a natural foundation for the Lee Kuan Yew School’s curriculum, giving young potential scholars and practitioners the critical thinking tools and intellectual background they will need for a professional degree in public policy. The graduates of this programme can also help to fulfil the mission of the School to improve governance in Asia.”
Besides this new concurrent degree in public policy, Yale-NUS also offers a concurrent degree programme with the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (YF&ES) and a Double Degree Programme in Law with the NUS Faculty of Law. Yale-NUS students are also given special consideration to enter into the Yale School of Management (SOM)’s highly selective MBA programme called the Silver Scholars Programme. This provides the unique opportunity to enter the Yale MBA programme immediately after undergraduate study and moves one more quickly toward career goals.
For media enquiries, please contact publicaffairs@yale-nus.edu.sg.
