Four Yale-NUS College students in blue Yale-NUS College t-shirt lying on each other’s stomachs, forming a square, on a grass patch.

What Must a Young Person Learn?

The Yale-NUS curriculum was designed to provide a broad-based, interdisciplinary education across the sciences, social sciences and humanities. It equipped young minds with the means to appreciate and understand the breadth and complexity of issues, the capacity to think critically and solve problems, and the skills to effectively communicate and lead.

The process of designing the curriculum was guided by a question asked by the College’s inaugural President, Pericles Lewis: ‘What must a young person learn in order to lead a responsible life in this century?’.

A group of students are sitting on a desk with computers in front of them while a professor with a white shirt and a cap is enthusiastically explaining something.

What must a young person learn in order to lead a responsible life in this century?

Inaugural Yale-NUS President Pericles Lewis recalls the creation of the College’s curriculum.

Pericles Lewis in a suit and an orange tie.

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Nancy W Gleason, Director of Centre for Teaching and Learning, in a brown shirt

Our purpose is to teach students how to learn, so as to prepare them for a responsible life in the 21st Century.

Nancy W Gleason, Director, Centre for Teaching and Learning

A group of students are sitting on a desk with computers in front of them while a professor with a white shirt and a cap is enthusiastically explaining something.Nancy W Gleason, Director of Centre for Teaching and Learning, in a brown shirt

Designing the Curriculum

The Yale-NUS curriculum was designed from scratch by the College’s inaugural faculty. They sought to draw on the strengths of established liberal arts practices, while introducing the students to the diverse intellectual traditions of Asia and the world.

A faculty photo of the faculty members in front of a Yale building.
Five professors in a classroom. Four of them are sitting down around a big, black table while a female professor is explaining something on the whiteboard.

Liberal Arts Education

The curriculum was based on a liberal arts education model, emphasising breadth as well as depth of study, an interdisciplinary approach and a global perspective.

Triangle behind a mountain range made with structural grid like texture

Yale President Richard Levin describes the breadth, interdisciplinary nature and global viewpoint of the Yale-NUS curriculum.

The Common Curriculum accounted for 31% of the Yale-NUS curriculum.

The 10 Common Curriculum courses were taken mainly during the students’ first three semesters.

The Common Curriculum accounted for 31% of the Yale-NUS curriculum.

The 10 Common Curriculum courses were taken mainly during the students’ first three semesters.

Three Components of a Well-Rounded Education

All Yale-NUS students begin their first two years of college with the Common Curriculum, which provided a broad-based education across the disciplines of arts and humanities, social sciences and sciences.

They also took electives, where they could begin to explore other subjects in more depth.

In their final two years, they selected a major that delivered an in-depth education in a specific academic discipline.

Initially, the Common Curriculum was the largest component of the curriculum.

After a review in 2015, the Common Curriculum was reduced slightly to allocate more time for electives and the major.

This timetable shows how students focused on the Common Curriculum at first, before exploring more specialised subjects in later years.

Experiential Learning

Experiential learning, or ‘learning by doing’, was an integral component of the Yale-NUS curriculum.

This could comprise of in-class activities requiring students to engage with and solve real-world problems, or assignments such as field trip reports, hackathons, policy memos, portfolios, research for clients, blogs and websites, photo essays, videos, sketches and reflections.

There were also many opportunities for ‘learning beyond the classroom’, such as courses set outside of the formal classroom environment, field trips and internships. These were designed to enhance the students’ academic learning, broaden students’ perspectives, hone skills and build character.

Two male students in ethnic costumes, maroon and white-pink, for Week 7 symposium.
A week 7 trip in Paris, students and faculty in an old room, analysing the paintings in front of them.

These opportunities included Learning Across Boundaries (LABs), faculty-led projects developed with the Centre for International & Professional Experience (CIPE), such as the Week 7 and Spring and Summer LABs.

A week 7 trip to Huizhou, students sitting in a circle in an alley.

As part of the College’s Global Learning initiative, there were many travel opportunities for students to experience and learn from different communities throughout Asia and the rest of the world.

Active Learning

Another important aspect of the College’s educational experience was active learning. Class sizes were capped at 18 students, encouraging class interaction and discussion.

That's obviously something that is unusual in Asia, but it seems to have caught on just fine here.

Professor Richard Levin on students' active participation in classes.

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A group of students in a classroom, sitting on desks that are placed into a circular shape. A female student is writing something on the whiteboard.

Students were asked to debate in the classroom rather than passively receiving information and reproducing it in tests.

They really engage with it in a meaningful way.

Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid, Laura Severin, describes a typical Yale-NUS student.

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A group of students in a classroom, sitting on desks that are placed into a circular shape. A female student is writing something on the whiteboard.

100 Faculty for 1000 Students

Yale University Vice President Linda Lorimer describes the  College’s low student-faculty ratio.

Linda Lorimer, a woman in glasses, addresses an audience while speaking into a microphone.
Lily Kong, dressed in a colourful striped jacket, is seated at a table, exuding a cheerful and inviting presence.

A Tremendous Experience

NUS Vice President Lily Kong on the special qualities of Yale-NUS  classes.

An Education to Lead a Responsible Life in the 21st Century

The Yale-NUS Curriculum taught students how to learn, how to become critical thinkers who can communicate and lead others, and how to develop flexible skills that could contribute to an ever-changing global society.

A big crowd of people in a hall during a graduation ceremony. Blue and orange balloons are in the air.

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