Frequently Asked Questions

On 27 August 2021, NUS announced the launch of two new colleges: the first will be created by combining Yale-NUS College and the University Scholars Programme, and the second will be a new College of Design and Engineering created through the merger of the Faculty of Engineering and the School of Design and Environment.

The formation of these two colleges is the latest initiative in NUS’s efforts to transform the educational experience at the University by delivering flexible, interdisciplinary education more accessibly, and at greater scale. This is based on four key pillars of a common curriculum, greater flexibility to students, an interdisciplinary approach and lifelong learning.

Yale-NUS College will continue through Graduation 2025. The College will not continue after 2025, although some currently matriculated students may graduate after that time. No new students will be admitted to Yale-NUS College after the Academic Year 2021/22. Future students who are interested in an interdisciplinary liberal arts experience will be able to apply to NUS College for admission in Academic Year 2022/23.

All current Yale-NUS students, including students who matriculated in Academic Year 2021/22, will enjoy the full educational, co-curricular and residential experience at Yale-NUS.

Study abroad and internship programmes will continue to be available. Yale University will continue to welcome Yale-NUS students for study in the summers and during the Academic Year.

Current students will experience Yale-NUS’s innovative common curriculum with the same small class sizes and have available the range of majors.  The current financial aid and scholarship packages will remain in effect; the College will also continue to reassess financial aid need if students encounter any type of financial difficulties.

Students will graduate from Yale-NUS and will receive the same degree as all prior Yale-NUS students, which is awarded by NUS.

Yes. As the size of the Yale-NUS student body decreases as cohorts graduate, the current campus will be shared with NUS College students.  During this time, the Yale-NUS leadership will be determining how the campus will be shared and what is the best configuration of facilities for Yale-NUS students as the student body decreases in size.

Yale-NUS students can be assured that they will continue to have the amenities and student-to-staff ratios that they currently enjoy.

The double degree programme in Law and Liberal Arts is jointly offered by Yale-NUS and the Faculty of Law. As a five-year programme, students who matriculated in Academic Year 2021/22 will receive their degrees in 2026. They will be awarded a Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) degree from Yale-NUS and a Bachelor of Laws (with Honours) degree from NUS Law.

The pathways with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, the Duke-NUS Medical School, Yale School of Public Health and the NUS School of Computing will continue for all Yale-NUS students who are pursuing those courses of study.

NUS will honour all existing employment contracts, and no one will be made redundant. The priority of the Yale-NUS faculty in the next four years will be educating Yale-NUS students; however, as the number of students declines, there will likely be opportunities to teach NUS College students or to be engaged with other NUS departments.  These matters will be pursued in conversations with individual faculty about their future.

Every tenured faculty member has tenure at NUS and thus will continue as tenured members of NUS once their teaching at Yale-NUS concludes.

Yale-NUS is an autonomous college in NUS, and Yale-NUS staff are staff of the NUS family.

Their evaluation for Promotion and Tenure will be governed by the regular Yale-NUS College procedures and standards up to June 2025.  Thereafter, NUS’s procedures and standards will apply; however, the relative teaching loads and experiences at Yale-NUS will be taken into consideration with due attention given to service at Yale-NUS.

All contracts with non-tenure track teaching faculty will be honoured. Those on the progressive educator track will be transitioned to the NUS educator track scheme. Non-tenure track faculty can be considered for future opportunities at Yale-NUS, NUS College and other NUS departments as situations arise.

No staff will be made redundant, and all employment contracts will be honoured.

The College will remain open through 2025. Many operations will stay as they are now, but some will necessarily change.  As classes graduate and the number of students declines, the needs of the College for its administrative staff will change and the required number will decline. The Yale-NUS leadership will bear the responsibility of determining when staff are no longer needed at the College; those staff will then be given the opportunity to be reassigned to NUS.

After 2025, administrative staff in good standing will either be employed in NUS College or redeployed to roles at the same seniority elsewhere at NUS, although some of the job roles offered may differ from their current roles. Yale-NUS leaders will work closely with individual staff members and NUS Human Resources in order to facilitate placements that are satisfying to the individual.

Graduates will always be alumni of Yale-NUS, and have always been and will remain alumni of NUS. They will also remain International Affiliates of the Yale Alumni Association and will be included as alumni of NUS College.

The Yale-NUS Governing Board will retain all its responsibilities as steward of the College through 2025. Thus, decisions affecting Yale-NUS College between now and 2025 will be subject to approval by the Governing Board.

The Yale-NUS leadership structure will remain intact during the transition period through 2025, although some of the College’s leaders may over time serve concurrently in leadership roles at NUS College.

The policies in the Yale-NUS Faculty and Student handbooks will continue to govern, including the policy on Academic Freedom. There will be the usual opportunities to refine and update policies according to the College’s procedures.